Chelsea AI Ventures
Strategic AI Consulting

Fractional Head of AI

C-suite AI expertise without full-time commitment. Strategy, validation, and execution for scaling businesses.

Our Purpose

To provide senior AI leadership that owns your roadmap, de-risks investments through validation-first methodology, and guides execution without permanent headcount commitment. Most AI consultants provide recommendations and leave. Full-time Heads of AI execute but require £250k+ salaries, recruitment fees, and long-term commitment. Most scaling businesses need something in between: a senior leader who owns the strategy without requiring a permanent seat. Our Fractional Head of AI service provides C-suite caliber expertise for a set number of days per month.

Key Benefits

  • Strategic Ownership: A senior leader who owns your AI roadmap and briefs your board.
  • Risk Reduction: Validate feasibility with fixed-price PoCs before major investment.
  • Cost-Effective: C-suite caliber expertise at a fraction of £250k+ salary and recruitment fees.
  • Evaluation-Driven: We define success metrics before writing code, escalate complexity only when data demands it.
  • Flexible Commitment: Scale engagement up or down as your AI maturity evolves.

Service Overview

Strategic AI leadership on-demand. We own the roadmap, validate through PoCs, and deliver measurable business impact without the cost or risk of a full-time hire.

Pain Points We Address

  • No clear owner of AI strategy and execution
  • AI projects that burn capital without delivering P&L impact
  • Can't justify or find a qualified full-time Head of AI
  • Consultants who recommend but don't execute
  • Uncertainty about what's technically feasible versus vendor hype

Our Approach

Currently, about 95% of AI projects fail to deliver P&L impact. This happens because teams jump to the most complex solution before defining success. We invert this process. Our engagement begins by establishing North Star metrics and evaluation datasets. Only once success is measurable do we build. We then validate feasibility through fixed-price, time-boxed PoCs that test the technology against your specific business complexity. This de-risks major investments and provides empirical evidence for board-level decisions. Once validated, we guide implementation using Evaluation-Driven Development: simplest sufficient solution first, escalating complexity only when metrics demand it. Our leaders work embedded with your team. We can operate purely strategically: setting roadmaps, briefing boards, enabling teams, or hands-on when technical depth is required, reviewing code, architecting systems, and debugging pipelines. The engagement scales with your needs: more days during critical initiatives, fewer during steady-state execution. We support both commercial and open-source models, with a focus on privacy-first, sovereign AI solutions where appropriate.

Example Use Cases

  • Scaling SMEs: Establish AI strategy and roadmap without full-time hire commitment.
  • Failed AI Initiatives: Course-correct projects that burned capital without ROI.
  • Board-Level Guidance: Translate technical decisions into business outcomes for investors and leadership.
  • Proof of Concept Validation: De-risk major AI investments with time-boxed feasibility studies.
  • Engineering Team Enablement: Guide internal teams on architecture, tooling, and best practices.
  • Privacy-First AI: Design on-premise or open-source solutions for regulated industries.

Typical Deliverables

  • AI Strategy and Roadmap aligned with business objectives
  • Fixed-price Proof of Concept reports with feasibility assessments
  • Evaluation frameworks with North Star metrics and test datasets
  • Architecture reviews and technical guidance for engineering teams
  • Board-level presentations and investor briefings
  • Implementation oversight and delivery management

What Makes Us Different

  • We own outcomes, not just provide advice. Embedded with your team for continuity.
  • PoC-first methodology. We validate before you commit major capital.
  • Evaluation-Driven Development. Metrics first, tools second, complexity last.
  • Hands-on when needed. We review architecture, guide engineers, debug systems.
  • Privacy and sovereignty focus. Support for on-premise and open-source solutions.

Problem Solved

Who owns your AI roadmap? For most scaling businesses, the answer is unclear. Consultants provide recommendations but don’t execute. Full-time Heads of AI require £250k+ salaries, recruitment fees, and long-term commitment that may not be justified yet. Meanwhile, AI projects fail to deliver P&L impact because teams jump to complex solutions before defining success.

There’s a critical gap: businesses need senior AI leadership that owns strategy, validates feasibility, and guides execution without permanent headcount commitment. Our Fractional Head of AI service fills this gap. We provide C-suite caliber expertise on-demand, working embedded with your team to establish metrics, de-risk investments through time-boxed PoCs, and deliver only what drives measurable business outcomes. You get strategic ownership, technical depth, and board-level guidance at a fraction of the cost and risk of a full-time hire.

Ready to transform your business with AI?

Contact us today to discuss your specific AI needs and discover how Chelsea AI Ventures can help.

Get a Free Consultation