Common Questions About Working With AKF.

We scope the review around your investment objectives. It typically covers technology (scalability, availability, and cost efficiency), AI and ML (differentiation, scalability, monitoring, and governance), organization (skills, structure, incentives, and key-person risk), process (delivery practices, prioritization, and metrics), and security (testing, training, policies, and access control).

You receive a SWOT report and, for every risk we identify, our estimate of the cost and time to fix it — so you know what you're getting, and what it will cost to address, before you commit capital.

The work is built to fit your deal clock. Focused management sessions and evidence review can be conducted remotely or onsite, depending on the transaction and agreed scope, and the report is delivered within a week of our final session. If you need it faster, Rapid Technical Due Diligence delivers a report within 48 hours, counted on business days, of receiving the documents and read-only code access.
Rapid Technical Due Diligence →

You receive the report within 48 hours of AKF receiving the requested documents and read-only access to the code repositories. The clock starts when both are in place and counts business days only, so weekends are not included.

Rapid diligence is based on the documents provided and direct analysis of the code. It does not include sessions with the target's team, so claims in the documents are not validated in conversation. Full technical due diligence adds focused management sessions with AKF partners and is typically completed in under two weeks.

Read-only access. The preferred option is a fine-grained access token scoped to the repositories in the engagement, with an expiration date so access ends on its own. An SSH deploy key per repository is an alternative. Access can be fully revoked when the engagement ends, and secret values found in the code are never captured.

Yes. If you decide to go deeper on the same target, the fee for the rapid engagement can be applied toward full technical due diligence.

Pricing is tiered by company size and complexity. Document-Only Technical Due Diligence, a review of the documents provided without management sessions, runs $10,000–$25,000. Standard Technical Due Diligence (single-product startups, typically Seed to Series C) runs $25,000–$40,000. Expanded Technical Due Diligence (larger or multi-product companies, Series C+) runs $40,000–$75,000. Enterprise & Custom Diligence for large acquisitions starts at $50,000 with custom pricing. See the Technical Due Diligence page for full tier details.

Yes. Buy-side readiness is a common reason companies engage us: we run the same diligence an acquirer or investor would, so you can see what they are likely to find and address it first. Both full and rapid technical due diligence work this way.
Rapid Technical Due Diligence →

Yes. Diligence runs through a handful of focused sessions rather than an extended presence, and we can run it from our offices to keep it off the target's floor.

We've performed technical diligence for seed rounds, Series A and beyond, carve-outs, strategic investments, and taking public companies private — from $5 million invested to over $1 billion — for private equity and venture capital firms as well as strategic acquirers.

Yes. We assess whether the AI in the product is real and defensible or a thin wrapper, what it costs to run, and how it scales. We also place the engineering organization on our 5-level agentic development maturity model, so you know whether the team is using AI to pull ahead or falling behind.

You only engage what you need. Beyond diligence, AKF can build a prioritized plan to fix the risks we found, tied to business return, and lead the execution — architecture, technical direction, and program leadership, up to serving as interim CTO, CPTO, or COO.
Interim Technology Leadership FAQs →

Sell-side technical due diligence is an assessment commissioned by a company or its owners before a sale or capital raise. It evaluates technology, teams, and operating practices so the company can identify risks, prepare evidence, and explain the business accurately to prospective buyers or investors.

Exit readiness is preparation: finding gaps, prioritizing remediation, and getting management ready for buyer questions. Vendor technical due diligence typically produces a seller-commissioned report for prospective buyers; the intended audience and permitted use should be agreed before assessment begins.

Starting 12–18 months before a planned sale can provide time to address structural risks and demonstrate improvement. Companies with less time should prioritize material issues, missing evidence, and a credible plan for work that will extend beyond the transaction.

Yes. Growth equity, venture, and private equity investors run their own technical due diligence. Preparing beforehand lets you address material gaps, support your technology claims with evidence, and get management ready for investor questions.

Common concerns include weak security controls, unreliable systems, unclear rights to software or data, unsupported scalability claims, key-person dependencies, and a roadmap the team cannot deliver. The significance depends on the investment thesis, evidence, and cost and timing of remediation.

No. Technical debt is common, and its importance depends on whether it constrains growth, increases operating cost, or creates material risk. The seller should be able to explain the tradeoffs, quantify the impact where possible, and show a prioritized plan.

AKF scopes fees to the business and intended deliverables, including the number of products, technical complexity, evidence availability, and transaction schedule. Readiness assessment, remediation leadership, and an external sell-side report are distinct scopes; fees are agreed before work begins.

Prepare evidence of what the AI does, how it is evaluated, what data and models it depends on, and what it costs to operate. Buyers may also examine competitive disruption, data rights, governance, and whether claimed engineering productivity gains are measurable.

A sell-side report can give buyers a documented starting point, but buyers may conduct their own diligence and request additional evidence. Access to the report, permitted use, and any reliance arrangements depend on the engagement terms.

AKF provides interim CTOs, CPTOs, VPs of Engineering, Chief Architects, VPs of Operations, and CISOs for technology product companies. Our interim leaders have held these roles themselves and can lead product enhancement, transformation, and turnaround work from day one.

Yes. A fractional CTO gives a growth-stage company senior technology leadership — technology strategy, engineering leadership, architecture ownership, and board representation — without a full-time hire, either while you search for a permanent leader or as an ongoing model.
Fractional CTO →

Yes. For PE-backed SaaS companies, AKF provides interim CTO, CPTO, and VPE leadership after close, during a transformation, or when a technology leader departs unexpectedly — stabilizing delivery so the value creation plan and exit timeline stay on track.
Interim CTO for PE-Backed SaaS →

Yes. Alongside interim leadership, AKF can write job descriptions, help source and interview candidates, and support the transition to the new leader — giving you time to recruit the right person rather than rushing to fill the seat.

AKF Partners provides technical due diligence for investors, sell-side diligence and exit readiness, technology consulting, AI and ML assessment, interim technology leadership, and delivery coaching. Our work helps clients evaluate technology, improve execution, and lead change.
See Services →

Engagements follow three stages: Discover & Assess (understanding your goals, constraints, team, and current state — no cookie-cutter frameworks), Design & Prioritize (a clear, prioritized roadmap rather than a report that collects dust), and Execute & Transfer (we stay through execution, then transfer knowledge so you own the outcome after we're gone).

AKF's team brings decades of real-world experience as CEOs, COOs, CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Chief Architects, and Technical Operations leaders — not career consultants. See the Team page for backgrounds.

AKF works with companies of all sizes — from single-product startups (Seed to Series C) to large enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, across technical due diligence, consulting, and digital transformation engagements.

AKF Partners is headquartered in Austin, TX. The team has led engagements and held interim leadership roles with companies across the country, including New York, California, and beyond.

Book a free initial call through the Contact page to discuss your needs — no cost or commitment for that first conversation.