How is TDD different from commercial DD?

Commercial DD assesses the market and customer story. Technical DD assesses the technology underpinning it. Both run in parallel and feed the same IC decision.

Specialist TDD firms (e.g. Crosslake, OpenView's tech services) plus in-house technical advisors. Expert networks support by sourcing benchmarking experts.

How long does TDD take?

Standard 2-week sprint matching PE deal timelines. Complex targets or hard-tech investments can run 4-6 weeks.

Technical Due Diligence (TDD)

Technical Due Diligence (TDD) is the systematic assessment of a target company's technology stack, product architecture, engineering practices, IP position and technical organisation pre-transaction. Run alongside commercial and financial DD.

Term: Technical Due Diligence (TDD)
Section: Glossary
Last refreshed: Q1 2026

01/In Depth3–5 paragraphs

TDD assesses the technology underpinning the commercial story. Common scope: architecture quality, technical debt and maintainability, scalability constraints, IP defensibility, engineering team strength, security posture, third-party-dependency risk.

Conducted typically by specialist TDD firms or by in-house technical advisors. Expert networks support TDD by sourcing ex-engineers and ex-CTOs from comparable companies for benchmarking and third-party perspective work.

Common findings: hidden technical debt that will require material future investment; key-person engineering risk; over-reliance on departing senior engineers; security exposure not visible in management materials; IP gaps that affect competitive defensibility.

Output typically goes into the IC paper alongside commercial findings. TDD findings can move deal terms (escrow on technical milestones), inform integration planning, or kill the deal entirely if material risk is uncovered.

02/Examples4 concrete cases

+A PE buyer commissioning TDD on a SaaS target's architecture before signing the LOI
+A strategic acquirer assessing technical-team strength on a vertical-SaaS acquisition
+A growth fund commissioning TDD on a Series D company's scalability
+A sponsor commissioning vendor-TDD to optimise sale-process positioning

03/Frequently Asked3 questions

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04/See AlsoWhere this applies

04.1

EXPERT CONSULTATIONS

One-hour calls with vetted operators, executives and specialists across 50,000+ professionals. Scheduled in 3 to 5 business days. From €500.

04.2

COMMERCIAL DUE DILIGENCE

Buy-side and sell-side CDD built on operator and customer interviews.

05/Related Terms3 suggestions

DUE DILIGENCE

Due diligence is the systematic pre-transaction investigation of a target — typically a target company or asset — acr…

CDD

Commercial Due Diligence (CDD) is the process of assessing a target company's competitive position, customer-base hea…

REGULATORY DD

Regulatory due diligence is the systematic pre-transaction assessment of a target company's current regulatory exposu…

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