Independent technical due diligence for angels, VCs, PE, and acquirers. Fixed scope, fixed fee, NDA first. One senior person reads the code — and nobody pays me for the answer.
20+ years production engineering · former VP of Software Engineering · builds local-first AI systems in production
The deck says the tech works. The demo ran clean. The founders are credible. Somewhere between term sheet and wiring, the code still has to be read — and a checklist filled in by a junior analyst isn't reading.
Every engagement is built to answer six questions:
Does the code that exists match the pitch?
Who wrote it — and are they still there?
What breaks first under the growth plan, and what does raising that ceiling cost?
Is the IP clean — contractors assigned, licenses unencumbered?
Is the AI in the product real, or a wrapper over one vendor's API?
Can the team ship safely, or is one person holding the whole thing up?
Artifacts, not adjectives. Every item below is in the deliverable:
Delivery is a written report plus a working readout. Discussion, not a lecture — the kind of review founders and CTOs actually find useful.
Most due diligence firms can read code. Almost none can tell you whether the AI claims are real. So when the deck says AI-powered, nobody checks — and that's exactly where valuations drift from reality.
Is the feature a thin wrapper over one vendor's API? What does the model actually do? Is there an evaluation story, or demo anecdotes? What happens to the product if that vendor reprices or shuts down?
I build local-first AI systems myself — Bridge and Stream run entirely on your device, and Momentum is a private workspace with AI built in. I know what a real pipeline looks like from the inside, because I've built them. And I write, critically, about where AI claims fall apart. When the deck says AI, you get a verdict from someone with no patience for the hype.
NDA first. A short call about the deal. Nothing is shared before an NDA is signed — not the target's name, not the code, not the terms.
Fixed quote in 48 hours. Scope, price, exclusions, timeline — in writing before any work starts.
Access and analysis. Two to four weeks. Repositories, commit history, an architecture walkthrough, interviews with the people who built it.
Report and readout. The written report, then a working session to walk the findings and what they mean for the deal.
No referral fees. No remediation upsell. No vendor relationships. If the finding is ugly, ugly is what the report says. If it's clean, clean is what it says — and a clean verdict is worth paying for.
One person scopes the work, reads the code, and writes the report. That's not a limitation. It's the independence.
Twenty years of production software. VP of Software Engineering. A community platform that grew past half a million members.
"I can bring David an idea or problem and he will analyze it, break it down into the real customer issues we are trying to solve, and come up with some excellent ideas."
"One of those people who enhances the productivity of an organization by making comfort zones intellectually uncomfortable."
There's no logo wall of past DD engagements because this offer is new to the money side. The judgment underneath isn't.
And I don't just audit this kind of software — I build it. Bridge, Stream, and Momentum ship on the same local-first principles this review applies to your target's AI.
This site runs no analytics and puts my PGP key one click away. The posture is the person.
The number depends on codebase size, AI components, interview scope, and deadline. You get it in writing within 48 hours of the scoping call. NDA first, invoice direct, no surprise invoices.
Yes. Nothing is shared before an NDA is signed — not the target's name, not the code, not the deal terms. First contact can happen entirely through the NDA process.
Where access allows, yes. The review works best in discussion mode rather than interrogation mode — and notable resistance to access is itself a finding that goes in the report.
Then the report says so, with the evidence that supports it. A clean verdict you can defend to your investment committee is a result, not a failure.
Independence and hands-on work: the person who scopes the engagement is the person who reads the code and writes the report. No referral fees, no remediation upsell, no junior analysts. The trade: I'm one person, so very large deals needing firm-level insurance belong with a firm.
A full review runs two to four weeks depending on codebase size and interview scope. A one-week signal review is available when a decision is close and you need the top-line risk position first.
Read-only repository access, analysis on local machines, nothing sent to third-party services. Materials are deleted on request after delivery, and the exclusions list in the report states exactly what was and wasn't examined.
Engagements start at $5,000. The fixed quote depends on codebase size, AI components, interview scope, and deadline. The number arrives in writing within 48 hours of the scoping call.
Email me about the deal. I'll reply within a day — honestly, including when the honest answer is that you need a firm instead of me.
Sensitive first contact? PGP public key.