A distribution warehouse before the first shift, overhead lights coming on

Operators who build

We put expert AI teams inside mid-market companies and the private equity firms that own them, helping them realize value and flexibility.

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“We see tremendous potential in AI, but we don’t have the internal capability to realize it.”

AI that works is built inside the business

  • Senior operators learn your business fast. People who have run P&Ls get to your processes, customers and industry in weeks.
  • Value is co-developed. We build alongside the people who will use it, so the business shapes the result from the first week.
  • Proven before production. Proofs of concept on your data show the value before anything is built to scale.

How an engagement runs

  1. 1AssessPeople, processes and data
  2. 2AlignUse cases, sequenced by impact
  3. 3Build the caseCost, return, owner and timing
  4. 4Prove the valueA proof of concept on your data
  5. Value agreed
  6. 5Build for productionScaled, adopted and run by your team

Our model

One senior AI leader from day one, and a team that grows as use cases prove their value.

Architect
ArchitectData and integrationDevelopmentTesting
ArchitectData and integrationDevelopmentTestingChange and adoptionTraining
Chief AI officerFractional or full time

Embedded CAIO

CAIO and architect

Build team

Build and transform

Our focus areas

Six areas of work, and where each one sits in an engagement.

AI strategy
Governance
Business case development
Use case and prototype development
Production AI
Adoption and capability building

Who we work with

  1. Founder or family-owned

    sks/ai works inside the company, adding a build team when a use case proves out.

  2. PE-backed company

    sks/ai builds AI into the value creation plan, working inside the company.

  3. PE firm and its portfolio

    sks/ai works with the firm and puts build teams into the companies that need them.

Mid-market industrial and consumer companies$50M to $1B in annual revenue

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Results

Some of our engagements, and the results we’ve seen.

Mid-market industrial private equity firm

In production
Through: Build for production
  • We serve as the firm’s fractional chief AI officer, from setting its AI ambition to organizing governance.
  • We built AI tools to support sourcing and investor management, and helped shape the firm’s AI capability strategy.

Public building-materials supplier

Chief AI officer engagement
Through: Build the case
  • A fractional chief AI officer engagement focused on supporting commercialization.
  • We assessed the commercial process, aligned leaders on where AI fits, and built the business cases.

B2B wholesaler

In production
Through: Build for production
  • Sales intelligence that gives reps daily clarity on growth opportunities.
  • AI-based automation that helps manage accounts receivable and inventory.

Founder-led omnichannel retail business

In production
Through: Build for production
  • One operating platform replaced the spreadsheets and paper that ran the business.
  • AI-driven analysis that supports smarter merchandising and buying decisions.

Client names kept private.

Field notes

Written from the work at least once a quarter: what we’re seeing inside mid-market companies, and what’s worth acting on.

Read the latest briefing

Who we are

I’m Sonesh Shah. I spent two decades running industrial and consumer businesses before turning to AI full time. I was Global President of an international industrial brand, and before that I led marketing and digital at a flagship power-tools business, where I built its eCommerce and connected-product operation. I’ve owned a P&L and led engineering, finance, sales and marketing teams.

sks/ai works with a network of expert partners. Depending on the work, the right partners lead an engagement or join one, and I’m involved in every one.

Sonesh on LinkedIn (opens in a new window)