July 25, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
Why Do CEOs See AI Value but Can't Scale It?
Nearly nine in ten CEOs now see AI value, but only in targeted pockets. New BCG data points to the organization underneath the AI as the real blocker on scale.
Insights
Writing on the technology work that moves the multiple.
Notes from inside PE-backed and founder-led software companies - what diligence actually finds, how a hold period should be sequenced, and where technology moves the number.
July 22, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
How Much Does an AI Audit Cost?
The honest answer is that AI audit covers three different things at three very different price points, and the cost is set almost entirely by scope: how many AI systems you run, how ready your evidence is, and which standard you're measured against. Before you price an audit, the cheaper move is to find out whether you need one.
July 19, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
AI Governance Assessment vs. AI Audit: What a PE-Backed Company Actually Needs
Three different things get called an AI audit. A self-assessment tells you where you stand, a third-party audit gives an outsider's attestation, and a regulator-required conformity assessment is a legal obligation. A PE-backed company usually needs them in that order, and rarely needs the last one as early as it fears.
July 16, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
The Shadow AI Inventory Checklist
Most mid-market portfolio companies cannot list the AI systems running inside the business. Here is how to build that list.
July 13, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
The EU AI Act, in Plain English, for Mid-Market Portfolio Companies
The EU AI Act applies to US mid-market companies more often than founders assume, and buyers are starting to ask about it in diligence.
July 10, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
Sell-Side vs. Buy-Side Technology Diligence: What Changes?
Same estate, opposite job. Buy-side diligence protects a price you're paying; sell-side diligence protects a price you're asking, before a buyer's advisors set the terms of the conversation.
July 7, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
How Is PRISM Different from a Code-Review Tech DD?
A code-review tech DD tells you the code is messy. PRISM tells you what the mess costs, when it hits, and whether it changes the deal.
July 4, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
Fractional CTO or Full-Time Hire: How Should a Portco Decide?
The decision turns on certainty, not cost. Hire full-time when the role is defined and the runway is long; go fractional when you need senior judgment before you can commit.
July 1, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
The Hold Period Question Most Operating Partners Skip
Diligence asks what's broken. The hold period should ask what's worth fixing first, and that's a different question.
June 28, 2026 · Sujit Maharana
What a Technology Due Diligence Review Actually Finds
Most pre-close technology reviews answer 'is the code good.' The better question is what it costs to fix, and when.
March 9, 2026 · Bass Zanjani
Modern Combat, Asymmetric Warfare: Investing in Robotics & Drones
Cheap drones and autonomous systems are rewriting the cost-exchange ratio of modern defense and moving capital toward Counter-UAS, sensors and the autonomy supply chain. Where sponsors are transacting, and what the diligence bar looks like.
March 3, 2026 · Bass Zanjani
Market Heat: What History Teaches Us About Investing During Middle East Conflicts
When Middle East tensions flare, the reflex is to look for the nearest exit. Fifty years of market history, from the 1973 oil embargo to the current tensions, says something different about how equities actually behave.
February 13, 2026 · Bass Zanjani
The Tech-Enabled Playbook: How Private Equity is Redefining Value Creation in 2026
Leverage, cost cuts and multiple expansion no longer carry a deal on their own. This is the playbook the firms winning deals are running instead, from technology diligence before close to AI-driven margin expansion and real-time portfolio visibility.
February 12, 2026 · Bass Zanjani
Quality of Earnings vs. Quality of Revenue: Which Diligence Really Protects Your Investment?
Most buyers treat a Quality of Earnings report as the standard for M&A diligence, and they are not wrong. Sophisticated buyers are going further with Quality of Revenue analysis. What each one tells you, and what it does not.
November 6, 2025 · Bass Zanjani
Why Private Equity is Chasing Tech
2024 was a banner year for private equity technology investment, and the momentum carried into 2025, especially in the middle market. What is fueling the shift, and what it means for founders, management teams and investors.
November 6, 2025 · Bass Zanjani
What's Driving M&A Growth in the MENA Region for 2025?
MENA recorded $115.5 billion in announced deals in the first half of 2025, a 149% surge on the previous year. The regulatory reform, sovereign capital, macro conditions and cross-border activity behind that number, and the sectors absorbing it.