Talbot West

AI will make M&A deals faster, smarter, and more profitable. But are companies blind to the risks? The KPMG 2025 M&A Deal Market Study shows 77% of dealmakers plan to use AI in their M&A process. (Great report filled with useful insights. Thanks, Carole W Streicher and Dean Bell!) Early adopters focus on three areas: 1. Deal evaluation: AI helps identify promising acquisition targets by analyzing market signals across thousands of companies. 2. Due diligence: AI assists human reviewers by flagging potential issues in contracts and financial documents. 3. Value creation: The top AI application (71% of respondents) centers on better synergy identification and integration planning. There are major wins to be had by implementing AI in Quality of Earnings reports, regulatory compliance, and lots of other areas. Too bad that commercial AI tools send sensitive deal data to external servers. This creates unacceptable risk for confidential M&A work. Talbot West's CHAI framework offers a secure alternative with on-premises deployment that keeps deal data protected. Our modular approach maintains human oversight while automating repetitive analysis tasks. As AI adoption in M&A accelerates, firms with secure, explainable systems will gain the edge. #mergersandaquisitions #ai #CHAI Image credit KPMG.

Two thieves. Two risk scores. Two completely wrong predictions. 18-year-old Brisha Borden stole a kid's bike worth $80. The algorithm labeled her HIGH RISK for future crimes. 41-year-old Vernon Prater stole $86 of tools. Despite multiple armed robbery convictions, the algorithm scored him LOW RISK. Two years later: Borden committed NO new crimes. Prater was serving 8 YEARS for stealing thousands in electronics. Borden is Black. Prater is white. A ProPublica investigation revealed COMPAS—a risk assessment algorithm used in courtrooms nationwide to help judges make bail and sentencing decisions—was TWICE as likely to flag Black defendants as future criminals falsely. COMPAS operates as a complete black box. Its creators refuse to reveal how it calculates risk scores, calling the formula "proprietary." Judges make life-altering decisions using a system they can't scrutinize or understand. This should not be allowed. Opaque AI decisionmaking has no place in the legal system. Or in defense. Or healthcare. Or any other high-stakes environment. High-stakes decisionmaking demands explainability. At Talbot West, we're addressing this critical need with our Cognitive Hive AI (CHAI) architecture. Unlike monolithic black-box systems, CHAI uses a modular approach where specialized AI modules work together, creating transparent decision trails. Each component's contribution is visible and traceable, allowing users to understand how conclusions are reached. This transparency enables accountability and builds trust. The future of responsible AI isn't in secretive algorithms but in explainable systems that maintain human oversight while delivering powerful results. #ResponsibleAI #ExplainableAI #TalbotWest #CHAI

Avoid the "simplification tax" when implementing reinforcement learning AI systems to solve enterprise or public sector use cases. Reinforcement learning is the future of enterprise AI. But... It needs to upgrade from single-agent to ensemble to be practical for complex organizational use cases. Reinforcement learning has driven huge strides in AI. It's what's allowed AI to beat world champions in chess, Go, and other games. RL doesn't tell an AI how to do a job. It tells it what job to do and lets the AI figure out the how. That works great for static environments (the rules and parameters of chess never change). In recent years, RL has demonstrated an ability to adapt to dynamic environments as well. For example, in autonomous vehicles, RL agents can adapt to changing traffic, weather conditions, and other fluctuations. That's cool, but still incredibly simplistic for organizational intelligence. Road conditions are dynamic across one axis of variability. Organizations operate within a multi-dimensional space of variability. ?? Multiple competing objectives (not just one: "get your passengers to their destination safely") that need to be balanced, and that constantly shift in relation to one another. ?? Diverse knowledge types that can't be integrated into a single framework—from rigid compliance rules to fuzzy brand guidelines to statistical market patterns. ?? Incremental evolution requirements where updating one aspect shouldn't require retraining everything—like updating your sales approach without disrupting accounting. ?? Deep causal understanding beyond pattern recognition—knowing not just that correlation exists but understanding multi-step cause-effect chains that drive business outcomes. ?? Etc (many more dimensions of variability, depending on the specific use case, industry, etc) This multi-dimensional complexity is why single-agent RL inevitably introduces a "simplification tax." Cognitive Hive AI (CHAI) is an ensemble approach distributes intelligence across specialized modules that coordinate through an economic framework—just like your organization distributes decisions across specialized teams that coordinate through management. The future belongs to AI architectures that handle and adapt to multidimensional complexity rather than artificially simplifying it. Check out my new piece on reinforcement learning and CHAI. Link in comments. #ReinforcementLearning #EnterpriseAI #CHAI #CognitiveHiveAI

Welcome to 47G, Talbot West! ?? Talbot West brings Fortune 500-level AI expertise to mid-market organizations and combines white glove business process consulting with cutting-edge AI development. The firm's enterprise automation experience informs its practical, results-focused approach to AI implementation. Talbot West's Cognitive Hive AI (CHAI) framework is a modular, adaptable approach that outperforms black-box AI models. CHAI enables precise configuration of AI capabilities while maintaining clear explainability and extreme adaptability. Through this MOSA-compliant architecture, Talbot West builds any AI capability to specification, from intelligent middleware to complete organizational systems. Whether integrating legacy systems or building custom solutions, Talbot West delivers exactly what clients need through careful discovery and implementation. The firm's system-of-systems approach creates true organizational intelligence rather than isolated point solutions. This comprehensive strategy, backed by deep technical expertise and a client-first focus, ensures solutions that drive real business value. For more info, visit them at https://talbotwest.com/ We're excited to welcome Talbot West to the 47G family! Jacob Andra Stephen Karafiath Nikki Andra

Talbot West empowers sales organizations in 2 ways: 1. AI efficiency that makes your sales team far more effective 2. Opening up public sector revenue channels Let's talk about the AI part: ?? Virtual onboarding and training through AI agents that simulate customer interactions, letting new reps practice pitches and objection handling without consuming senior reps' time ?? Knowledge management that captures and distributes your team's collective expertise, making best practices and winning strategies instantly available to all reps ?? Automated administrative tasks like data entry, meeting scheduling, and activity tracking, giving reps more time for actual selling ?? Lead scoring and opportunity assessment based on past deal analysis, helping teams focus on prospects most likely to close ?? Sales content automation that generates personalized pitches, proposals, and presentations in minutes instead of hours ?? Real-time coaching during customer calls, suggesting responses and flagging potential concerns as conversations happen ?? Pipeline risk detection that spots troubled deals early enough for corrective action ?? Competitive intelligence gathering and analysis that keeps teams updated on market movements and competitor activities Now for the public sector enablement component. Our superstar team has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for companies such as Oracle, SalesForce, and DocuSign, building out their public-sector sales organizations. Now, we're offering the same battle-tested strategies to our clients as part of a government sales enablement consulting package. Here are the sorts of aspects we guide you through: ?? Vertical fit analysis for your product ?? Target agency identification ?? Certification requirements (FedRAMP, StateRAMP, IL4) ?? Go-to-market strategy development ?? Contracts & Compliance ?? NASPO setup assistance ?? GSA schedule guidance ?? Certification process navigation ?? Security compliance planning ?? Territory planning and design ?? Compensation structure guidance ?? Sales operations framework setup ?? Pipeline development strategy ?? Vertical-specific sales plays ?? Government-focused content creation ?? Team training on procurement processes ?? Webinar and event planning ?? Lobbyist strategy development ?? Agency targeting plans ?? Relationship building guidance ?? Engagement planning ?? CRM setup for government sales ?? Sales process documentation ?? Pipeline tracking implementation ?? Performance metrics setup Whether you want to open up government sales, make your sales process much more effective, or both, talk to Talbot West. https://lnkd.in/gBqU7gXG

Talbot West and Crewe Capital creating some magic together. Not only did we practice our putting game; we hammered out a plan for AI to supercharge operations both for investment banking and asset management, as well as for Main Street businesses looking for a higher valuation on exit. Thanks, Darren Siegrist and Richard Bennett for hosting us. It was super refreshing to talk to people who really get the vision. #AI #artificialintelligence #finance #investmentbanking

$400 million. That's how much Prudential's AI initiative just added to their bottom line through productivity gains. The insurance giant achieved a 10% productivity boost through strategic AI implementation. Here's the real impact: ?? Work capacity equivalent to 4,000 new employees without expanding headcount ?? Underwriting process slashed from 20 days to minutes ?? Accelerated claims processing creating better customer experiences ?? Enhanced data analysis driving sharper business decisions For an enterprise like Prudential, this level of efficiency gain flows straight to EBITDA. At standard industry multiples, we're looking at a potential $5 billion increase in enterprise value. Prudential's success came from targeted implementation in high-impact areas rather than broad, unfocused AI adoption. This win proves a crucial point: In the race for AI advantage, execution quality matters more than speed to market. #AI #FinancialServices #artificialintelligence Link to YouTube video in comments.

The Talbot West crew at Utah Tech Week. Making great connections and spreading the gospel of modular, explainable AI solutions.