Technical Due Diligence for AI-Built Apps: Investor & Acquirer Checklist

Technical due diligence for AI-built apps is the homework you do before buying or investing in an app that a code-writing tool largely produced. A demo won’t tell you if customer data is protected or whether the sellers can prove the code is theirs. Neither will it show what running the app costs as more people sign up.

Two years ago, few buyers had to ask about this. Now a founder with no coding background can type out an idea on a Monday and show investors a working app a few weeks later. The catch is what the tool leaves out. In Veracode’s 2025 study, code from more than 100 of these models had security flaws in 45% of the 80 tasks tested. For one common programming language, the failure rate went past 70%. A demo won’t show it. These problems sit in parts of the app nobody clicks on during a sales call.

What Does Technical Due Diligence for AI-Built Apps Look At?

Buying a house? You’d pay someone to check the wiring and the pipes before you hand over the money. This is that same check, done on software.

Picture a builder who does exactly what you say and nothing more. Ask for a front door and you’ll get one. Forget to mention a lock, though, and there won’t be a lock. From the street, the place looks done. Code-writing tools behave the same way, so the review goes hunting for the locks nobody asked for.

What Makes Tool-Written Code Harder to Check?

Ask a developer about a decision in their own code and they can usually walk you through it. Nobody can do that for a block a tool spat out in a few seconds that no one ever opened. So the questions you bring to the table change.

• Somebody should have read what the tool wrote. Find out who, and whether they left any trace of it.
• Holding a copy of the code and legally owning it are two separate things. Ask which one the sellers have.
• Some apps can only live inside the tool that built them, so check if this one can move.
• Picture the founder quitting next week. Could another developer pick up where they left off?
• Chatbots and other smart add-ons get a separate look, since they bring risks of their own.

Our piece on what vibe coding gets right and where engineers take over goes deeper into why tool-written code tends to break.

When Does a Deal Call for One?

Any time money changes hands for an app built fast with these tools. Raising a seed or Series A round counts. So does buying a whole company, or picking up one product from a bigger business. Larger cheques deserve a deeper dig. On a small deal, spending a few days looking before you make an offer can still spare you a nasty shock later.

Why Should You Test the Sellers’ Claims Before You Sign?

Because a demo shows you the happy path, and the happy path is the one part the tool gets right.

Most founders who build this way aren’t trying to fool anyone. The app did what they asked, so they had no reason to poke around inside it. So a founder’s “it’s secure” tends to mean nobody has broken in yet, which is a much weaker promise. They believe it. You can respect that and still ask for evidence.

Here’s what you risk by taking their word for it:

• Leaks you inherit. The day you sign, every customer record in the app becomes your problem.
• Ownership you don’t get. You may pay for code that the law doesn’t fully protect.
• A rebuild you didn’t budget for. If the app can’t leave its builder tool, moving it costs time and money.
• People you can’t replace. When a single founder carries the whole app in their head, a lot of what you paid for leaves if they do.

Where Do Tool-Built Apps Usually Go Wrong?

Most trouble in a tool-built app shows up in one of the eight places below. Start at the top and work down, because problems near the top are the ones most likely to kill a deal.

1. Code Ownership and Licences

The US Copyright Office took this question on in a January 2025 report, the second part of its series on copyright and AI. Its view is that writing prompts, however detailed, doesn’t turn you into the author of whatever the tool hands back. Material a tool produced with no real human input isn’t protected. But work where a person shaped, edited or arranged the result can be. So an app built mostly by a tool may carry less legal protection than the price suggests. The fine print of each tool counts too. Somewhere in those terms is the line that says who the code belongs to.

What to ask for: Every tool the team used came with terms they clicked to accept, so get a copy of each one. You’ll want the licences for outside add-ons as well. And have the founders show you the bits of the app a human wrote or reshaped.

Warning sign: The founders can’t remember which tools they used. Or they dodge the question when you ask for ownership in writing.

2. Who Checked the Tool’s Work

Unread code comes with no guarantee. Luckily, apps keep a running diary of edits, each stamped with a date and a name. A careful team adds a second note saying who looked each edit over. Without that note, there’s no way to tell if a person ever checked the tool’s work before it reached customers.

What to ask for: You want the whole diary, not a snapshot of the app as it stands today. Ask for any house rules the team set for these tools, and for their sign-off notes.

Warning sign: The app has two years of live use behind it, yet the diary starts a few weeks back. Someone wiped the past. There may be an innocent reason, and you still need to hear it.

3. Security and Customer Data

Tools that write code do what they’re asked and nothing more. Forget to say a page is for staff only, and anyone holding the link might wander in. The same handful of holes keeps showing up in these apps. Passwords and secret keys get left inside the app. One customer can sometimes see another customer’s records. Payment messages get accepted without checking they came from the payment company. And there’s often no limit on how many times someone can guess a password.

What to ask for: Any past security tests, the results of any outside attempt to break in and a plain explanation of how one customer’s data is kept apart from another’s.

Warning sign: The only proof of safety is “we ran a scanner and it came back clean.” Scanners miss the problems that come from missing rules. You need a person who thinks like an attacker.

4. Platform Lock-In

Some apps made in builder tools like Lovable, Bolt or Replit can be moved out cleanly. Others can’t run outside the builder without a lot of rework. If the app can’t leave, the builder company sets your bills and your limits, and you’re stranded if it ever shuts down.

What to ask for: Hand an outside engineer the code and the sellers’ notes, nothing else, and ask them to get the app working.

Warning sign: The founder’s laptop is the only machine that can launch it, or it refuses to work anywhere but the builder.

5. Handling More Users Without Falling Over

Two hundred people using an app is a different job from two thousand, and plenty of apps buckle somewhere in between. You’re probably buying for growth. Ask where it stores its data and what’s slowing it down today. Then ask about the last big rush of visitors, and whether the app held up.

What to ask for: A record of each outage. For every one, you want to know how long customers were locked out and what changed afterwards.

Warning sign: Nobody has ever tested the app’s limits, so nobody can tell you how many users would break it.

6. Leftover Mess and What It Costs to Fix

Every app carries some mess. Your job is to size it up and put a price on the tidy-up. Good teams build tiny automatic checks that kick in each time the code changes and flag anything that snaps. Code-writing tools handle the smooth version of events well. Odd cases slip past them, such as a form that’s only half filled in or a card that gets charged twice. Watch for one task solved three separate ways in three corners of the app, too. You see that a lot when a tool has been adding code for months and no one person has been in charge.

What to ask for: A list of the automatic tests, especially around sign-up and payments, and a list of outside add-ons with their last update dates.

Warning sign: Payments run with zero checks on them. Watch for add-ons that haven’t been updated in years, too, or ones nobody can say where they came from.

7. Helpers That Talk to Customers

Maybe the app has a chat window, writes messages on a user’s behalf or decides small things without asking anyone. Give that part its own look. It runs on a model rented from another company, and a customer with the right wording can sometimes talk it into misbehaving. Some of these can change or erase records before anyone gets a look. They aren’t free to run, either. Each chat costs a little, and a feature that wows people on a sales call can bleed money once real customers pile in.

What to ask for: Who supplies the model behind it? After that, get the actual bills from recent months and a plain list of what the chatbot is allowed to change by itself.

Warning sign: The chatbot can delete a real customer’s record and no person ever has to approve it.

8. Sitting Down With the Builders

Documents only take you halfway. Book time with the person in charge of the tech and get them talking. How do they keep each customer’s data private? What went wrong most recently, and how did they notice? Who else has the keys to the live app?

What to ask for: An hour of the builder’s time, plus a list of everybody who can push changes.

Warning sign: Answers that wave the question away, like “it’s all handled.” Or one person who knows everything and is planning to walk once the deal is done.

Which Proof Should You Ask the Sellers For?

Have this table next to you during the review. The left column is what you ask, and the right column is the proof that backs up a good answer.

No two apps are alike, so use this list as a base and add whatever questions your product calls for.

Which Red Flags Should Make You Pause the Deal?

Not every problem matters equally. The useful way to sort them is by what they put at risk.

Does the App Work the Way the Sellers Say?

• Large parts nobody can explain. If the team can’t walk you through the code, nobody can safely change it.
• No automatic tests on money paths. Sign-up and payment bugs hit revenue the day they appear.

Do They Own What They’re Selling?

• Unclear tool terms. If nobody read the terms, nobody knows who owns the output.
• A wiped change history. It hides who wrote what, and that hides ownership questions too.

Is Customer Data Safe?

• One customer can see another’s records. This is the most serious finding on the list. Stop until it’s fixed.
• Secret keys left inside the app. Anyone who finds them can get in.

Will the Numbers Hold Up After the Deal?

• Smart features that cost more than they earn. Growth makes that loss bigger, not smaller.
• An app stuck inside its builder tool. Moving it is a cost you’ll pay sooner or later.

When you weigh a finding, ask four things. How bad would it be? How likely is it to happen? What would fixing it cost? And does it break the reason you wanted this app in the first place? A finding that hits all four is a deal-stopper. One that hits only the third belongs in the price.

How Should the Findings Shape Your Offer?

Findings that sit in a folder don’t help anyone. Each one should land somewhere in the deal, usually in one of these four spots.

1. Your Offer Price

Clean-up costs money, whether it’s two weeks of work or six months. Get your reviewer to guess how many weeks of engineering the fixes need, then bring that figure to the negotiation.

2. The Deal Structure

Some risks are hard to price. For those, buyers often hold back part of the payment until a problem is fixed, or ask the sellers for a written promise to cover costs if an ownership claim turns up later. Your deal lawyer should word these, since every deal is different.

3. The Fix-It Budget

Some problems need fixing no matter who owns the app. Budget for them up front, so the money is there on day one and doesn’t come out of your growth plans.

4. Milestones After the Deal

For investors in particular, findings can become conditions. Say the payment flow has no checks. You could give the team a deadline to add them. If the app can’t leave its builder, moving it could be a condition for the next round of money.

Here’s a pretend deal to show how it plays out. The review shows two problems: the app won’t run anywhere but its builder tool, and nothing tests the payment flow. The rest checks out, so the buyer stays in. They knock the cost of moving the app off their offer and keep some money back until payment tests are in place. The founder also agrees to stick around longer and help with the move.

What’s the Right Order for the Review?

Order matters here. Go through these stages one after another, and the last week before signing stays calm.

Step 1: Take a Short Look Before Any Offer

Give it a few days and one question: is there anything here that should stop you right now? Skim the edit diary, find out which tools built the app and grab a quick call with the person who leads the tech.

Step 2: Send Over Your List

When both sides roughly agree on terms, ask for every item in the proof table. How quickly and fully the sellers respond is useful information on its own. A team that keeps saying “we’ll send it soon” is telling you something.

Step 3: Go Through Everything

Get seasoned engineers to work across all eight areas. They’ll read the code and try to break into the app. They’ll also rebuild it from scratch on their own and throw awkward questions at the chatbot.

Step 4: Put Each Finding Into the Deal

Rank every finding by how bad it is. Then give it a home in the price, the deal structure, the fix-it budget or the post-deal milestones. Get your lawyer and your reviewer in the same conversation here.

Step 5: Confirm the Fixes Before Signing

Right before signing, confirm the sellers fixed everything they promised to fix. Get proof, not a status update.

Why Choose iTechnolabs for a Code Review Before You Buy?

You want reviewers who build apps every day, because they know where corners get cut. That’s who looks at your code here.

iTechnolabs holds ISO 27001:2013 certification for information security and ISO 9001:2015 for quality management. We’re also an approved supplier to the Government of Canada under Supply Arrangement CW2395301. Our team of 300+ developers has delivered 500+ apps used by more than 50,000 people, from offices in Markham, Calgary, Ottawa and Sheridan, Wyoming.

Our engineers work with code-writing tools on real projects through our AI development company team. That means we know both what these tools do well and where they slip. If the review shows the app needs a partial rebuild, our MVP development services team can turn a shaky first version into one you can grow with.

Conclusion

That’s the whole reason to do this work. An app built with code-writing tools can be a great buy. The speed that got it to market is real, and so is the customer interest. But speed leaves gaps, and the gaps don’t show up in a demo or a pitch deck.

A proper technical due diligence for AI-built apps gives you answers you can act on. You’ll know whether customer data is safe and whether the sellers truly own the code. You’ll also know if the app can grow, whether it can leave the tool it was built in and roughly what the clean-up will cost. Each of those answers should shape the price, the payment terms or the promises the sellers make in writing.

Start early. Ask for the full change history, the tool terms and a record of who checked the work. Meet the people who built it and listen for real examples. Bring in reviewers who build software for a living, because they know where shortcuts usually hide.

None of this is about being suspicious of founders who used modern tools. Most of them did nothing wrong. They never had a reason to check what the tool left out. Your job is to check it before the app, and its problems, become yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is technical due diligence for AI-built apps?

It’s a close review of an app that was built partly or fully by a code-writing tool, done before someone invests in it or buys it. The review checks whether the app is safe, whether the sellers own the code and whether it can grow. It also estimates how much clean-up the code needs.

How long does the review take?

It depends on the size of the app and how organised the sellers are. Most buyers do a short first look before making an offer, then a full review once both sides agree on rough terms. A team that hands over everything quickly can shorten the whole process by weeks.

Can a scanning tool replace a human review?

No. Scanners are good at spotting known problems, like out-of-date add-ons. They miss the gaps that come from missing rules, such as a staff page nobody locked or one customer seeing another’s records. You need a person who understands how the app should behave and tests whether it does.

Does using a code-writing tool make an app a bad investment?

Not at all. Many strong products started this way, and the speed is a real advantage. The risk sits in what nobody checked afterwards. An app built quickly and then properly reviewed, tested and cleaned up can be a sound buy. One that was never reviewed needs a closer look and a fairer price.

Who owns the code that a tool wrote?

According to the US Copyright Office’s January 2025 report, material a tool produced with no real human input isn’t protected by copyright. Work that people shaped, edited or arranged can be. Buyers should check how much human work went into the core product and read each tool’s terms with a lawyer.

What’s the biggest red flag in an AI-built app?

One customer being able to see another customer’s data is the most serious finding. It can lead to legal trouble and lost trust the moment it’s discovered. A wiped change history and a team that can’t explain its own code are also strong warning signs worth pausing a deal over.

Should founders run this review before raising money?

Yes, it’s a smart move. Investors are asking more questions about how apps were built and checked. A founder who has already found and fixed the obvious problems walks into the meeting with answers instead of surprises. It also gives them time to fix issues before anyone uses them to push the price down.

What if the app only works inside the tool it was built with?

Treat it as a serious finding, not a deal-breaker. Ask an engineer to estimate the cost of moving the app to a setup you control. Then build that cost into the price or the handover plan. Until it’s moved, you’re tied to the tool company’s prices, rules and future decisions.