Financial Services – Investment Banking
Company Size
10,000+ Employees
A Leading Investment Bank Used Blackbird.AI for Due Diligence on Partners to Assess Reputational Risk Before Major Deals and Acquisitions
24/7
reputational risk scanning powered by Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Platform
50%
reduction in manual analyst work through automated risk detection with Constellation
35%
of surfaced reputational threats tied to executive behavior, ESG concerns, or public trust issues
1
centralized risk feed integrated into executive board due diligence workflows
Problem Statement
An investment bank with both commercial and investment arms needed to strengthen its assessment of reputational risk during partnership decisions and M&A evaluations. With increased scrutiny on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and a growing public appetite for accountability, partnering with the wrong entity could lead to long-term brand damage, regulatory challenges, or financial fallout. The company required a way to systematically evaluate reputational threats before committing to new projects or investments.
Process Before Blackbird.AI
The firm’s due diligence process involved fragmented data collection through internal research teams, media reviews, and analyst insights. While financial vetting was rigorous, reputational screening remained manual and inconsistent. The process lacked fringe and fast-moving online discourse coverage, often overlooking signals that later gained public attention. Decisions were sometimes made with incomplete visibility into how the public perceived or attacked a partner.
Solution
Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Platform was used to scan the narrative environment in real-time, identifying emerging reputational threats across potential partners. This included public narratives related to executive misconduct, environmental controversies, or erosion of public trust. Constellation provided a unified stream of risk signals that analysts could use in due diligence reports, helping leadership assess whether the reputational exposure justified the proposed investment or partnership.
Customer Impact
The investment bank now incorporates narrative intelligence as formal input into its partnership evaluation and acquisition decisions. With Constellation, risk signals surface earlier, leadership is equipped with deeper context, and executive teams are better prepared to protect the institution’s long-term brand and financial integrity.