Services · Fractional CDO
A fractional Head of Data & AI for physical AI startups.
Your product's value depends on data from machines, vehicles or sensors. Paranjay joins as your part-time Head of Data & AI — owning what you collect, how it moves and which AI you build on it — from week one, without a six-month executive hire.
When you need one
Signs your data needs a senior owner.
You're not sure your data is good enough for AI
Or what you should even be collecting. Every month without a plan is history you can't recover later.
Pilots stall on real customer data
The model works in the demo, then behaves differently on real equipment — and nobody owns the gap.
Investors ask about your data moat
In physical AI, proprietary real-world data is the moat. You need a credible story — and the platform behind it.
Everyone suggests a different stack
Edge or cloud, build or buy, which tools. Without senior judgment, every decision is a guess you'll pay for later.
What you get
Senior data & AI leadership, part-time.
A data strategy built for your product
What to collect from your devices and why, written down as data contracts — timestamps, identity, context and outcomes, not just raw signals.
Architecture from device to model
What runs at the edge, what goes to the cloud, and how data moves reliably between them — on ready-made hardware.
An AI roadmap and build-vs-buy calls
Which models and tools to use, what to build yourselves, and in what order — explained in plain language your team and investors can follow.
Data quality that holds up in the field
Checks and standards so your models are trained and judged on data you can vouch for — and a credible data story for your next round.
How it starts
Your first month with a fractional CDO.
WEEKS 1–2
Diagnose
An audit of your devices, data and AI plans. You get a written read on what to fix first — and what to ignore.
WEEKS 3–4
Plan
Data contracts, a target architecture and an AI roadmap, with one named outcome and how we'll measure it.
ONGOING
Lead
Weekly check-ins with Paranjay, decisions owned with you, and our engineers building alongside your team where needed.
Why Paranjay
15 years building data systems — including a platform with 1M+ endpoints connected at once.
Read Paranjay's story →1M+
endpoints connected at once
3+
enterprise data platforms built
15+ yrs
Volkswagen, Nissan, Delivery Hero
3
countries: Germany, India, US
Related reading
Go deeper.
Do You Need a CDO, a CTO, or Neither — Yet? →
Non-technical founders building physical AI often hire the wrong senior role first — or hire too early. Here's how to tell whether you need a Head of Data & AI, a Head of Engineering, a Head of Product, or none of them full-time yet.
What Data to Collect Before You Build Physical AI →
Most physical AI startups collect too little of the right signal and too much of the wrong one. Here's how to decide what to capture from your machines, vehicles or sensors before you train a single model.
What Running 1M+ Connected Endpoints Teaches You About Startup Data →
Our founder built a data platform with more than a million endpoints connected at once. Startups are far smaller — but the same lessons apply from the very first device. Here are six of them.
Common questions
Questions founders ask us.
Your next step
Building AI for machines, vehicles or energy? Let's talk.
Tell us what you're building and where it's stuck. Paranjay replies personally within 1 business day with a first read on where to focus. No pitch. No pressure.
or email hello@getrightshift.com