Market Mapping for M&A

Stop wasting 20 hours per Market Map

alkemy automates company research and qualification so your team can focus on analysis, not data collection. Built for boutique M&A advisory consulting firms.

90%
Reduction in research time
$5K+
Saved per project
60%
Fewer false positives

The Research Tax on Consulting Firms

Every market mapping project follows the same painful pattern: associates spend weeks manually visiting websites, toggling LinkedIn filters, and verifying data across sources. Let's fix that.

20+ hours

20+ hours of manual research per project

Associates visiting 800-1,000 company websites, toggling LinkedIn filters, copy-pasting data into spreadsheets

$5,000+ cost

AI tools produce too many false positives

AlphaSense, ChatGPT, and Gemini return irrelevant companies that require hours of manual verification

30% missed

Lower middle market has no data coverage

Companies with no websites, outdated LinkedIn profiles, or only local directory listings slip through the cracks

4-5 weeks per project

Research bottlenecks limit capacity

Can't take on more PE clients without hiring more juniors - but margins don't support it

To get on a client call and have them point out one you're missing or thought they were acquired is devastating.
Patrick C., Managing Partner, Mid-market M&A Advisory

Let alkemy automate market mapping

Automated Company Research & Qualification

Multi-source scraping across websites, LinkedIn, Google, industry directories, and PitchBook. AI agents qualify companies against your custom criteria in hours, not weeks.

  • Handles 1,000+ companies automatically
  • Custom criteria: revenue, employees, capabilities, PE-backed, geography
  • Ranks by fit score with confidence levels

Intelligent Fact-Checking (LinkedIn Lie Detector)

Cross-validates data across multiple sources to eliminate false positives. Prioritizes website data over LinkedIn self-reported posturing.

  • 60% fewer false positives vs generic AI tools
  • Flags discrepancies for human review
  • Detects: 'LinkedIn says 500 employees, website says 200 - needs verification'

Exhaustive Search Capability

Beyond just LinkedIn - searches white pages, trade journals, local directories, industry associations. Finds companies without websites through primary research signals.

  • Detects ownership structure (PE-backed, independent, acquired)
  • Tracks acquisition history (last 5 years)
  • 30% more companies found vs other tools

Client-Ready Deliverables

Auto-fill Airtable, Excel, or custom templates with validated data. Every data point includes source citation and confidence score.

  • Professional formatting ready for clients
  • 100% source attribution
  • Export qualified lists with validation notes

How It Works

1. Define Your ICP

15 minutes

Upload your client brief and qualification criteria. Specify industry, revenue range, capabilities, geography, ownership type, and growth stage.

2. alkemy Researches & Validates

Hours, not weeks

AI agents scrape multiple sources simultaneously, cross-validate data, qualify against criteria with confidence scoring, and flag edge cases for human review.

3. Deliver Verified Results

Minutes

Export client-ready deliverables to Airtable/Excel with all fields populated, sources and confidence scores for every data point, and validation notes.

Total Time

Complete market mapping with validated results

2-3 hours (down from 20+ hours)

Why Not ChatGPT, AlphaSense, or PitchBook?

FeatureAlphaSense/ChatGPT/GeminiPitchBook/CapIQalkemy
Data sourcesSingle-source scrapingRaw financial dataMulti-source validation (website, LinkedIn, Google, directories)
Fact-checkingNoneNoneCross-validates data, flags discrepancies
False positive rateHigh (generic AI)N/A - raw data60% fewer false positives through intelligent filtering
Use case specificityGeneric for all use casesRaw data onlyBuilt specifically for PE M&A workflows
Deliverable automationNoneManual exportAuto-fills Airtable, Excel, reports with sources
SecurityMulti-tenant SaaSEnterprise but genericSingle-tenant, private cloud deployment
Lower middle marketPoor coverageMissing dataExhaustive search includes local/no-website companies
PricingPer seat, fixed$20K-80K/year/seatUsage-based, pass-through to clients

Data sources

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:Single-source scraping
PitchBook/CapIQ:Raw financial data
alkemy:
alkemy:Multi-source validation (website, LinkedIn, Google, directories)

Fact-checking

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:None
PitchBook/CapIQ:None
alkemy:
alkemy:Cross-validates data, flags discrepancies

False positive rate

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:High (generic AI)
PitchBook/CapIQ:N/A - raw data
alkemy:
alkemy:60% fewer false positives through intelligent filtering

Use case specificity

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:Generic for all use cases
PitchBook/CapIQ:Raw data only
alkemy:
alkemy:Built specifically for PE M&A workflows

Deliverable automation

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:None
PitchBook/CapIQ:Manual export
alkemy:
alkemy:Auto-fills Airtable, Excel, reports with sources

Security

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:Multi-tenant SaaS
PitchBook/CapIQ:Enterprise but generic
alkemy:
alkemy:Single-tenant, private cloud deployment

Lower middle market

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:Poor coverage
PitchBook/CapIQ:Missing data
alkemy:
alkemy:Exhaustive search includes local/no-website companies

Pricing

AlphaSense/ChatGPT/Gemini:Per seat, fixed
PitchBook/CapIQ:$20K-80K/year/seat
alkemy:
alkemy:Usage-based, pass-through to clients

Real-World Use Cases

Buy-Side Market Mapping

PE firm hiring advisor to find 50 acquisition targets in healthcare IT

Challenge

Manual research takes 5 weeks, high risk of missing key players

Solution

alkemy qualifies 1000+ companies → ranks by fit → verifies ownership/PE backing → exports top 200 with analysis

Outcome

5 weeks → 1 week, higher quality shortlist

Time saved: 4 weeks
Companies screened: 1,000+
Quality: 60% fewer false positives

Sell-Side Buyer Identification

Founder selling manufacturing business, needs qualified buyer list

Challenge

Identifying strategic + financial buyers, validating acquisition capacity

Solution

alkemy finds strategic + financial buyers → validates acquisition capacity → tracks recent deal activity

Outcome

Comprehensive buyer list in days, not weeks

Time saved: 3 weeks
Buyers identified: 150+
Validation: 100% sourced

Market Sizing & Competitive Intelligence

Strategy consultant mapping competitive landscape in supply chain software

Challenge

Defining market boundaries, segmenting by size/type, mapping competitive positioning

Solution

alkemy identifies all players → segments by size/type → maps competitive positioning

Outcome

Complete market map with validation sources

Time saved: 2 weeks
Companies mapped: 500+
Segments: 8 categories

Vendor/Supplier Mapping for Portfolio Companies

PE firm needs to map supplier landscape for portfolio company procurement optimization

Challenge

Identifying qualified vendors across multiple categories, checking ownership/stability

Solution

alkemy researches vendors → qualifies by capability → checks ownership/stability

Outcome

Procurement-ready vendor shortlists

Time saved: 1 week
Vendors screened: 300+
Categories: 12

Ready to Transform Your Firm's Knowledge Operations?

Join the firms shaping the future of consulting knowledge management

Schedule a Conversation

Explore how alkemy can help your firm

Strictly Confidential

All conversations under NDA

Peer Network

Connect with industry leaders

No Attribution

Without explicit permission

Design partners receive priority access, ongoing product updates, and influence over our roadmap. Join the conversation that's reshaping consulting delivery.

Enterprise-Grade Security

Built by consultants for consultants

Single-Tenant Architecture

Your data in your environment, isolated from other clients. Palantir-style deployment model.

Private Cloud or On-Premise

Deploy in your AWS, Azure, or on-prem infrastructure. Zero data leaves your environment.

Zero Model Training

Use self-hosted open source models, your and your client's data is never used to train models.

Full Audit Logs

Track every search, export, and data access with timestamp/user. Compliance-ready.

Encryption at Rest and in Transit

Bank-grade security standards (AES-256). TLS 1.3 for all communications.

Granular Permissions

Preserve existing access controls from SharePoint/Drive. People only see what they already can access.

Compliance & Certifications

SOC 2 Type II
Roadmap Q2 2026
GDPR Compliant
Built-in
CCPA Compliant
Built-in

Common Questions