Fractional CAIO
Your Chief AI Officer — flexible and strategic.
Part-time AI leadership, as a monthly retainer. For mid-market companies, enterprises, scaleups, and private equity portfolios that don't want to leave AI decisions to chance — but can't or won't finance a full-time CAIO.
from €3,000/month net
AI needs leadership
What I take on as Fractional CAIO
AI Strategy
Develop AI roadmap, use-case prioritization, build-or-buy analysis, translate tech vision into language the C-suite understands.
Tech Stack Selection
LLM providers, vector DBs, orchestration frameworks, cloud platforms — evaluated for your use case, not for hype.
Dev Team Leadership
Technical leadership, code review culture, hiring support for AI engineering profiles, onboarding structures.
Vendor & Agency Management
Manage your external service providers: contracts, SLAs, quality, escalation paths.
Compliance & Risk
GDPR, EU AI Act, data residency, audit logs, risk assessment for AI use cases.
Executive Reporting
Monthly updates for leadership and board — what's running, what costs what, what's next.
What exactly is a Fractional CAIO?
A Fractional CAIO (Chief AI Officer) is an experienced AI and tech leader who works for multiple companies simultaneously — each part-time, but with real strategic ownership.
Unlike an Interim CAIO who bridges a vacancy: I\'m not a transitional solution. I\'m your long-term solution. There\'s no end date and no search for a successor.
The advantage: you get senior expertise that would cost €150,000–300,000 per year as a full-time position — at a fraction of that cost.
Flexible commitment.
1–2 days per week, depending on need. Remote-first with regular on-site days.
Open-ended engagement.
No project with an end date. As long as it makes sense.
Monthly retainer.
Predictable costs instead of day-rate surprises. From €3,000/month net.
Fractional CAIO ROI calculator
Run the numbers before you hire.
Compare a full-time CAIO employment with a Fractional CAIO retainer. Three inputs are enough: salary level, fractional scope, and monthly retainer.
Starting point
Your estimated first-year advantage
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First-year savings
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Full-time employment, year 1
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Fractional CAIO, year 1
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ROI on retainer
Cost breakdown
- Loaded salary
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- Hiring and onboarding
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- Ramp-up drag
- 0 €
- Retainer
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Fixed assumptions: 28% employer overhead, 22% recruiting/search/onboarding, €25k ramp-up drag.
Interpretation
A directional estimate, net of VAT. It excludes opportunity cost from delayed AI decisions, vendor lock-in, failed pilots, or wrong hires.
Fractional CAIO vs. Interim CAIO vs. Consultant
Fractional CAIO
Permanent external AI leadership part-time (1–2 days/week). Strategic focus. Open-ended. Monthly retainer.
Interim CAIO
Bridges a crisis or vacancy. Often full-time, time-limited, operational focus, high day rate. Not what I do.
Tech Consultant
Analyzes, evaluates, recommends — without ongoing ownership. For one-off questions: see AI Sparring.
How we get started
Intro call & fit check
Does the model fit your situation?
⏱ 30 min
AI audit & status quo
Existing systems, team, processes, vendor landscape.
⏱ 2–4 weeks
Strategy & roadmap
AI vision, quarterly roadmap, budget recommendation, quick wins.
📤 Roadmap
Ongoing collaboration
Weekly calls, monthly reporting, direct line via your tools (Teams, Notion, GitHub).
⏱ open-ended
"A 100-slide AI strategy is not a strategy output. A strategy output is a decision with a date and an owner."
— Joshua Heller
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Fractional CAIO cost?
I work as Fractional CAIO exclusively on retainer, from €3,000 net per month — the exact amount depends on the agreed hour commitment. Compared to a full-time position (€150–300k annual salary plus overhead), it's a predictable, significantly more affordable investment.
How many hours per week?
Typically 8–16 hours. We define the commitment together and adjust it quarterly.
How does communication work?
Via the tools you already use — e.g., Microsoft Teams, Notion, GitHub. Weekly call with CEO or tech lead, monthly written report, quarterly strategy review.
What sets you apart from a consulting firm?
A consulting firm delivers recommendations. I take ownership. I decide alongside you (or alone, depending on authority granted), and I'm still there in 12 months when the consequences of my decisions become visible.
What's the difference between FDE and Fractional CAIO?
FDE = I write code in your codebase. Fractional CAIO = I make and communicate AI decisions with/for your leadership. Many engagements combine both.
What industries and company sizes do you work with?
From mid-market companies and scaleups to large enterprises and private equity portfolios — across industrial, B2B SaaS, and software. Working with multiple clients in the same industry is an advantage: I bring patterns from comparable setups.
AI leadership — flexible and strategic?
30-minute intro call. We'll figure out if Fractional CAIO fits your needs.
Prefer to write first? joshuaheller@theaisoftwarecompany.com