What can AI automate for a Corporate Development?

AI can help with: Summarizing CIMs, 10-Ks, and data room documents into short briefs; Building first-pass valuation models and checking formulas; Pulling comparable companies and transactions for benchmarking; Drafting diligence request lists and tracking outstanding questions; Generating early versions of investment memos and board materials.

What stays distinctly human for a Corporate Development?

Still human: Deciding which targets are genuinely worth pursuing and at what price; Building trust with sellers, founders, and advisors during negotiations; Reading the room in deal meetings and adjusting strategy in real time; Making the final recommendation when the numbers are ambiguous; Owning post-merger integration relationships and accountability.

AI for Corporate Development: tools, prompts, and how the role is changing

The shift

How AI is changing the Corporate Development role

In 2026, AI is taking over the slow parts of corporate development like reading data rooms, summarizing financial filings, and building first-pass valuation models. Teams now use AI to scan markets for acquisition targets, draft initial diligence question lists, and pull comparable transactions in minutes rather than days. The work shifts toward judgment, relationship building, and deciding which deals are worth pursuing.

What AI can take off your plate

Summarizing CIMs, 10-Ks, and data room documents into short briefs
Building first-pass valuation models and checking formulas
Pulling comparable companies and transactions for benchmarking
Drafting diligence request lists and tracking outstanding questions
Generating early versions of investment memos and board materials

What stays distinctly human

Deciding which targets are genuinely worth pursuing and at what price
Building trust with sellers, founders, and advisors during negotiations
Reading the room in deal meetings and adjusting strategy in real time
Making the final recommendation when the numbers are ambiguous
Owning post-merger integration relationships and accountability

Tools

Five AI tools for Corporate Developments

ChatGPT

A Corporate Development analyst uses it to summarize 10-K filings, draft investment memos, and explain unfamiliar accounting treatments in a target's financials.

Claude

Used to read long CIMs and data room documents and pull out key risks, customer concentration, and contract terms across hundreds of pages.

Hebbia

Searches across an entire deal data room at once to answer specific diligence questions and cite the exact source documents.

PitchBook

Its AI features help surface comparable transactions, private company financials, and potential acquisition targets in a given sector.

Microsoft Copilot in Excel

Speeds up building and checking LBO and DCF models, writing formulas, and reconciling figures pulled from target financials.

Prompts

Five prompts to try today

Paste these into Claude or ChatGPT and replace the bracketed parts with your own details.

1. Target screening

I am building an acquisition pipeline in [industry/sector]. Suggest 15 companies that fit these criteria: revenue between [range], located in [region], offering [product/service type]. For each, give a one-line rationale and a likely strategic fit with [acquirer description].

2. CIM summary

Summarize this confidential information memorandum into a one-page brief covering: business overview, revenue and EBITDA trends, customer concentration, growth drivers, and the three biggest risks I should diligence. Text: [paste CIM excerpt].

3. Diligence question list

Draft a due diligence request list for acquiring a [type of company] in [industry]. Organize it by financial, commercial, legal, operational, and technology workstreams. Flag any questions specific to [known concern about the target].

4. Comparable transactions

Help me frame a comparable transactions analysis for a target in [sector] with [revenue] revenue and [EBITDA] EBITDA. List the deal metrics I should collect, typical valuation multiples in this space, and how to adjust for [specific factor].

5. Investment memo draft

Draft an investment committee memo for acquiring [target name]. Use this information: [strategic rationale, financials, price, risks]. Structure it as: transaction summary, strategic rationale, valuation, key risks, and recommendation.

A day in your inbox

This is the kind of brief a Corporate Development gets, every weekday morning.

The Morning Current

Weekday morning

✦ Personalized for: Corporate Development

Today's Tool

Reading a data room with Hebbia

Point Hebbia at the full data room and ask a specific question like customer churn over the last three years. It returns an answer with citations to the exact files, so you verify rather than guess.

Today's Prompt

Turn a CIM into a one-page brief

Paste a CIM section into Claude and ask for a one-page summary covering revenue trends, customer concentration, and top risks. Use it as the starting point for your own analysis, not the final word.

Today's Trick

Always ask for the source

When AI gives you a financial figure or claim about a target, ask it to cite the exact document and page. This catches confident but wrong answers before they reach the investment committee.

AI for Corporate Developments