bain's ai clones are killing software deals

bain & company has integrated 'vibecoding' into its due diligence, using ai to clone software prototypes and determine if an acquisition target's code is a true competitive moat. what began in 2023 with dedicated engineers now scales to hundreds of prototypes built by regular consultants. investors are responding by abandoning deals where code is easily reproduced; one investor dropped a bid for an analytics platform after bain's ai clone demonstrated its vulnerability. this trend is impacting private equity dealmaking, which has slowed as buyers scrutinize whether value lies in defensible technology or other factors.