Transparent Pricing

Enterprise AI Governance.
Starting from $1,999 / month.

Not $20,000. Not $10,000. Starting from $1,999 per month for a named AI governance specialist embedded in your engineering org — governing from day one.

Book a Governance Review → See What's Covered

Exact pricing based on org size and engagement model. Provided in your discovery call, before you commit to anything.

What you're comparing against

Not $20K. Not $10K.
Starting From $1,999.

Monthly cost to govern your AI engineering
Full-Time AI Governance Lead $20,000 +/mo
Part-Time Contractor $10,000 +/mo
Fractional AI Officer by Upcore Most teams choose this $1,999 +/mo

Same accountability. Same expertise. 80–90% less spend.

The FAO engagement is priced based on three variables — your org size, which engagement model you choose (Done-For-You or Done-With-You), and whether you add Forge or Studio agent services. Engagements start from $1,999/month.

  • ✓No recruiting cycle. No 6-month ramp. Embedded and governing in 72 hours.
  • ✓Named specialist dedicated to your org — you meet them before you sign anything.
  • ✓Month-to-month after Day 30. No lock-in after your first risk report.
  • ✓If Day 30 doesn't demonstrate clear ROI, you walk away at no further obligation.
ROI framing for your CFO

Average breach cost when AI code is in the attack path: $4.7M (IBM, 2024)
FAO annual cost starting from: $23,988
One breach prevented = ~100× your annual FAO investment.

What's included

Everything in the FAO Engagement

Every FAO engagement — regardless of model or size — includes the full 5-layer governance framework. This is the baseline.

L1 · Align
📝
AI Policy & Standards
AI tool inventory and risk classification, acceptable use policy for your org, risk appetite framework. Delivered by Day 14.
L2 · Accelerate
🔒
Development Governance
PR-level AI code review gates, prompt library governance, AI tool vetting and approved-stack management. Active from Day 30.
L3 · Protect
🛡
Security & Hardening
Hallucination detection in production paths, supply chain scanning for AI-suggested packages, prompt injection safeguards. Ongoing.
L4 · Comply
✅
Audit & Regulatory
Compliance framework mapping (EU AI Act, HIPAA, SOX, SOC 2, GDPR), audit trail generation, board-ready governance reporting.
L5 · Optimise
📊
Intelligence & ROI
AI spend attribution and cost-per-feature reporting, model benchmarking, quarterly ROI dashboards for leadership review.
Always included
👥
Named FAO, Dedicated
A single named specialist — not a rotating team. 8–12 hrs/week. Attends your standups, reviews your PRs, authors your policies.
Engagement models

Choose How Hands-On Your Team Is

Same governance. Same FAO. Same 5 layers. The model affects how much your team is involved — not how much gets delivered.

Done With You
Your Team Leads
Your FAO guides, trains, and strategises while your team builds internal governance capability.
Lower monthly investment  ·  Requires ~2–4 hrs/week from your team
✓Joint discovery — your team and FAO audit AI usage together
✓Co-designed policies for your compliance context
✓Guided implementation — your engineers build, FAO guides every step
✓Full knowledge transfer — your team owns it long-term
✓FAO as strategic advisor after Day 90
Done For You
Your FAO Handles Everything
You provide access. Your FAO handles the rest — zero dev-team involvement required.
Higher monthly investment  ·  Zero internal resource requirement
✓Provide repo access, CI/CD, AI tool list, compliance obligations
✓Independent audit, architecture design, full installation
✓Weekly governance reports, no action required from your team
✓Incidents attributed, risks blocked, compliance posture documented
✓Board-ready AI risk summary at Day 30, Day 60, Day 90
Optional add-ons

Layer In Agents When You're Ready

Start with governance. When your AI is governed, add Forge or Studio to deploy agents under the compliance and security framework your FAO has already built.

Forge · SDLC Agent
AI-Assisted Software Development
An AI agent embedded in your SDLC — PR drafting, code review, test generation — governed by your FAO from day one. Not a standalone tool. A governed agent that works inside your existing workflow.
✓Git integration — reviews PRs, suggests fixes, enforces standards
✓Trained on your codebase, not generic
✓All output governed by L2 policy layer before it merges
Starting at $799. Quoted as add-on to FAO engagement. Learn more about Forge →
Studio · Managed Agent Deployment
Custom Workflow Agents for Your Industry
Describe a workflow in plain English — Upcore builds, governs, and deploys a production agent in 48 hours. 60+ agent specialities across 12 industries. Every agent deployed under your FAO's governance framework.
✓Purpose-built for your terminology, industry, and workflows
✓Connects to your existing stack (CRM, ERP, WhatsApp, API)
✓Governed by your FAO — every agent reviewed before go-live
Starting at $799. Based on agent complexity and deployment scope. Learn more about Studio →
FDE Engineers · Dedicated Retainer
A Named Engineer, Embedded Ongoing
Want more than one project? A Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) stays embedded on a monthly retainer — building, integrating, and maintaining agents as your needs grow. Governed by your FAO from the first commit.
✓One dedicated engineer, not a rotating agency team
✓Stays after launch — maintains and expands what they build
✓Same specialist model OpenAI, Anthropic & Databricks use
Starting at $2,499/mo. A dedicated retainer, not a per-project quote. Meet the FDE Engineers →
Pricing questions

Common Questions

Because the right engagement looks different for a 15-engineer SaaS startup versus a 500-person fintech. Pricing depends on org size, engagement model (Done-For-You vs. Done-With-You), compliance framework complexity, and whether you're adding Forge or Studio. What we can tell you now: engagements start from $1,999/month, and all pricing is provided in the discovery call — before you commit to anything. No "contact us to find out" runaround.
You walk away. If the Day 30 risk report doesn't demonstrate clear ROI, you exit at no further obligation. No lock-in, no exit fee, no minimum term after Day 30. You own the audit artifacts and policy documents your FAO has produced. After Day 30, if you continue, it's month-to-month. Most teams renew — but the decision is always yours, made with data in hand.
No. The $1,999/month starting figure is for the FAO governance engagement alone — the 5-layer framework, named specialist, weekly reports, and compliance documentation. Forge (SDLC Agent) and Studio (managed agent deployment) are add-ons, starting at $799 and quoted separately based on scope. You can start governance-only and add agents when your AI posture is stable enough to build on.
Monthly retainer. The FAO engagement is a fixed monthly fee covering your dedicated specialist's time, all governance deliverables, and the reporting cadence agreed in your SOW. There are no per-PR charges, no usage fees, and no surprise invoices. Agent add-ons (Forge, Studio) may have a one-time setup component plus a monthly maintenance component — detailed in your proposal.
Yes — and some teams go the other direction too. Teams often start Done-For-You to get governance in place quickly, then transition to Done-With-You as their team builds capability. The model is reviewed at Day 90 and can change monthly if your situation changes. The underlying governance framework and your FAO remain the same either way.

Get Your Pricing in 45 Minutes.

Book a governance review. Your FAO candidate will walk through your AI environment, your compliance context, and give you exact pricing — before you commit to anything.

Book a Governance Review → See the Framework First

We respond within 24 hours. No commitment required. Walk away at Day 30 if ROI isn't clear.