AI Contracts & Due Diligence: What Operators, Founders, and Investors Need to Know

Abstract

Whether you’re signing an AI vendor agreement or raising your first round, the commercial and legal groundwork matters more than most people realize. This panel tackles two sides of the same problem: the procurement terms operators are agreeing to, and the diligence questions that are making or breaking AI startup deals.

Jacques Du Plessis and Houtan Mashinchi, lawyers at Osler with deep experience across AI and technology deal flow in Canada, walk through what’s actually in a standard AI vendor contract — data ownership, model training rights, liability caps, IP indemnification — and what diligence questions are live right now for founders and investors. The panel plans to add a founder and/or investor to round out the perspective from the other side of the table. The result is a practical, no-jargon session for anyone signing, negotiating, or evaluating AI agreements.

Note: Proposed as a panel format (multiple presenters).

Key Takeaways

• The procurement clauses that matter most in AI vendor agreements, and the red flags to watch for before signing

• How AI due diligence is evolving, and where founders and investors are still getting it wrong

• What founders should have buttoned up before they raise

• Practical preparation for anyone on either side of an AI commercial agreement