Ode with Anthropic bets a few engineers can replace whole consulting armies

Ode with Anthropic is a new joint venture that aims to disrupt traditional enterprise consulting by deploying small teams of forward-deployed engineers into large organizations. Backed by Anthropic, Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs, the venture acquired Fractional AI earlier this year to form its core team. Co-founders Chris Taylor and Eddie Siegel argue that most enterprise AI pilots stall because they lack the deep engineering integration needed to move from proof-of-concept to production. Their solution: embed specialized engineers directly into client teams, blending AI expertise with hands-on implementation.

The model draws a sharp contrast with the traditional consulting approach of large, billable-hour teams. Ode believes a handful of skilled engineers, armed with Anthropic’s frontier models and custom tooling, can deliver faster, more durable results than an army of consultants. The founders cite specific failures in enterprise AI adoption — fragmented data, unclear ROI, and lack of iterative deployment — as problems that require continuous embedded engineering, not periodic advisory. If successful, Ode could prove that AI-native services are the next big category in enterprise tech, potentially reshaping how companies adopt and scale AI.