What LoadSys does

LoadSys is a privately held, founder-led AI engineering consultancy headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 2004 by Lee Forkenbrock (CEO) and Donatas Kairys (President & CTO), the firm operates with 1–10 employees and delivers engagements directly through its two practitioner-founders rather than a sales layer. LoadSys targets mid-market companies whose internal custom applications — typically 20K–200K lines of code on end-of-life stacks such as PHP 5/7, Rails 4, AngularJS, ColdFusion, and .NET Framework — are threatened by senior-engineer attrition, cyber-insurance exposure, or runtime EOL. Across its 20+ year history the company has completed 400+ client engagements in manufacturing, healthcare, education, e-commerce, professional services, and financial operations; named references include Stanford University, A07 Online Media LLC, and PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com.

The firm's core technology is a Spec-Driven Development methodology — a structured Plan → Execute → Verify workflow in which senior engineers author detailed specifications and then supervise AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf) executing against them. This methodology was codified in 2024 and is productized in Brunel, an AI development planning platform launched commercially in 2026 that exports specs to multiple coding agents and verifies implementation against intent. LoadSys also markets an AI Accelerators suite (an Agent-first OAuth 2.1 Server, MCP/A2A SDKs in Python and TypeScript, and a Customizable Chatbot & Workflow Hub) targeting governance, integration, and security gaps in enterprise AI adoption.

LoadSys makes money through a mix of fixed-price professional services and emerging SaaS. The flagship engagement is a 90-Day Fixed-Price Modernization at $80K–$150K, preceded by a $2,500 Discovery Sprint whose fee credits against the project if the client proceeds; LoadSys offers a 25% discount on fees if the 90-day deadline is missed. Six standalone service pillars (AI-assisted development, dev team training, MCP setup, AI/LLM integration, AI agent development, and Claude expertise) are sold independently or bundled. Brunel is offered as a self-serve SaaS at app.brunelagent.ai. Distribution is exclusively direct: 30-minute practitioner-led calls with the CEO or CTO, a non-negotiable weekly executive sponsor requirement on every engagement, and content marketing plus organic search as the primary demand-generation channels. Geographic focus is US-centric for consulting, with Brunel SaaS available globally.

Name

LoadSys

Legal name

LoadSys

Website

https://loadsys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LoadSys is a Chicago-based, founder-led AI engineering consultancy that uses a Spec-Driven Development methodology to modernize mid-market companies' internal custom applications (20K–200K LOC) on end-of-life stacks in 90-day fixed-price engagements, while productizing its workflow through the Brunel AI planning platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 90-Day Fixed-Price Modernization: Fixed-price rebuild of internal custom applications in 90 days for $80K–$150K. Preceded by a $2,500 Discovery Sprint (two weeks) that produces a written specification. The Sprint fee credits against the project fee if the client proceeds. 25% discount of fee if the 90-day deadline is missed. 100% code ownership transfers to client at completion.
2. Standalone Service Pillars: Six service pillars (AI-assisted development, team training, MCP setup, LLM integration, AI agent development, Claude expertise) offered as standalone engagements or combined into longer-running programs. AI-assisted development runs as development takeover, augmented team, or ongoing support retainer.
3. Spec-Driven Development Services: Purpose-built engagements covering spec authoring, agent context discipline, verification, or scaled adoption. Includes Brunel Agent deployment with SSO and team workspaces, plan export setup, and verification harness.
4. AI Accelerators: AI Accelerators product suite including Agent-first OAuth Server, Agent Integration SDKs, and Customizable Chatbot & Workflow Hub. Delivered as purpose-built solutions targeting security, integration, governance, and automation barriers to AI adoption.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LoadSys is an AI engineering consultancy that rebuilds and modernizes internal custom applications for mid-market companies using a Spec-Driven Development methodology that combines senior-engineer-authored specifications with AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot). It sells a flagship 90-day fixed-price modernization engagement ($80K–$150K) preceded by a $2,500 Discovery Sprint, complemented by six standalone AI engineering service pillars and a SaaS planning platform called Brunel.

Product overview

LoadSys is an AI engineering consultancy offering a portfolio of AI development tools and professional services. The core product is Brunel, an AI development planning platform that provides Plan → Export → Execute → Verify workflows for teams using AI coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot). Supporting the platform are six AI engineering service pillars: AI-assisted development, dev team training, MCP setup, AI/LLM integration, AI agent development, and Claude expertise. LoadSys also offers Agent-first OAuth Server and Agent Integration SDKs for secure AI ecosystem integration. The flagship engagement is a 90-day fixed-price modernization program for internal custom applications, preceded by a Discovery Sprint that produces a written specification. All services are delivered using Spec-Driven Development methodology under senior-engineer supervision.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brunel: AI development planning platform that sits between dev teams and coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot), providing a structured Plan-Export-Execute-Verify workflow that eliminates the completion illusion. Features 87% first-time accuracy, 5-6X faster delivery, and 44% fewer bugs.

Products and services

• Brunel AI development planning platform that sits between dev teams and coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot), providing a structured Plan → Export → Execute → Verify workflow that eliminates the 'completion illusion'. Teams build shared specifications, any agent executes them, and Brunel verifies implementation matches intent before code review.
• 90-Day Modernization Fixed-price rebuild of internal custom applications (portals, MES, admin systems, operational tools, vertical SaaS modules) of 20K–200K LOC in 90 days for $80K–$150K. Senior engineers run AI coding agents against a written specification; 25% fee discount is applied if the 90-day deadline is missed, and 100% code ownership transfers to the client at completion.
• Discovery Sprint Two-week scoping engagement at a $2,500 fixed price that produces a five-section written specification (scope, user stories, risks, architecture, implementation plan). Walk-away clause lets the client keep the spec even if not proceeding; the $2,500 credits against the full modernization fee if the client proceeds.
• AI-Assisted Development Engagement in which LoadSys's senior engineers run AI coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot) under Spec-Driven Development workflows to deliver faster, leaner, and more reliable development. Available as development takeover, augmented team, and ongoing support retainer shapes.
• Dev Team Training on AI Best Practices Practitioner-led training on Cursor, Claude Code, and Copilot that embeds AI tooling into engineering workflows. Offered as workflow audit + workshop (one week), embedded coaching (4–8 weeks with real tickets), or ongoing optimization (monthly retainer).
• MCP Setup Design and deployment of Model Context Protocol servers that give AI models structured, secure access to internal databases, APIs, and business systems.
• AI/LLM Integration into Business Processes Identification of high-leverage LLM integration points and building of production-ready integrations for document processing, decision support, and operational automation.
• AI Agent Development Architecture and build of autonomous agents with well-defined tool use, memory, and decision loops designed for reliability in real-world enterprise environments.
• Claude Expertise & Anthropic Ecosystem Application of LoadSys's deep, practitioner-level knowledge of Claude's API, system prompting, tool use, and the full Anthropic ecosystem to client architecture and use cases.
• Agent-first OAuth Server The first OAuth 2.1 server purpose-built for AI ecosystems, providing fine-grained control over agent-to-agent and human-to-agent access with zero-configuration setup, granular permissions (e.g., mcp:tools:read vs mcp:tools:write), and enterprise consent management with full audit trail.
• Agent Integration SDKs MCP/Agent-to-Agent SDK ecosystem in Python and TypeScript for building secure, scalable agent integrations; includes zero-config setup with automatic scope detection, OAuth 2.1 integration with intelligent routing, and built-in resilience and observability.
• Customizable Chatbot & Workflow Hub Enterprise-grade chatbot that automates cross-platform workflows with OAuth, MCP, and A2A integration; fully customizable to client needs, knowledge bases, and compliance rules.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.2× higher first-attempt success rate on complex coding tasks with structured plans vs unstructured prompt-review-reprompt loops
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AnthropiccoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep partnership with Anthropic on the Claude ecosystem. LoadSys has practitioner-level knowledge of the Claude API, system prompting, tool use, and the full Anthropic stack. CTO Donatas Kairys leads Anthropic ecosystem expertise. LoadSys's methodology is applied to Claude Code execution on client engagements. Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) is central to LoadSys's AI-native rebuild offering.
• CursorcoreTechnology or IntegrationCursor is one of the three primary AI coding agents (alongside Claude Code and Copilot) that LoadSys runs against structured specifications. LoadSys configures, optimizes, and integrates Cursor for client engineering teams and trains teams on Cursor best practices. Brunel exports specs in formats Cursor can consume directly.
• GitHub CopilotcoreTechnology or IntegrationGitHub Copilot is one of the three primary AI coding agents LoadSys runs against structured specifications. Referenced in modernization engagements, team training services, and the Brunel platform's agent export functionality. LoadSys trains engineering teams on Copilot as part of AI team training pillar.
• Claude CodecoreTechnology or IntegrationClaude Code is one of the three primary AI coding agents (alongside Cursor and Copilot) used in LoadSys engagements. LoadSys has deep practitioner-level knowledge of Claude Code, its API, system prompting, and tool use. Anthropic reports the majority of its own code is now written by Claude Code. LoadSys's spec-driven methodology is designed to make Claude Code produce reliable, production-grade output.
• Google (Agent-to-Agent Protocol / A2A)majorTechnology or IntegrationGoogle launched the A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocol in April 2025. LoadSys builds A2A endpoints into AI-native application rebuilds, enabling client applications to participate in agent workflows spanning vendors and systems. Both MCP and A2A are now governed by the Linux Foundation as industry standards.
• MIT Sloan / Microsoft Research / GitHubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe joint MIT Sloan / Microsoft Research / GitHub study on structured AI development workflows found 56% reduction in programming time with spec-driven workflows. This research is the primary empirical foundation for LoadSys's spec-driven development methodology claims.
• VeracodemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVeracode's 2025 GenAI Code Security Report tested 100+ LLMs across 80 coding tasks and found 45% of AI-generated code contains security vulnerabilities. This research is used by LoadSys to make the case for spec-driven methodology with senior engineer supervision, positioning LoadSys's approach as the mitigation to the AI-generated security risk.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DockYard: Boutique product consultancy delivering custom software, modernization, and platform engineering to mid-market and enterprise clients. Similar practitioner-led, fixed-fee delivery model and target customer profile to LoadSys.
• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy delivering custom software, modernization, and AI engineering services to mid-market and enterprise clients. Closest comparable in business model and delivery approach, though materially larger in scale and geographic reach.
• Pivotal Labs: Product development consultancy (now under VMware Tanzu) known for pairing senior engineers with client teams to build and modernize custom applications. Direct peer in the embedded-engineering consulting model LoadSys operates.
• Modus Create: Digital product consultancy offering AI-assisted development, legacy modernization, and DevOps enablement to mid-market and enterprise clients. Direct match in the boutique-consultancy segment with similar practitioner-led engagement model.

Regional players

• Table XI: Chicago-based custom software consultancy building web and mobile applications for mid-market organizations across multiple verticals. Comparable in size, geography, and custom-application focus; differentiated by being less AI-coding-agent-centric.

Emerging players

• Tribe AI: AI-native consulting firm building and deploying production LLM and agent systems for enterprises. Overlaps with LoadSys's AI agent development, LLM integration, and MCP setup services for a similar enterprise buyer.

Broad incumbents

• Globant: Global digital transformation consultancy with deep AI engineering, modernization, and agentic-AI practices. Competes with LoadSys on enterprise modernization and AI integration but at significantly larger scale.
• Slalom: Large US technology and business consultancy with a digital engineering and AI/ML practice serving mid-market through enterprise. Overlaps with LoadSys on modernization and AI integration but with much broader service portfolio and geographic footprint.
• Endava: Global technology services firm delivering custom software, cloud, and AI engineering across industries. Comparable to LoadSys on modernization and AI integration services, with much larger scale and geographic distribution.

Others

• Heavybit: Developer-focused community and accelerator for infrastructure and AI tooling companies. Ecosystem connection rather than direct competitor; relevant given LoadSys's positioning at the intersection of dev tools (Brunel), AI agents, and Anthropic ecosystem partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/loadsys-solutions
• Xx.com/loadsys
• Facebookfacebook.com/loadsys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 LoadSys