PwC Japan Group has launched AI due diligence, AI DD, to comprehensively assess the ability to use AI to create value in M&A. It positions AI capabilities as a determinant of corporate value and assesses not only technology but also data, talent, organizational capabilities and links to revenue.
AI is increasingly recognized as a management asset that determines corporate competitiveness, and PwC Japan Group launched AI due diligence, AI DD, in 2024. The practice of comprehensively assessing AI as a capability that determines post-acquisition value creation is spreading.
AI DD assesses not only AI technology and data but also whether the company has the talent and organizational capabilities to apply them to its business, as well as mechanisms for linking them to revenue and customer value. Compared with conventional IT due diligence, emphasis is placed on determining the potential to create value using AI.
The service began in December 2024, and growing attention to agentic AI in 2025 has broadened recognition that AI will transform business processes, business models and industrial structures. AI DD is considered best conducted alongside business due diligence and operational due diligence, with emphasis placed on assessing AI together with market potential and the business model, rather than technology alone.
Kato Yasuyuki (加藤靖之) of PwC emphasized the importance of AI capabilities and said he would promote more sophisticated investment decision-making and value-creation approaches in the AI era, drawing on his many years of experience in strategy development and M&A support.