Request a callbackBook a call
fractional cto services

Fractional CTO Services for AI Startups

A fractional CTO gives you senior technical leadership for 10 to 20 hours a month at roughly a tenth of a full-time CTO's cost. What I bring to fractional CTO services that a generic advisor doesn't is current, hands-on AI depth (LLMs, voice agents, MCP) and a documented record of capital efficiency: a $200K/year infrastructure bill cut by more than 70%, $300K in credits secured, and an engineering org rebuilt to run at a fraction of its previous cost without losing velocity.

Request a callbackBook a 20-min call ↗
Ask AI about this pageAsk ClaudeAsk ChatGPTAsk Perplexity
Proof point
From $3,000/mo
A founder on a video call with Neeraj Sharma, founder of Axionry, taking notes at a sunlit desk
See how this works
Watch it on its own page, with the transcript →
How you pay

Get it built at $0.

That is not a discount. It is when you pay. The work is split into checkpoints with acceptance criteria written down before anything starts, and each checkpoint is invoiced only after you have seen it and accepted it. No deposit.

$0 to start
You hold every dollar until a checkpoint is delivered and you accept it. No approval, no invoice.
Fixed cost, unlimited features
Or hire the team outright: one fixed monthly cost, unlimited feature development, any stack.
The engineer takes your call
The person on your first call is the one who architects and writes it. No account managers, no bench time.

A US agency quotes $50,000 to $150,000 for the same build and asks for 40 to 50% of it before a line is written. Account managers, project managers, sales commission and bench time. None of it appears in your product.

Start at $0Book a 20-min call ↗
Hub and spoke diagram of what a fractional CTO owns for 10 to 20 hours a month: architecture decisions, hiring and team structure, cloud and AI costs, roadmap and delivery, security and compliance, and investor diligence readiness.
The six areas a fractional CTO owns, for 10 to 20 hours a month.

What does a fractional CTO do?

I run architecture reviews and make decisions that won't need undoing. I set AI strategy: what to build, what to buy, and what it will cost per user. I help with hiring: JD design, technical interviews and offer calibration. I put cloud and AI cost governance in place, which often pays for the retainer by itself. And I prepare board and investor-ready technical narratives and diligence.

Who should hire fractional CTO services?

Pre-seed to Series A founders without a technical co-founder. Funded startups whose AI spend is scaling faster than revenue. And agencies or non-tech companies adding AI products who need an experienced hand in the architecture room.

Pricing

TierCadencePrice
Advisor10 hrs/mo · async + 2 calls$3,000/mo
Active CTO20 hrs/mo · weekly calls, hiring, architecture ownership$6,000/mo
InterimHands-on leadership between full-time hirescustom
Free toolPrice your build with the AI product cost estimatorPick the features, the stack, agents and voice. See the cost, the timeline and what it costs to run.
Further reading

What should you read before you build it?

Where we work

How this works in your market

Working hours, contracting and what usually drives the decision, written for each market we take this work in.

Fractional CTO Services in the USAFractional CTO Services in the UKFractional CTO Services in EuropeFractional CTO Services in CanadaFractional CTO Services in AustraliaFractional CTO Services in India
By city
New YorkSan FranciscoLos AngelesChicagoAustinBostonSeattleNashvilleDenverMiamiAtlantaSalt Lake CityTorontoVancouverCalgaryEdmontonMontrealOttawaWaterlooLondonManchesterEdinburghBristolCambridgeBirminghamDallasHoustonSan DiegoWashington, DCPhoenixPhiladelphiaRaleighCharlotteOrlandoIndianapolisMississaugaWinnipegLeedsLiverpoolBrightonBelfastTampaLas VegasColumbusSt. LouisKansas CityBaltimorePittsburghMinneapolisHalifaxQuebec CityVictoriaNottinghamGlasgowCardiff
FAQ

Common questions.

Straight answers. If yours isn't here, ask on a 20-minute call.

How much does a fractional CTO cost?+

US market rates run $4K to $25K/month depending on involvement. My tiers start at $3K/month for advisory and $6K/month for active engagement, with AI-specialist depth that typically bills at a 2x premium elsewhere.

When should a startup hire a fractional CTO?+

When technical decisions start costing real money to get wrong: before a big architecture commitment, before scaling AI spend, before a funding round's technical diligence, or when a non-technical founder is fielding engineering decisions alone.

Fractional CTO vs technical co-founder: which do I need?+

If the product IS deep tech, find a co-founder. If you need senior judgment, architecture, and hiring leadership while you find one (or instead of one), fractional gets you there without giving up 20% equity.

Ready to talk numbers?

Twenty minutes, straight to the engineer. No sales rep, no deck.

Request a callbackBook a call ↗