Your firm can use AI.
The question is who makes it safe.
Most firms in regulated or high-stakes work are stuck between two bad options: ban AI and fall behind, or let staff use public tools and put client data somewhere it should never go. There is a third path. We help you adopt AI responsibly, and we build the infrastructure that makes it real.
AI is an access shift, not a revolution. Enterprise-grade automation is now within reach of smaller firms for the first time. The value was never the model. It is the judgment around it: deciding what data can go where, building verification into every step, and keeping a person on the decisions that carry real risk.
Fixed-fee discovery, then a pilot, then optional retainer. You know the scope and the price before any work starts.
Everyone is selling AI. Almost nobody is making it safe to use.
Every software vendor has rebranded their product as AI-powered. Every consultant is offering to build you a custom assistant. What a firm handling regulated or privileged data actually needs is different: someone who will tell you which tools are worth the cost, which create real exposure, and what has to be true before your team starts pasting client information into a chatbot.
That conversation does not happen when the person across the table earns margin on what you buy. It happens when they have no stake in it. We are independent, and we both advise and build, so the recommendation and the thing we hand you are pointed at the same outcome.
Two tracks. One firm. Same independence.
Govern what you already have, and build what you do not. Most firms need some of both, and the first call decides the mix.
Govern it
Acceptable-use policy, data classification, approved-tools lists, and training that hold up when a cyber insurer, an enterprise client, a SOC 2 auditor, or a regulator asks how you control AI.
- AI acceptable-use policy keyed to a real data classification
- GREEN, YELLOW, RED classification tied to authorization, not document type
- Shadow AI discovery and inventory
- Approved-tools lists, certification, and staff training
- SOC 2 and examination-ready AI governance
- Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness and governance
Build it
Private AI that runs inside your environment so regulated data never touches a public API. Document workflows that automate the repetitive work with an audit trail. Internal tools that replace the manual scripts your team holds together by hand.
- Private AI that runs inside your own cloud or hardware
- Model routing between frontier APIs and local inference
- Document intake and classification with audit trails
- Internal applications that replace manual scripts and spreadsheets
- Identity, access, and managed-browser patterns for safe AI use
- On-premises proofs of concept on dedicated GPU hardware
What this looks like in a regulated firm
Two anonymized engagements. Names left out at client request. The work is real.
Modern AI capability with non-public data that never leaves the firm
A regulated adviser wanted to use AI, but could not put non-public client data into a public tool. Their infrastructure was aging, a fleet-wide reliability issue had dragged on for months, and they had no AI governance an examiner would accept.
We led the SOC 2 program end to end, rebuilt the Azure Files and network architecture, and isolated the true root cause of the reliability issue. We stood up an on-premises AI proof of concept on dedicated GPU hardware and designed conservative, examination-ready governance with a GREEN, YELLOW, RED classification.
The firm uses AI on its own terms, with non-public data staying inside its environment, and began replacing manual operational workflows with custom applications. The governance patterns now carry across other regulated clients.
Document intake automated without giving up a single point of defensibility
A forensic practice was losing billable hours to manual document intake, but every technology choice had to be defensible under cross-examination. Off-the-shelf automation that could not be explained on the stand was not an option.
We migrated the firm to a private two-tier Azure Files architecture reachable only over an encrypted VPN, built governance keyed to authorization rather than document type, and delivered a custom document-intake automation with verify-before-confirm logic, an append-only audit trail, and human-only ratification.
The repetitive document work is automated and fully auditable, while the expert analysis stays with the human who has to answer for it. Autonomy is capped on purpose, so every step the system takes can be explained on the stand.
A Fractional Chief AI Officer, on your side of the table
Most firms between 20 and 250 staff do not need a full-time AI executive. They need senior AI leadership part-time: someone who owns the strategy, the governance, and the build decisions, and who has no incentive to sell you more than you need.
That is what we provide. It folds into a Virtual CTO engagement, also called fractional CTO, as a named lane, or it stands on its own. Either way, the only thing for sale is judgment, backed by the engineering to act on it.
We are not an AI agency. We do not earn margin on the tools you adopt. We make AI safe and useful for firms that cannot afford to get it wrong.
What we bring to an AI engagement
- Independent evaluation of tools with no vendor relationships
- Security and compliance context from your existing risk posture
- Engineering that runs inside your environment, not a third-party black box
- Written findings you can take to your board, your insurer, or an examiner
- Experience translating technical decisions into business language
Get your whole team onto Claude, safely
Private builds are scoped to your firm, but one thing is productized: rolling a team onto Claude with the configuration, policy, and training to use it without creating exposure.
Claude Teams & Enterprise Rollout & Training
Claude Teams or Enterprise, configured to your policy. We co-develop your AI business rules, train every team on them, and certify your people on your own rules, with three months of adoption support.
Not sure which track you need?
Most of these conversations start with someone who knows AI in their business needs attention but is not sure what to do about it. A 30-minute call is enough to tell you whether you need governance, a private build, or both.
Book a 30-Minute CallNo commitment. We tell you honestly whether we can help and what that would look like.
Take the AI Readiness Assessment
Nine questions, five minutes, no email required. A clear read on whether your firm can adopt AI without putting client data, a renewal, or an examination at risk, plus where to focus first.
Start the assessmentFree, anonymous, scored instantly. No email required.
AI Readiness Checklist
The questions every regulated firm should answer before adopting AI
The Regulated Firm's AI Readiness Checklist
Six questions that decide whether your firm can adopt AI without putting client data, a renewal, or an examination at risk. Walk them before your next audit, not after.
- Where client data is leaving your environment through public AI tools
- Whether your AI controls would survive a SOC 2 audit or an examination
- Where a human, not the model, needs to ratify the output
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Common questions
Built for firms where the data matters
AI for SEC-registered advisers and financial firms
Conservative AI governance and private infrastructure that hold up under examination, built for firms handling non-public financial data.
Learn moreAI for accounting, legal, and document-heavy firms
Document automation and governance for litigation-exposed and privilege-sensitive practices, where defensibility is the first requirement.
Learn moreRelated reading
The AI questions that come up most often in these conversations.
- How to Use AI Without Putting Client Data in a Public Tool
- Private AI vs Public AI: What Regulated Firms Need to Know
- AI Document Automation for Professional Services Firms
- AI Governance for SEC-Registered Investment Advisers
- What Is a Fractional Chief AI Officer (And Does Your Firm Need One)?
- AI for Law Firms: What's Safe, What's Not, and How to Tell
Make AI safe to use in your firm.
Start with a 30-minute call. We will tell you honestly whether you need governance, a private build, or both, and what that would look like.
Book a 30-Minute CallFixed-fee discovery, then a pilot, then optional retainer. No resale, no vendor commissions.