NDA example · Startups and venture capital

Mutual NDA Example for Startup Investment Talks

A 5-page mutual NDA for startup due diligence: purpose, data room phases, a clean team for sensitive data, no obligation to invest and no hiring.

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At a glance

This example in numbers

About this example

This example is a mutual non-disclosure agreement between a robotics startup and the venture arm of an industrial company that is considering leading its Series A. Both sides share confidential information, from financials and the cap table to technical designs, and the agreement makes clear that the fact of the talks is itself confidential.

Investment talks with a strategic investor need more care than a standard NDA, because the investor's parent company may sell to the same customers. So this agreement shares information in two phases, keeps customer contracts and pricing to a named clean team, and never shares source code. It also says that nobody is obliged to invest, bars hiring each other's staff for a year, and covers return of information and backups, all alongside a due diligence plan with target dates.

Who it is for

Startup founders, corporate venture teams and angel or venture investors who exchange confidential information during due diligence.

Inside and how to use it

What this example contains, and how to make it yours

What's inside

  • A title page and a summary of the purpose, term and key protections
  • A due diligence plan with target dates
  • Mutual terms on purpose, confidential information and who may see it
  • A table of what is shared in each data room phase and with whom
  • Why and how a clean team handles sensitive data
  • No obligation to invest, no hiring, return of information and signatures

How to adapt it

  • Make the fact of the talks confidential too
  • Share in phases and keep sensitive data to a clean team
  • Say plainly that nobody is obliged to do the deal
  • Name what is never shared, such as source code

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