Diligent boosts AI-native third-party risk management by acquiring 3rdRisk, an AI-native third-party risk management platform from the Netherlands, strengthening its governance, risk and compliance (GRC) suite with expanded automation and real-time insight into vendor ecosystems.

The strategic acquisition, announced on January 14, 2026, enhances Diligent’s ability to help risk and compliance leaders manage increasingly complex external supply chains and IT vendor risks by embedding AI capabilities that automate profiling, assessments and contract analysis across the extended enterprise.

The Growing Importance of Third-Party Risk Management

Third-party risk management has rapidly evolved from a back-office compliance function into a strategic priority for executive leadership and boards. Organizations today rely on extensive networks of technology vendors, cloud service providers, consultants, contractors, and global suppliers to operate efficiently. While these partnerships drive innovation and scale, they also introduce significant risks.

Cybersecurity breaches, data privacy violations, regulatory non-compliance, operational disruptions, and financial instability can all originate from third parties. High-profile supply chain attacks and vendor-related incidents over the past several years have underscored how vulnerabilities outside an organization’s direct control can quickly escalate into enterprise-wide crises.

As a result, regulators, auditors, and boards are demanding more rigorous oversight of third-party relationships. Traditional approaches—often built around spreadsheets, periodic questionnaires, and manual document reviews—are proving inadequate in the face of growing scale and complexity. This environment has created strong demand for intelligent, automated solutions that can provide continuous, real-time insight into third-party risk.

Why Diligent Acquired 3rdRisk

Diligent’s acquisition of 3rdRisk directly addresses these challenges. 3rdRisk was built from the ground up as an AI-native platform, designed to automate and modernize the way organizations identify, assess, and monitor risks across their vendor ecosystems.

By bringing 3rdRisk into its portfolio, Diligent enhances its ability to deliver a unified GRC platform that extends beyond internal governance and compliance to include robust, scalable third-party risk management. The acquisition aligns with Diligent’s long-term strategy of embedding artificial intelligence across its products to reduce manual effort, improve insight quality, and accelerate decision-making.

For customers, the combined offering means they can manage board governance, enterprise risk, compliance, audit, and vendor risk within a single, integrated platform—supported by AI that operates continuously rather than episodically.

AI-Native Automation Transforms Vendor Risk Processes

One of the most compelling aspects of 3rdRisk’s technology is its ability to automate processes that have historically consumed significant time and resources. Vendor risk management often involves repetitive tasks such as collecting information, reviewing documentation, scoring assessments, and tracking remediation actions.

3rdRisk applies AI to streamline and enhance these activities, enabling organizations to:

• Automatically profile vendors based on risk exposure, criticality, and regulatory relevance

• Orchestrate assessment workflows that adapt to vendor risk levels

• Analyze contracts, certifications, and policy documents using AI-driven document intelligence

• Continuously monitor changes in vendor risk posture rather than relying on annual reviews

This automation allows risk teams to achieve audit readiness and compliance milestones far more quickly—often in weeks instead of months—while maintaining higher levels of accuracy and consistency.

Shifting Risk Teams From Manual Work to Strategic Oversight

A key benefit of AI-enabled third-party risk management is the ability to refocus human expertise where it matters most. Rather than spending large portions of their time on data collection and administrative tasks, risk professionals can concentrate on higher-value activities such as interpreting insights, engaging with stakeholders, and shaping risk strategy.

Diligent’s leadership has emphasized that AI is not intended to replace human judgment, but to augment it. By removing manual barriers, AI enables risk and compliance teams to operate more proactively—identifying emerging issues earlier, prioritizing remediation efforts, and providing clearer guidance to executive leadership and boards.

This shift is especially important as organizations face growing volumes of third-party relationships and increasingly complex regulatory expectations.

Elevating Third-Party Risk to the Boardroom

Third-party risk is no longer a purely operational concern. For many organizations, it has become a board-level issue, particularly in highly regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, energy, and technology.

The integration of 3rdRisk into Diligent’s GRC platform strengthens the connection between operational risk management and board oversight. Risk leaders can provide boards with clearer, more timely visibility into vendor-related exposures and how those risks impact the organization’s overall risk profile.

This transparency supports better governance by enabling boards to ask informed questions, allocate resources effectively, and hold management accountable for risk mitigation efforts across the extended enterprise.

Leadership Perspective on the Acquisition

Bram Ketting, co-founder and CEO of 3rdRisk, highlighted the transformational role AI can play in third-party risk management. He emphasized that the future of vendor risk oversight lies in removing friction and inefficiency, allowing teams to focus on meaningful risk governance rather than administrative overhead.

From Diligent’s perspective, the acquisition reinforces its mission to empower organizations with tools that provide clarity, confidence, and control in an increasingly complex risk environment. By combining Diligent’s scale, global customer base, and governance expertise with 3rdRisk’s AI-native innovation, the company aims to set a new standard for third-party risk management.

Strengthening the Diligent One Platform

The acquisition of 3rdRisk builds on Diligent’s broader investment in artificial intelligence across the Diligent One Platform. Over recent years, Diligent has introduced multiple AI-powered capabilities designed to enhance governance, risk, and compliance workflows.

These include:

• GovernAI, which supports governance workflows and decision-making

• AI Risk Essentials, which enhances enterprise risk identification and assessment

• AI-driven insights across audit, compliance, and board reporting functions

By adding AI-native third-party risk management to this ecosystem, Diligent moves closer to delivering a truly end-to-end GRC platform where risks—both internal and external—can be managed holistically.

Addressing Supply Chain and IT Vendor Risk at Scale

Modern organizations often manage hundreds or even thousands of third-party relationships, many of which are deeply embedded in critical operations. Cloud service providers, software vendors, logistics partners, and outsourcing firms all represent potential points of failure if not properly governed.

The combined Diligent-3rdRisk solution helps organizations scale their risk management efforts without proportionally increasing headcount or complexity. AI-driven automation ensures that risk assessments and monitoring processes remain consistent, even as vendor ecosystems grow and evolve.

This scalability is particularly valuable for organizations operating globally, where regulatory requirements, risk profiles, and vendor practices can vary significantly across regions.

Supporting Regulatory Compliance and Audit Readiness

Regulators worldwide are placing greater emphasis on third-party risk governance, particularly in areas such as data protection, operational resilience, and cybersecurity. Frameworks from financial regulators, privacy authorities, and industry bodies increasingly require organizations to demonstrate robust oversight of their vendor relationships.

The enhanced capabilities enabled by the 3rdRisk acquisition help organizations meet these expectations by providing clear documentation, traceability, and evidence of continuous risk management. Automated workflows and AI-driven analysis reduce the likelihood of gaps or inconsistencies that could lead to regulatory findings or audit issues.

Competitive Implications in the GRC Market

The GRC software market is becoming increasingly competitive as organizations seek integrated, intelligent solutions rather than fragmented tools. Diligent’s acquisition of 3rdRisk strengthens its competitive position by addressing one of the most pressing pain points for risk and compliance leaders.

AI-native third-party risk management differentiates Diligent from providers that rely on more traditional, rules-based approaches. As organizations prioritize efficiency, real-time insight, and scalability, platforms that embed AI at their core are likely to gain traction.

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI-Driven Risk Management

The integration of 3rdRisk into Diligent’s platform signals a broader shift in how organizations will manage risk in the coming years. As AI capabilities mature, risk management is expected to become more continuous, predictive, and integrated across functions.

Future developments may include deeper predictive analytics, expanded external data sources, and tighter integration between risk insights and business decision-making. By investing early in AI-native solutions, Diligent positions itself to lead this evolution and support customers as risk landscapes continue to change.

Conclusion

Diligent’s acquisition of 3rdRisk marks a significant milestone in the evolution of third-party risk management. By embedding AI-native automation and intelligence into its GRC platform, Diligent is equipping organizations with the tools they need to manage complex vendor ecosystems more effectively, transparently, and proactively.

As third-party risk continues to rise on executive and board agendas, the ability to gain real-time insight, reduce manual effort, and strengthen governance across the extended enterprise will be critical. With this acquisition, Diligent reinforces its role as a trusted partner for organizations navigating today’s increasingly interconnected and risk-intensive business environment.

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