FRACTIONAL AI · $10K/MONTH · ENTERPRISE
Your turnkey AI department.
YOUR JOURNEY
Coaching → Workshops → Sprint → AI Department → Innovation Lab
Building an in-house AI team takes months, costs $500K+ per year in senior talent alone, and carries enormous hiring risk. The AI Department program gives you Aspiro's full team: strategic advisory, leadership coaching, development, ROI analytics, and access to development teams, at a fraction of the cost, starting immediately. Based in Toronto, we serve mid-market and enterprise clients across the United States and Canada.
BOOK A DEPARTMENT CONVERSATION
THE AMAZON PRIME MODEL FOR AI
Think of it as Amazon Prime for AI capability. One monthly fee. Unlimited access to the resources you need, when you need them. Priced the way we would want them if we were our client.
- Fractional Chief of AI advisory: strategy, governance, vendor evaluation, team direction
- Weekly or bi-weekly leadership coaching (CEO, COO, or AI leads)
- Development and data science access at deeply reduced rates
- Project management included in development engagements
- ROI tracking dashboards and KPI reporting built to your metrics
- Reduced scoping fees
- Access to Aspiro tools, frameworks, and partner network
FLEXIBLE DEPARTMENT STRUCTURES
Structure 1: Internal Department
Our partners manage your in-house or offshore AI and IT resources. Structured for your balance sheet and IP protection. Full recruitment, management, and vendor oversight. We work inside your company-owned IT tenant. IP, data, and solutions remain entirely within your ecosystem.
Best for: Companies that want a dedicated, ongoing AI function as an internal team. Strong data protection, enterprise value creation, and AI operating as a complementary business capability.
Structure 2: Strategic Partnership / MSP
Managed service provider model for AI and IT. We partner with your organization as an external resource, giving your company a more streamlined and focused approach to building and managing what you need while keeping Operations, HR, and executive functions in the loop.
Best for: Organizations looking for a leaner approach to AI solutions that blends the flexibility of a contractor with the aligned financial structure of a company insider.
"The COO moved from AI-curious to AI-confident in 8 weeks. They now lead internal AI strategy conversations and are developing their first pilot." Aspiro engagement summary, Major North American Automotive Retail Group
WHY THIS MATTERS RIGHT NOW
If you do nothing
AI decisions get made ad hoc by vendors and internal champions. Tools sprawl, data risk creeps in, and your best people spend their time stitching things together instead of leading. Six months later, you have spend, but not a strategy.
With an AI department
You get a clear owner for AI, a simple plan your team believes in, and a way to say yes and no to ideas without guesswork. The feeling for your leaders is relief and momentum, not FOMO. The feeling for your board is that you have a real plan.
REPORTING STRUCTURE
We embed as a part of your organization. Reporting line is typically directly to the COO or CEO. Our job is to make your leaders see their AI investments clearly: what's working, what isn't, and what to do next. We build dashboards that make ROI visible, not theoretical.
WHAT THIS IS NOT
- Not a staffing agency: we don't just fill a role, we own outcomes
- Not a software vendor: we don't have a tool to sell you
- Not a traditional MSP: we advise before we build, always
- Not locked in perpetually: engagements are structured around outcomes, not tenure
STARTING AT
$10,000 / month.
Minimum three-month commitment for new engagements. Month-to-month after the initial term. Development, data science, and additional advisory billed at retainer rates, significantly below standard market rates.
One senior AI hire costs $150K–$250K/year in salary alone, before recruiting fees, benefits, or the ramp time to productivity. The Department retainer starts immediately, at a fraction of that cost, with a full team behind it.
FAQ
How is this different from hiring a Chief of AI?
A Chief of AI hire takes 3–6 months to find, costs $200K+ per year in salary, and arrives without a team. The Department retainer starts in weeks, includes Aspiro's full team across AI strategy, development, data science, and governance, and is structured around your outcomes.
Who do we interact with day-to-day?
Ross leads the strategic advisory and coaching relationship. Vahid leads ROI tracking and analytics. Rohan leads development and engineering. Himanshu provides governance and responsible AI advisory. You have access to the full team.
Can we scale up or down?
Yes. The retainer covers the base advisory and coaching. Development, data science, and additional projects are scoped and billed at retainer rates. You scale the team's involvement up or down based on what you're building.
Who owns the IP on what we build?
You do. Always. Our job is to build things that work for your business, not to own your data or your solutions.
NEXT STEP