# Frequently asked questions

> Answers on Mindro: IM/CIM creation, the firm brain, the company realm, setups for institutions, MCP and API, implementation services, hosting and regions, EU data residency and security.

URL: https://www.mindro.co/faq
Last updated: 10 October 2026

## Product

**What is Mindro?**
Mindro is an end-to-end AI stack for corporate finance and M&A advisory firms: it turns a firm's own deal history and documents into a firm brain the firm owns, and uses it to create information memoranda, prepare pitches and match buyers, with data in Europe and a full audit trail.

**Who is Mindro for?**
Corporate finance and M&A advisory firms, from boutiques and mid-sized firms to institutions: larger corporate finance and investment banking firms, investment banks, private equity firms, family offices and in-house M&A and corporate development teams.

**What does an information memorandum (IM or CIM) have to do?**
It has to hold everything a buyer needs to make the buying decision and tell a compelling equity story: fully evidenced, triple-checked figures on clean, high-signal slides. Mindro takes on the grunt work so the deal team can focus on the story.

**How does Mindro create an IM?**
Mindro harvests thousands of data points from the client's materials (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF and similar), builds a digital twin of the target and drafts the IM on layouts from your firm's own historic IMs for that sector. At every stage, including the final document, one click takes you from any figure back to its source document. The equity story desk supports the narrative; the deal team owns the result. End-to-end, one-click traceability to source documents at every stage up to the final IM is in use today on live mandates at corporate finance firms.

**How quickly do we get a first draft?**
When the client materials contain enough data, Mindro produces a strong first draft of the IM within the first day after they arrive.

**Which output formats does Mindro produce?**
IM drafts are produced in PowerPoint, on layouts from your firm's own historic IMs. You can export a PDF from there.

**What else does Mindro cover?**
Pitch preparation, with quick access to your firm's historical data and deal history, and buyer matching, which surfaces historic buyer behaviour from your own data combined with web data and third-party data providers such as Gain and Inven. Deal teams can also use Mindro's general project agents for downstream work such as teasers and buyer Q&A.

**What is a firm brain?**
The structured, governed knowledge of your firm: its semantic, episodic and tacit knowledge, such as deal history, precedents, buyer knowledge, models and IM templates. Mindro builds it from your own documents and systems. Your firm owns it, and it is portable by contract.

**What is a digital twin of a target company?**
A structured model of the company built from its documents: financials, commercial, operations, people, market and legal information. Mindro uses it as the single source for the IM, with every figure traceable to its source.

## Setups and services

**Which setups are there?**
Three. Standard: Mindro end-to-end as SaaS, run fully in Europe, which is the default. Connected: MCP and API connections configured per client on request. Institutional: Mindro in your own virtual private cloud, on-premise, on AWS or ring-fenced in another region.

**Does Mindro work with ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Grok Bot?**
Mindro orchestrates Claude, Gemini and Mistral as part of the standard product. In a connected setup, MCP and API connections are configured per client on request, so approved agents such as Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Grok Bot can use the firm brain and Mindro's desks within the access agreed for each tool, based on your NDAs and policies.

**Our team built a proof of concept on Claude. Why not finish it ourselves?**
Because the last stretch is the hard part. Getting an AI workflow from 0 to 90% reliability takes about as much effort as getting it from 90 to 99%, a widely known engineering principle, and M&A work needs near-99% because everything must be evidenced. Ask who your engineer is: the person with the time and skills to take it from 90 to 99%. With Mindro, forward-deployed engineers and engineering hours in every plan do that work with your team. [Who is your engineer?](https://www.mindro.co/build-vs-buy#who-is-your-engineer)

**Can we build this ourselves on Claude?**
You can build agents on Claude, and many AI working groups do. Running live mandates also needs security, EU infrastructure, a semantic layer over your deal history, evaluations, connectors and an audit trail. Mindro provides that layer, so your team can keep Claude and build the agents and workflows on top. [Build or buy? A guide for AI working groups](https://www.mindro.co/build-vs-buy)

**Where are most corporate finance firms on their AI journey?**
McKinsey describes three horizons of AI transformation: enablement, automation and reinvention; in its July 2026 survey only 11% of leaders say their organisation has reached reinvention. From our conversations with more than 100 M&A leaders in Europe, most corporate finance firms are still in enablement. Mindro takes firms to automation, with governed, evidenced deal workflows, and helps them prepare for reinvention. [Three horizons](https://www.mindro.co/build-vs-buy#three-horizons)

**Can we use Mindro alongside Microsoft Copilot?**
Yes. Many firms use Microsoft Copilot for everyday Microsoft 365 work, such as email, documents and meetings, and Mindro for everything tied to a mandate: IM creation, pitch preparation, buyer matching and client deal material. In a configured setup, Copilot can be connected to Mindro for less sensitive work, while mandate data stays in Mindro. Mindro also offers Microsoft 365 add-ins. [Mindro vs Microsoft Copilot](https://www.mindro.co/compare/mindro-vs-microsoft-copilot#together)

**Is there a public API or MCP server?**
No. MCP and API connections are configured per client on request; they are not public and not self-serve.

**Do we need our own developers?**
No. Implementation, training and data and AI engineering by Mindro's forward-deployed engineers and data scientists are included in every plan.

**Which services are included?**
Transformation support (a dedicated Teams channel, office hours, power-user one-to-one sessions, a 2-4 hour AI training and workshop, an agent mini hackathon and refresher training after 3-6 months), AI strategy, change management, process re-engineering, and a set number of data and AI engineering hours per month.

## Data and security

**What is the company realm?**
Mindro's governed data layer. All your confidential client and deal data is processed in one compliant environment, stored and processed in Europe and never used for training. Every data access is logged by user, tool and time, so it is fully traceable and auditable.

**Can we control which AI tools see which data?**
Yes, in an Institutional or connected setup. When other AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Grok Bot are connected, Mindro and your firm agree which data levels each tool may use, based on your NDAs and policies. This is configured per client and is not part of the standard product. [How the company realm works](https://www.mindro.co/company-realm)

**Where is my data stored?**
The standard SaaS runs fully in Europe and EU data residency is guaranteed. Additional (non-EU) models are only used if you explicitly ask for them.

**Can Mindro run in our own cloud or in other regions?**
Yes. Mindro can run in your own virtual private cloud or on-premise. An AWS-based setup is possible on request, which also allows OpenAI models, and for international clients the deployment can be ring-fenced in other regions on request.

**How is data encrypted?**
With TLS 1.2+ in transit and AES-256 at rest.

**Is there an audit trail?**
Yes. Every data access is logged by user, tool and time, so it is fully traceable and auditable.

**Is my data used to train AI models?**
No. We do not train on your data.

## Integrations

**Which integrations does Mindro support?**
SharePoint is Mindro's deep, proven integration: it unlocks thousands of firm documents and makes them available to AI and AI agents. Mindro also connects to your CRM, email, meeting notetakers and Microsoft 365 add-ins, and to third-party data providers such as Gain and Inven. Mindro orchestrates Claude, Gemini and Mistral.