Forward-Deployed Engineering as a Service

A senior engineer inside your business, building what it needs. Aurakil is Apprika's forward-deployed engineering (FDE) service, paid by fee or equity.

Book a discovery call Book a discovery call
Top blend mode

Forward-Deployed Engineering as a Service

What is forward-deployed engineering?

Forward-deployed engineering (FDE) means an engineer works inside the customer's reality instead of behind a ticket queue. They learn how your business actually runs, then write the code, integrations, automations and AI agents that fix the real problems. The model was made famous by Palantir and is now how many AI companies get software working inside customer organisations.

Aurakil is that model offered as a service by a studio. You get the judgment of an embedded engineer plus the range of a full team behind them: design, engineering, agents and growth.

What an Aurakil engineer does

  • Maps where time and money leak: manual workflows, disconnected tools, slow handoffs and repetitive work.
  • Builds custom software around your business, from internal tools and customer-facing apps to dashboards and integrations.
  • Automates workflows and builds AI agents that act on your behalf, with approvals on anything risky.
  • Implements design and brand so the software looks and feels like one company made it.
  • Ships working software every week, and you watch the work happen in a custom live dashboard.

How it works

  • Discovery call. A 30-minute conversation about your business and what is slowing it down. Most engagements start within 48 hours of the call.
  • Written plan. We agree what to build first, how success is measured, and the first milestone.
  • Embedded build. Your engineer works alongside your team, ships weekly, and keeps you informed through the live dashboard.
  • Handover or run. Everything is delivered to your repositories and accounts, or we keep operating it for you.

Paid by fee or equity

Aurakil can be billed monthly, yearly or up front. For the right company we also discuss equity. Any equity arrangement is set out in a signed written agreement, including vesting, rights and intellectual property. Enterprise engagements are scoped by consultation.

Either way, our promise is the same: we build it, you own it. See the Ownership section of our Terms for the details.

Who it is for

  • Founders who need a technical partner without hiring a full engineering team.
  • Operators and small and mid-size businesses with workflows that should be automated.
  • Teams adopting AI that need agents and models connected safely to real systems.
  • Companies that want custom software they own, not another subscription.

Model agnostic by design

We are model agnostic. We build with the model you prefer or recommend the one that fits the job, hosted or open-source, and we never tie you to one vendor.

Forward-deployed engineering vs. hiring or an agency

A full-time hire takes months to recruit and ramp, and one person rarely covers engineering, design, agents and growth. A traditional agency delivers to a spec and leaves. Forward-deployed engineering sits in between: one embedded engineer who knows your business, backed by a studio, shipping every week.

Questions people ask

What is a forward-deployed engineer?

A forward-deployed engineer is a software engineer who embeds with a customer, learns how their business works, and builds and operationalises software inside that environment, rather than working remotely from a ticket queue.

What is forward-deployed engineering as a service?

It is the same embedded engineering model, offered by a studio. Instead of hiring and managing your own FDE, you engage a provider whose engineer works inside your team and delivers software, automation and AI agents.

How much does Aurakil cost?

Aurakil is billed monthly, yearly or up front, and we quote after a short discovery call. For selected companies we also discuss equity. Enterprise engagements are scoped by consultation.

Do you take equity instead of fees?

Sometimes, for the right company. Equity is only ever agreed in a signed written agreement that covers vesting, rights and intellectual property.

Do I own what you build?

Yes. We build it, you own it. Once the work is paid for, you own the custom code, designs and deliverables, subject to the exceptions listed in the Ownership section of our Terms.

Which AI models do you work with?

Any. We are model agnostic and work with the model you prefer, hosted or open-source.

How fast can an engagement start?

Most projects start within 48 hours of the discovery call, with working software in your hands every week after that.

Related

Our Process

How we work

1

Discovery call & scope

A short call, a written plan and a fixed first milestone.

2

Roadmap & design

We map the product, the brand and the agent flows together.

3

Ship weekly

Working software in your hands every week. Demos, not decks.

4

Own it, or we run it

Everything is handed over to you, or we keep operating it for you.

Marketing Expert 1 Marketing Expert 2 Marketing Expert 3 Marketing Expert 4

Turn ideas into software
people keep

Web & mobile apps, blockchain, AI agents & custom models, brand design and social media—one studio, one team.

Book a discovery call Book a discovery call

Replies within one business day