Applied AI engineering and the media around it
We build applied AI and document what it takes to ship.
Forward Deployed helps PE portfolios and operating teams move AI from pilot to production, and documents what that takes alongside the builders and operators doing the work.
What we do
The consulting work turns clear business workflows into production agents and internal tools, along with the automation around them. Engineering and evaluation stay connected to rollout and operator training in one delivery model. Most AI projects break at the last mile, on data access and workflow design, or on adoption and ownership. Forward-deployed engineering keeps technical judgment close to the operating context where those constraints appear.
What we publish and convene
The podcast and fireside chats sit alongside workshops and events, plus written field notes and the Learn AI Engineering hub. All of it studies how builders and operators, with the founders and engineering leaders around them, make AI work inside real organizations. That practitioner access keeps the delivery thesis grounded in current operating reality.
Who leads it
Forward Deployed is led by Basil Chatha. His full background is below.
Read the forward-deployed engineering guide or discuss a deployment.
Basil Chatha
Basil Chatha is a former Intuit Credit Karma product manager and founder of an AI consulting practice focused on image, voice, and agentic AI systems for retailers, insurers, and private-equity firms.
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