Assessment
8 min
AI/ML Governance
EU AI Act · NIST AI RMF · ISO/IEC 42001 · SR 26-2
Start the assessment
Senior data and AI leadership for tech startups going to enterprise scale.
For Series A–C startups going from product-market fit to production.
Production ML, AI/ML governance procurement signs off on, and fractional data leadership — at startup pace, with the senior depth normally reserved for enterprise consulting.
Common roadblocks
Is your programme delivering? Common challenges we see in technology startups.
- To
Models in production with the lifecycle to match
Feature stores, deployment pipelines, monitoring, retraining triggers. The whole loop, not the demo.
- To
A modern stack built for 10× growth
dbt + transformation layer + semantic layer. Scales horizontally; no forklift upgrade in 18 months.
- To
Procurement-ready governance evidence
Model cards, validation packs, lineage maps, risk classifications. The package enterprise procurement actually accepts.
- To
Agentic systems your buyers will trust
Hallucination control, immutable audit trails, PII handling, human-in-the-loop where regulators expect it.
- To
Senior data input, sized to your stage
Fractional CDO 8–12 days a month: hiring panels, board updates, architecture decisions. Scales with you.
- To
Regulated-buyer readiness, pre-emptively
EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, SOC 2 alignment baked into the product before the enterprise pilot asks.
From
ML models stuck in notebooks
Prototype works on the data scientist's laptop. Production deployment, monitoring, and retraining are still on the wishlist.
Transformation
To
Models in production with the lifecycle to match
Feature stores, deployment pipelines, monitoring, retraining triggers. The whole loop, not the demo.
From
Data infrastructure not ready for AI scale
The warehouse worked at 100 customers. At 10,000, it's becoming the bottleneck.
Transformation
To
A modern stack built for 10× growth
dbt + transformation layer + semantic layer. Scales horizontally; no forklift upgrade in 18 months.
From
Governance gaps blocking enterprise sales
Procurement keeps asking for SOC 2, model documentation, data lineage — the team doesn't have answers ready.
Transformation
To
Procurement-ready governance evidence
Model cards, validation packs, lineage maps, risk classifications. The package enterprise procurement actually accepts.
From
GenAI agents without guardrails
The demo is impressive, but the path to production has hallucination control, audit trails, and PII handling that aren't done.
Transformation
To
Agentic systems your buyers will trust
Hallucination control, immutable audit trails, PII handling, human-in-the-loop where regulators expect it.
From
Hiring a CDO too early — or too late
Can't justify a full-time hire, but the founder is making data calls without senior input that would have prevented expensive rework.
Transformation
To
Senior data input, sized to your stage
Fractional CDO 8–12 days a month: hiring panels, board updates, architecture decisions. Scales with you.
From
Compliance frameworks for regulated buyers
Enterprise customers in finance, healthcare, government expect AI governance evidence the startup hasn't produced.
Transformation
To
Regulated-buyer readiness, pre-emptively
EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, SOC 2 alignment baked into the product before the enterprise pilot asks.
What we deliver
Six concrete capabilities, applied to technology startups.
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Fractional Head of Data
Senior data and ML leadership 8–12 days a month: team management, technical decisions, stakeholder representation, regulator-facing accountability — without the full-time hire.
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MLOps & feature stores
Production ML lifecycle — feature stores, training pipelines, deployment, monitoring. dbt, Vertex AI, SageMaker, Databricks.
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GenAI agent design with guardrails
LangGraph and agentic systems with hallucination control, audit trails, PII handling, and human-in-the-loop where regulators expect it.
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Governance for enterprise sales
AI/ML governance documentation that closes enterprise deals — model cards, validation evidence, risk classification. Ready before the meeting.
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Data platform scaling
Warehouse, transformation, semantic layer, BI — built to handle 10× growth without a forklift upgrade.
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Regulated-industry readiness
Pre-emptive compliance work for startups selling into banks, insurers, hospitals, government. EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, SOC 2 alignment baked in.
Outcomes
What technology startups actually want from a senior data programme.
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Models in production, not in notebooks — operational ML lifecycle from training through monitoring.
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Data infrastructure that scales 10× — modern stack, transformation, governance — without rebuilding next year.
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Enterprise procurement unblocked — governance evidence ready when the procurement team asks.
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GenAI demos that survive review — guardrails, audit trails, and PII handling built in.
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Senior data input without full-time hire — fractional CDO leadership matched to your stage.
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Regulated buyer readiness — compliance posture aligned to where your enterprise customers actually live.
Why us
The credibility that backs the work.
- 01
Fintech production ML track record
Shipped event-sourced analytics, agentic workflows, and on-chain credit/risk intelligence.
- 02
Regulated-buyer fluency
We know the AI/ML governance evidence enterprise procurement asks for — because we've shipped it from inside the regulated industries that ask for it.
- 03
Senior depth without enterprise consulting overhead
Operator pace, founder-friendly engagement structure.
Free benchmark
Want to benchmark your own programme against EU AI Act & NIST AI RMF?
Under 10 minutes. Free, personalised report.
Selected work
From production-ML delivery.
Ways to engage
Three productised paths in.
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Engagement Fractional Head of Data
Monthly retainer
Senior data leadership without the full-time hire. 8–12 days a month: team management, stakeholder representation, build oversight, regulator-facing accountability. We embed in your operational rhythm — leadership team meetings, board updates, vendor relationships, hiring panels. The CDO function, on retainer.
USD $10,000–$18,000 / month
3-month minimum
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Engagement Data & AI Sprint
6 weeks
Six weeks of focused delivery for startups moving ML from prototype to production. Outputs: architecture review, foundations gap analysis, team capability assessment, deployment roadmap, plus the AI governance evidence enterprise procurement asks for.
USD $15,000–$18,000
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Engagement The CDO Diagnostic
2 weeks
Two weeks. A senior assessment of your data, AI, or risk programme — the way a CDO would diagnose it from the inside. You walk away with a 10-page report, an opportunity map, and three quick-win recommendations.
USD $2,500 introductory (first 3 only) / $5,000 standard
Adjacent benchmark
Operating across multiple jurisdictions?
Benchmark against KSA PDPL · GDPR · UK GDPR. Free, 10 minutes.
Assessment
10 min
Data Privacy Readiness
KSA PDPL · GDPR · UK GDPR · AU Privacy Act · India DPDPA · CCPA/CPRA
Start the assessmentBuilding production ML for enterprise customers? Let's talk about what governance looks like before you need it.
A thirty-minute discovery call — no deck, no pitch. We talk about your AI/ML roadmap, where you are with governance, and whether senior data leadership is what you actually need next.