What Aboard does

Aboard is a New York-based 'solution engineering firm' that delivers AI-accelerated custom software and AI transformation consulting to enterprise and mid-market clients. Founded in 2023 by Rich Ziade (CEO) and Paul Ford (President), the firm operates as a hybrid product-and-agency model that pairs human solution engineers with proprietary AI tooling. Its core technical asset is Cadence, a six-phase delivery methodology (Landscape, Audit, Blueprint, Architecture, Migrate, Build) that wraps frontier AI coding models — notably Anthropic's Claude Code — in a custom harness designed to take software from requirements through production-grade deployment, addressing the gap between AI prototypes and production-ready systems. The firm also operates Atlas, an internal AI system for company research and pitch generation.

Aboard monetizes through two primary service lines: Aboard Launch, a 30-90 day rapid custom software build with optional ongoing licensing, support, and managed services; and Aboard Transform, a longer-duration, organization-wide AI change management engagement combining advisory and hands-on delivery. Pricing is custom and engagement-based, typically structured as multi-year contracts with managed services overlay. The firm serves verticals including insurance (e.g., SageSure's Policy Logic Central validating hundreds of thousands of policies annually), healthcare and nonprofit (e.g., HIPAA-compliant analytics for Make an Impact across 400+ community organizations), and B2B data and research (e.g., Outsell's AI-driven intelligence platform).

Go-to-market is enterprise-focused and founder-driven: consultative direct sales initiated via short conversations rather than RFPs, supplemented by a weekly podcast ('Software in the Age of AI'), a newsletter, conference participation, and earned media through the founders' bylines in the New York Times, Wired, Bloomberg Businessweek, and other publications. The firm is private, headquartered in New York, has 11-50 employees, and raised $5M in May 2025.

Name

Aboard

Legal name

Aboard

Website

https://aboard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aboard is an AI-accelerated custom software and AI transformation consulting firm serving enterprise and mid-market clients in insurance, healthcare, nonprofit, and B2B data. It uses its proprietary Cadence process to wrap frontier AI coding models with human expertise and deliver production-ready software in 30-90 days.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Aboard Launch: Rapid development offering where Aboard builds stable, tested web platforms in 30-90 days with data migration, training, and ongoing support. Customers pay an ongoing licensing and support fee for maintenance and hosting, or can buy the solution outright and host themselves.
2. Aboard Transform: Organization-wide AI change management consulting. Aboard teams work within the client organization to accelerate delivery across the org, build a roadmap, and develop working software quickly. Combines advisory with actual software delivery.
3. Managed Services: Ongoing technology partnership including software support and enhancement, strategic consultation as AI evolves, monitoring and performance management, roadmap planning, and access to proprietary tooling library.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Aboard builds custom enterprise software and provides AI transformation consulting under two engagement models: Aboard Launch delivers production-grade web platforms in 30-90 days with data migration, training, and optional ongoing licensing/support, while Aboard Transform embeds with client organizations for AI change management, roadmap planning, and accelerated delivery. Delivery is powered by their proprietary Cadence six-phase process and AI-accelerated tooling wrapped around Claude Code.

Product overview

Aboard is a 'solution engineering firm' that operates as a hybrid product-agency (self-described as a 'praygency') powered by AI. The core differentiator is Cadence, a proprietary six-phase process with custom-built AI tooling that serves as a harness around AI coding tools like Claude Code. The company offers two main engagement models: Aboard Launch (30-90 day rapid custom software development) and Aboard Transform (long-term AI change management consulting). Supporting services include Solution Engineering (the core discipline combining consulting and AI delivery), Managed Services (ongoing partnership), and GenAI Strategy & Implementation. Client deliverables include the Partner Health Analytics Platform, Policy Logic Central (for SageSure), and the Outsell B2B Data Platform. The company also developed internal tools like Atlas for business research and pitch generation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aboard Launch: Rapid development offering: builds stable, tested web platforms in 30-90 days with AI tools combined with custom technology, including data migration and team training.
• Aboard Transform

Products and services

• Aboard Launch
• Aboard Transform
• Solution Engineering
• Managed Services
• GenAI Strategy & Implementation

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of AI software initiatives fail - Aboard has solved this gap between prototype and production
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Postlight: A digital product studio and engineering consultancy co-founded by Rich Ziade and Paul Ford, the same founders as Aboard. Highly comparable in services-led model, product-thinking orientation, and enterprise client base; Aboard is effectively a focused evolution of Postlight's capabilities around AI-accelerated delivery.
• Builder.ai: AI-assisted custom software assembly platform that combines human expertise with AI tooling to deliver bespoke business applications. Most directly comparable peer in terms of 'AI as the harness for custom software delivery' value proposition, though operating at much larger scale.
• Toptal: On-demand marketplace for elite freelance software engineers and designers serving enterprise clients on custom builds. Comparable in delivering senior-talent-led custom software outcomes for enterprises, with growing emphasis on AI-augmented delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Slalom: Large technology and business consulting firm with a dedicated AI/ML practice serving enterprise clients on digital transformation. Comparable as an enterprise-focused consultancy that increasingly markets AI-accelerated delivery, though far broader in scope than Aboard's bespoke-software niche.
• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy that designs and delivers custom software for enterprise clients with strong emphasis on engineering craft and emerging technology adoption. Comparable in custom-software, craft-driven positioning but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Endava: Public technology services firm specializing in custom software development and digital transformation for enterprise clients in financial services, healthcare, and other verticals. Closely comparable in verticalized bespoke-software model and managed-services orientation, though vastly larger and publicly traded.
• Globant: Global digital transformation and custom software engineering firm with a prominent AI Studio practice. Comparable as a large-scale enterprise software consultancy repositioning around AI-augmented delivery, serving Fortune 500 customers.
• Accenture: Global professional services giant with substantial technology consulting, custom application services, and a multi-billion-dollar generative AI practice. Comparable as the broadest incumbent serving enterprise AI transformation needs that Aboard also targets, though at vastly different scale and price point.

Emerging players

• Tribe AI: Boutique AI-native consultancy that connects enterprises with vetted AI engineers and researchers to build custom AI applications. Comparable as an emerging AI-focused services firm targeting the same prototype-to-production gap Aboard addresses, though Tribe focuses more on ML/AI capability delivery than broader custom software.
• Rangle.io: Digital transformation consultancy specializing in custom software engineering, design, and AI-enabled product development for enterprise clients. Comparable as a craft-focused, mid-sized consultancy serving enterprises on AI-augmented custom software delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aboard
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AboardApp
• Facebookfacebook.com/AboardApp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aboard-com
• Instagraminstagram.com/aboarddotcom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aboard