How do you get AI into your business without blowing the budget or locking yourself into a vendor you’ll regret later? In this episode of The Due Diligence Show, Adam Jaques and Luke Silcock explore the real-world decisions behind operationalizing AI. Whether you’re building your own stack, renting from a hyperscaler, or experimenting with open-source agents in your office lab, this conversation is your field guide to navigating the modern AI supply chain. 💡 Topics covered: Build vs. Buy vs. Borrow — which AI adoption path is right for you? Token pricing explained (hint: think arcade economics) Model routers, local deployments, and agentic workflows Is Microsoft Copilot worth the spend? A brutally honest look Avoiding AI sprawl and understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP) What OpenAI + Jony Ive could mean for the future of AI hardware Listen now and make smarter decisions about how your business uses AI — before the architecture, security, and CFO teams come knocking.

AI isn’t coming — it’s here. This episode, Adam and Luke explore how AI is reshaping job roles across engineering, customer service, sales, and beyond. Are we replacing people… or empowering them? Then we get into the real risks: hallucinations, bias, prompt injection, even model theft. Luke breaks down the OWASP Top 10 AI risks and what every business needs to know to stay secure (and sane). Augmentation or automation? Trust or oversight? AI or “uh-oh”? Your career might depend on knowing the difference.

AI is boosting business productivity — but can you trust what it gives you? Adam and Luke explore the real-world risks behind automation, hallucinated results, and why “just let the AI handle it” might backfire. Fast, cheap, wrong? Let’s talk about it.

We’re back! After a long break, The Due Diligence Show kicks off Season 2 with a deep dive into the world of artificial intelligence. Adam Jaques and Luke Silcock unpack what’s hype, what’s real, and what matters for businesses, investors, and tech leaders. In this episode: What is AI — really — and why does it matter? Who are the major players (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and more)? How is AI already transforming industries, from tax authorities to creative tools? Why GPUs (not CPUs) power today’s AI breakthroughs What’s coming next: agentic AI, open-source models, and the competitive edge Whether you’re just starting to explore AI or knee-deep in the latest models, this episode will get you up to speed — with practical insights and sharp analysis.

How to announce your deal! There are so many things to consider when communicating a deal to the world and those directly impacted. Thought Source use their experience to talk in detail about how to approach communicating different types of deals and what to consider when it comes to communicating how a deal affects those being acquired and those acquiring. It’s more complicated than you would first think!

Tech Teams and Talent – A critical asset to analyze HR Alert!! One thing that we love to investigate as part of technical due diligence is organizational structure, teams, and people.  This is an area that contains significant value as part of a technical asset, as well as a substantial amount of risk to ensure a productive future of the potential acquisition. The Thought Source team discuss all of the areas that are usually investigated, from key product contributors, forecasted investment in people for success, integration considerations, office sprawl and more. Are the key contributors still employed?  Is the success of a product reliant on one or two people?  Can the team scale to meet your deal thesis? We tell you how we find the answers during technical due diligence

Look out Product Managers, this episode is all about you!  The Thought Source team are back in the deal room to discuss what they look for in a technology product and its suitability for acquisition.  They discuss everything from product features, market fit, what makes a good roadmap and indications that you have set the product up for a successful future in order to adapt and grow.

In this extended episode, the Thought Source team talk about how source code is assessed during a technical due diligence project.  Source code is sometimes referred to as the “crown jewels” when it comes to M&A transactions, it can certainly be the most valuable part of the intellectual property you are acquiring.  When we undertake technical due diligence, it’s a process that we have honed for decades and source code analysis is a craft that, just like technology itself is ever changing.  We take you behind the scenes and share some of our “secret sauce”!

This is such a common question that our clients ask.  Many clients have a proficient engineering team who are eager to build something new.  So should you give them some budget and get them onto it, or acquire another company that may have already learned from their mistakes and built some market reputation?  The answer is never straight forward and the Though Source team give you their opinion in this episode of The Due Diligence Show.

Do your deal homework! – that’s the message from this episode of The Due Diligence Show. There are so many things that can be easily done before a deal is in play. The Thought Source team chat about how often a deal is in the final throws of due diligence and we ask ourselves, why didn’t the buyer know this beforehand? Whether its competitive intelligence, bake-offs, outside-in reviews, product quality and support analysis, all of these activities can be easily done using publicly available information without the hint of a deal.

As the pressure of the deal clock ticks, it's easy for tech acquirers to get caught up in revenue projections, legal and HR, when they need to stay core to the actual target's function, the product they sell. In episode 3 of The Due Diligence show, we chat about how the value of Technology due diligence is often a misunderstood area of the M&A process. Many acquirers consider technology as a "tick box" item that is simply covered contractually, the problem is that if the core tech asset that drives a company's revenue can look great at face value, but can often be poorly executed and unfit for the buyers "deal thesis". Beyond inspecting the source code asset, there are many complementary activities that the Thought Source team discuss which will bring material information to the other diligence work streams such as customer sentiment, future fit and scale, potential misuse of open source, key contributor retainment, future team investment and more.

The team at Thought Source are back with episode 2 of The Due Diligence Show. In this episode, the guys chat about why tech M&A deals typically go bad when it comes to technology due diligence analysis. Visit us at www.thoughtsourceconsulting.com 

Specializing in technical due diligence, the experienced team at Thought Source Consulting take you for a look behind the scenes at the art of performing technical due diligence on companies and products for M&A projects Visit us at www.thoughtsourceconsulting.com