AI in SMB M&A: Faster Due Diligence, Better Deals, New Risks

This episode examines the practical ways AI is changing small and mid-sized business M&A from three perspectives: sellers using AI to clean financials, substantiate add‑backs, and reduce owner dependency; buyers using AI to organize diligence, test cash flow assumptions, and model earn‑outs; and facilitators using AI to orchestrate process, align stakeholders, and support post‑close integration. It also warns of risks: AI hallucination, overconfidence, data security, and ethical framing. The takeaway framework—readiness for sellers, verification for buyers, and orchestration for facilitators—shows how AI can raise professionalism and speed good deals, but won’t save fundamentally flawed transactions.