Cyborg Forge
Test an AI, data or automation initiative in 3 to 6 weeks, before it becomes a project
Cyborg Forge builds a proof of concept on AWS or Google Cloud, with a fixed timeline and success criteria agreed before day one.
- Fixed timeline of 3 to 6 weeks
- Built on AWS or Google Cloud
- Ends with a written recommendation
Why so many AI initiatives stall halfway
The appetite for AI is there. What is usually missing is a cheap way to find out early whether the idea pays for itself.
High risk before validation
Projects start without clear evidence of impact.
Slow decision cycles
Ideas take months to get off the ground.
Hard to test
In a corporate environment, even a small experiment runs into access, security and approval hurdles.
An idea goes in, a decision comes out
Cyborg Forge is a fixed format for building proofs of concept on AWS and Google Cloud.
Instead of opening a large project for every idea, the hypothesis is tested in a separate environment, with a small scope and a set deadline.
At the end, leadership has enough technical and business data to decide whether the initiative should:
The big budget only comes in after the idea has shown it works.
How Cyborg Forge works
Hypothesis definition
Pin down the problem and the success criteria.
PoC build
Implementation on AWS or Google Cloud.
Validation
Tests with real or simulated data.
Decision Package
Executive report with recommendations.
What the company gets
Less risk
The test happens before the big investment.
A prototype in weeks
The idea leaves the slide deck and becomes something that runs.
Decisions backed by numbers
Technical and business metrics measured in the PoC itself.
A reusable foundation
If the PoC is scaled, the AWS or GCP architecture already follows good practices.
Why validate before scaling
The rush into generative AI is leading companies to skip validation. Market data shows what that costs.
of generative AI projects will be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025.
Source: Gartner (2024)of AI projects fail, twice the rate of IT projects that do not involve AI.
Source: RAND Corporation (2024)The figures above come from third-party research, not Cortex IQ results. Cyborg Forge exists to reduce exactly this risk of abandonment and failure.
What we track in every PoC
Without this, a proof of concept turns into a nice demo and no decision.
3 to 6 weeks
from kickoff to Decision Package
Decision Package
executive report with a recommendation
Scale, adjust or drop
a documented decision, not a gut call
Available PoC catalog
12 proofs of concept ready to start
Enterprise GenAI copilot
Assistant trained on internal documents.
Automated document analysis
Field extraction from PDFs and contracts.
Fraud detection with ML
Spotting suspicious patterns.
Demand forecasting
Predictive models for planning.
Recommendation engine
Product personalization.
Customer service automation
Automatic ticket classification.
Enterprise semantic search
Search by meaning across internal knowledge bases.
Modern data pipeline
Data lake build-out.
Anomaly monitoring
Automatic pattern detection.
Email classification
Every email routed to the right queue.
Data analysis copilot
Questions in natural language.
Compliance assistant
Analysis of regulatory documents.
Example applications
GenAI assistant for compliance.
Demand forecasting for production.
Recommendation engine for e-commerce.
Technologies
AWS
- Bedrock
- SageMaker
- Lambda
- OpenSearch
- RDS
Google Cloud
- Vertex AI
- BigQuery
- Cloud Run
- Pub/Sub
- AlloyDB
Engagement models
Forge Starter
Quick validation of a single hypothesis.
3 weeksForge Advanced
PoC integrated with real data.
4 to 6 weeksCyborg Foundry
Ongoing pipeline of PoCs, with the Cyborg Architecture applied on a recurring basis.
OngoingCompare the five offers
Each format has its own cadence and deliverable. The highlighted row is the offer on this page.
| Offer | Cadence | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyborg Forge | 3 to 6 weeks, fixed deadline | Decision Package: executive report with a recommendation | Companies that want to test an AI, data or automation initiative before it becomes a project |
| Advisor As a Service | Weekly, ongoing | Weekly sessions with recommendations to apply the following week | Founders, early-stage startups and small teams |
| CTO As a Service | Weekly, ongoing, starting with a 30-day assessment | Written technical assessment in 30 days, 90-day roadmap and ADRs | Companies without a full-time CTO, with outsourced development or a non-technical founder |
| MVP As a Service | Paced by the fundraising round | Working product with frontend, backend and basic infrastructure, ready for the pitch | Founders with a validated idea who need an MVP for the round |
| Governance As a Service | Weekly, ongoing | Single decision criteria and a documented process | Growing companies that need to standardize technology, vendor and process decisions |
Frequently asked questions
How long does an AI proof of concept take at Cortex IQ?
- A Cyborg Forge proof of concept takes 3 to 6 weeks, with the deadline fixed before day one. Forge Starter validates a single hypothesis in 3 weeks and Forge Advanced, integrated with real data, takes 4 to 6 weeks, and both end with a written recommendation.
What does Cortex IQ deliver at the end of a PoC?
- At the end of every PoC, leadership receives the Decision Package, an executive report recommending whether to scale, adjust or drop the initiative. The document gathers the technical and business metrics measured in the PoC itself, against the success criteria agreed before the build started.
Which cloud is the PoC built on?
- The PoC is built on AWS or Google Cloud, in an environment separate from the rest of your operation. On AWS we use services such as Bedrock, SageMaker, Lambda, OpenSearch and RDS; on Google Cloud, Vertex AI, BigQuery, Cloud Run, Pub/Sub and AlloyDB, and the architecture can be reused if the PoC is scaled.
How much does an AI proof of concept cost?
- The price depends on the scope, and scope and timeline are fixed before day one, with a written proposal sent after the first conversation. You describe the hypothesis you want to test and Cortex IQ replies with the scope, the timeline and the success criteria for the PoC before any commitment.
Related content
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- How to measure the ROI of an AI agent in its first 90 daysAn agent's ROI is measured on the cost of the whole process, before and after, including the time people spend reviewing its work. What to measure, when to measure it, and a sample calculation you can take to the board.
- 5 signs your company is ready for agentic AIAn AI agent amplifies whatever process it finds. Five signs, each with a test you can run in a week, to tell whether your company can move past isolated pilots or needs to close some gaps first.
- Gartner predicted 30% of generative AI PoCs would be abandoned. It was worseIn 2024, Gartner predicted at least 30% of generative AI projects would be abandoned after proof of concept. Later it said at least 50% were. The reasons are rarely the model, and most can be spotted before day one.
- PoC, MVP or product: which stage your AI initiative is really inEach stage answers a different question, and picking the wrong one costs budget, time and credibility. How to tell PoC, MVP and product apart in an AI project, with a worked example and a checklist for your next scoping meeting.
- An AI proof of concept checklist: before, during and at the endAn AI proof of concept ends well when someone can make a decision with it: scale, adjust or drop. Here is the checklist we use to get there, starting with what has to exist before day one.
- What an AI PoC is and why most of them never leave the slide deckAn AI PoC is a short, fixed-scope experiment that tests a hypothesis against the company's own data before it becomes a project. Most stall because they start without a success criterion, a baseline or an owner for the decision.
Rudinei Gehm
Founder, Cortex IQ
In IT since 2009: infrastructure and industrial automation, consulting and development for the financial sector, project management and, from 2017 to 2021, Head of Growth Pod on global projects. Founded Cortex IQ in 2025.
Read the full background →Why Cortex IQ
2009
the founder's first IT project
10
published cases, with the client's name
4
partner clouds: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Oracle
3
working languages: Portuguese, English and Spanish
Partner clouds
Which idea do you want to test first?
Tell us the hypothesis. We reply with the scope, timeline and success criteria for the PoC.