The control problem
Registered directors are not always the deciders, and the majority shareholder is often another company. Who actually controls the counterparty is answered by the public record — slowly, and in several places at once.
Counterparty intelligence AI for dealmakers
See who really makes the decision.
AI maps the decision-makers and power structure, the ownership behind the company, the people behind the ownership, and the one sitting across the table.
Connector for
- Companies & people
- Decision-makers
- Local-language media
What is Brif for dealmakers?
Brif is the counterparty due diligence plugin for AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or any open source AI Assistants for dealmakers. It resolves who ultimately owns and controls a company, maps the relationships and decision-makers behind it, and produces a brief on the individual you are about to meet from official registries, public filings and published media.
- Companies & people
- Private companies
- APAC registries
- In minutes
The name on the letterhead is rarely the name that decides.
The other side has already researched you. All you have on them is a website and a job title.
The time problem
The meeting is Thursday. Traditional diligence is a subscription plus analyst hours, and both are measured in days you do not have.
The asymmetry problem
Walking in knowing less than the other side is a position you chose. It shows in the first ten minutes, and it costs you on terms.
How it works for dealmakers
Ask in plain language. Know who really holds the power.
Deal Executives
CEOs & founders walking into a partnership, raise, or negotiation.
01 · Ask
“Using Brif, tell me who really makes the decisions at Golden Harbor Logistics (Vietnam) — I'm meeting their MD, Trần Minh Quân, tomorrow.”
02 · Resolve
- The person verified
- Their role and authority mapped
- The owners and directors behind them named
- Track record and local-language press swept
03 · Deliver
You walk in knowing who really holds the power — not just who's in the room.
No new portal. Brif runs inside the tools and AI assistants your team already uses.
The brief
The brief you walk in with.
Six parts, each sourced and dated.
- 01
The entity
Registry identity, status, filings, financial summary and directors — verified, not scraped from a homepage.
You get · Company profile
- 02
The ownership map
Shareholders resolved through corporate and offshore layers to named individuals, with percentages and sources at every step.
You get · Ownership chain
- 03
The person
Career and board history, business and family connections, published media and screening results — on the individual, not the job title.
You get · Person brief
- 04
The opening line
The conversation hooks their history suggests, and the friction points worth avoiding in the first ten minutes.
You get · Meeting notes
- 05
The risk screen
Sanctions, PEP and watchlist results on the company and every person behind it, plus adverse media searched in the language it was published in.
You get · Screening summary
- 06
The connections
Other companies they direct or own, shared directors and related parties — the network around the person, not just their current title.
You get · Relationship map
Run one before you sign anything.
- Acquisition and investment targetsBefore the term sheet.
- Investors, LPs and cap-table entrantsBefore you accept the cheque.
- Partners and joint venturesBefore the structure is set.
- Suppliers and distributorsBefore the first order.
- Board members and senior hiresBefore the announcement.
- New client relationshipsBefore the mandate.
Built for “the meeting is Thursday,” not “we’re evaluating vendors.”
The four kinds of dealmaker Brif was designed around.
Deal Executives
CEOs · Founders · Chiefs of staff
Leaders walking into a partnership, raise or negotiation who need to know who holds the power on the other side.
- Decision-maker and authority mapping
- Background on the person you are meeting
- Pre-negotiation conversation hooks
Bankers
IB · Wealth · Private banking
Bankers vetting clients, targets and deals, and preparing for first meetings with principals.
- Client and principal background checks
- Directorships and connected companies mapped
- Sanctions, PEP and adverse media on the individual
Procurement
Supply chain · BD · JV leads
Teams vetting suppliers, distributors and joint-venture partners in markets they do not read the press of.
- Supplier and distributor vetting
- Real owners behind a trading company
- Local-language fraud and litigation coverage
Consultants
Advisory · Strategy · M&A support
Advisory firms researching a client, target or partner on a deadline, without burning billable hours on the digging.
- Acquisition target background profiles
- Subsidiary and group structure mapping
- Sourced, dated briefs for client deliverables
Enterprise-grade diligence, without the enterprise price tag.
How Brif compares with the two ways most firms run due diligence today.
| Category | The usual wayEnterprise portal | The usual wayDoing it by hand | The Brif wayBrif |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | Priced and staffed for institutions | Analyst hours, or $1K–$3K per check in external fees | A subscription a small firm can absorb |
| Setup | |||
| Setup | Procurement, onboarding, training | Manual, no system to set up | Connect once |
| Ownership tracing | |||
| Ownership tracing | Yes, if you know how to drive it | Manual registry chasing across jurisdictions | Traced to a named person, automatically |
| Local-language media | |||
| Local-language media | Varies by provider | Only if someone on the team reads the language | Screened in the source language |
| Where it lives | |||
| Where it lives | Another portal, another login | Spreadsheets and email | Inside the tools you already use |
| What you get | |||
| What you get | Raw data to interpret | A file you assembled | A sourced report, ready for audit prep |
Questions dealmakers ask first
It is research on the company and the people across the table before you commit — who owns it, who really decides, what their record looks like and what has been reported about them. Brif produces that brief from official registries, filings and published media, inside the AI assistant you already use.
Know them before you meet them
Your next meeting, briefed before you walk in.
The owners, the decision-makers and the person across the table, inside the AI you already use.
- Company & individual briefs
- APAC registries
- Works in ChatGPT & Claude