Stop taking chances

De-risk your AI investments,
before you commit capital.

Wrong use cases. Missing business context. Zero adoption planning. That's why 80% of AI projects fail, not the technology. We fix this, in weeks ( not months ) before you commit capital, using our innovative, highly effective & proven approach and tool kit.

1 hour · No cost · No commitment
80%+
of AI projects never reach production
73%
of pilots stall before deployment
74%
of CxOs see no real business value
$200–400K,
4–8 Mths
Cost of a failed AI pilot
Source : RAND Corporation, 2024 · McKinsey State of AI 2024, MIT Sloan, 2024, BCG Survey — 1,000 CxOs, 2024
The airtree labs Way

No pre-packaged AI solutions. No prescriptions.

We engage your teams directly in a workshop format to identify and co-create the right AI use cases for your context, then assess them throughly on tech, human and business parameters, to minimise the investment risk, using our toolset and techniques. A team of airtree labs experts orchestrate this engagement to maximise the impact for your business and future proof it.


The airtree labs Methodology

From AI curiosity to AI Success

The "airtree labs method" is 3 phased approach ( find, assess, implement ) that is realised through a 6P Engagement Path ( Play, Prioritise, Prototype, Price, Prove, Progress ) - the first five P's bundle up as an "Idea to Business Case" exercise that can be wound up in just 3 to 4 weeks, before moving on to the Progress Stage for Implementation

3–4 Weeks ( Find + Assess )
Find 3–4 Days
01
🔍
Play
Learn, explore & get familiar with AI
02
🧩
Prioritize
Ideate, shape & prioritise top AI Use Cases for your context
3-4 Days ( Find a.k.a AEW )
Assess 2–3 Weeks
03
⚙️
Prototype
simulate new ways of working for top AI Use cases
04
📐
Price
tech solution, plan & price the AI Use Cases
05
💷
Prove
Quantify benefits & build business case for board
Implement As Planned
06
🚀
Progress
Pilot Implement the appoved AI Use Cases to demonstrate benefits and Scale
Want to start small? The FIND phase alone (Play + Prioritize) is packaged as a standalone AI Experience Workshop (AEW) engagement module of of 3-4 days with tangible outputs, where your team owns the results from Day One.
Start Here

FIND the right AI Use Cases through
The AI Experience Workshop ( AEW )

AEW is the FIND Phase ( Play+Prioritize ), packaged as a short 3-4 day standalone engagement module with it's own specific deliverables - in this immersive engagement, your teams will ideate & shape the best fit AI use cases for your context and prioritize them based on impact & complexity for you !

A very low commitment, high value starter engagement option for clients.

1
Build Real AI Intuition
Hands-on exploration using the AI Sandbox and Know Kits — no jargon, no vendor decks. Your team gets genuine intuition for what AI can and cannot do in practice.
2
Frictions & Art of the Possible
Align strategic priiorities and surface real frictions from people on the ground - discuss best in class AI use cases in domain / industry for art of the possible appreciation, through Know Kits
3
Ideate & Shape AI Use Cases
Using the AI Lego toolkit, your team ideates and shapes AI use cases rooted in your context — not competitor benchmarks or theoretical models.
4
Prioritised AI Use case Shortlist
A scored, ranked shortlist of use cases your team built and believes in — ready for the next stage or as a standalone deliverable. Your team owns the outputs from Day 1.
What you walk away with in 3-4 days
  • A prioritised AI use-case shortlist for your context
  • A cross functional team aligned on the direction
  • Business first framing , not tech hype
  • Momentum, ownership and excitment from within
  • A clear path to the next phase or stop here

Typical failed AI pilot costs $ 200-400K & 4-8Mths.
- AEW costs a fraction & sets you on the prevention path.

To know more, book an AEW session →

Case Study · Pharma Supply Chain

From pain points to a prioritised roadmap in 3 days

A pharmaceutical manufacturer's supply chain team — spanning Manufacturing, Planning, Distribution, Procurement and Commercial — went from mapping daily friction points to identifying & shaping digital use cases to prioritising a roadmap, using the airtree labs methodology outlined above.

35
team members in the room
3 days
from start to roadmap
1
workshop (1 day)
8
digital ideas, team-generated
5
initiatives selected for the roadmap

The Economics

The real cost is the failed pilot.

Whether you're making your first move into AI or rescuing a AI pilot that didn't land - the economics point the same way.

❌ Without airtree labs
$ 200-400K & 4-8 Mths

A pilot that may not land

Sunk cost, lost time, and a harder conversation the next time AI comes up at the board table. Choosing use cases blind, without structured assessment, is how first AI investments become cautionary tales.

✅ With airtree labs
Fraction of the Cost · Weeks

A solid business case to de-risk your AI Pilot investment

Your team finds the best AI use cases , assesses them and builds the business case for them, so your first AI investment is also your first AI success.
Idea to Business case in 3-4 weeks, or AEW starter engagement in 3-4 days.


Root Cause Analysis

The 6 reasons AI investments fail

Synthesised from RAND, McKinsey, MIT Sloan, BCG & Gartner research (2024–2025). The causes are structural — and entirely fixable.

01
No Business-First Thinking
42% of failed projects cite "unclear business value" as the primary cause. Technology is chosen before the problem is even defined.
02
Wrong Use-Case Selection
Teams chase hype use-cases, not context-relevant ones. Competitor benchmarking replaces structured fit analysis.
03
Poor or Biased Data
58% of AI projects hit unexpected data quality issues. Garbage in, garbage out — AI amplifies existing data problems.
04
Pilot-to-Production Gap
Clean demo environments don't reflect messy real-world integration realities. 73% never bridge this gap.
05
Missing Cross-Functional Team
Tech-only teams build solutions disconnected from users and operations. Business, design, and domain experts are absent from Day 1.
06
No Adoption & Change Plan
Successful AI resource allocation is 70% people & process. Most organisations do the exact opposite.

Why airtree labs

What makes us different

Six structural advantages — each one engineered to directly address one of the six reasons AI investments fail.

🎯
Business-First, Context-Specific
AI use cases that bring maximum impact and align with your priorities — identified and shaped by your team, not theoretical models.
🎨
Design Thinking at the Core
Co-creation workshops, human-centred tools, journey maps & prototypes. Not lectures. Not decks. Real outcomes built with your team.
💡
ROI Clarity Before Investment
Validated business case, fully costed. No guessing. No faith-based investing. You leave Board-ready.
🛠️
Proprietary Toolkits & Frameworks
AI Sandbox, Know Kits, AI Lego & Design-Led Consulting Frameworks crash time and cost while maximising innovation for your context.
🚦
Low Barriers to Adoption
Click-through prototypes and journey map walkthroughs surface adoption barriers before a single dollar of build is spent. Zero adoption failure.
🏆
Success Champions from Within
The co-creation approach builds deep ownership and excitement inside your team — the strongest driver of successful AI adoption.
About

An experienced & trained, multi-disciplinary team, to help you Find, Assess and Implement your AI initiatives with confidence !

Airtree Labs Talent Model is built on Business, Design, Tech & Industry pillars and powered by a Core Team ( many ex-ibm ), with excellent credentials, who love solving problems and helping businesses succeed !

Tech Business Design ( Human ) Industry

Leadership

airtree labs was founded to bridge the gap between AI capability and enterprise reality, by translating decades of deep enterprise consulting experience of founders into a de-risked, accelerated path to predictable business value for clients.

Phaneendra Kumar Pydikondala
Phaneendra Kumar Pydikondala
Strategy | Tech | Offerings | GTM

Three decades across consulting, solutioning, solution sales, product development, delivery & leadership roles mainly in the High Tech, AI and Digital Transformation space - 19 years at IBM in multiple global & local roles, 6 years @ FUGEN (a TVS backed hi-tech startup ) as a co-founder & consultant. Started out in Management Consulting, which gave him the business-first lens that still shapes how airtree labs works today.

MBA, S.P. Jain, Mumbai · BE, BIT Ranchi

Ganesan T S S
Ganesan T S S
Design | Assets | Talent

A long-time design practitioner who has watched design become a new way of working across industry, from the trenches. A decade at IBM applying design thinking across business & innovation and leading strategic experience transformation engagements for global & local clients. Two decades ar Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, and Mercator prior to this. An accomplished Carnatic musician on the Mridangam outside of work.

PG Visual Arts · HFI Certified Professional

Govind Rao Danda
Govind Rao Danda
Americas & Europe GTM | Partnerships

Built and exited a training business straight out of college in the 90s. Then spent 19 years at TCS across the US, as Client Partner until 2022. Now focused on helping mid-sized US organisations grow & scale . He brings the market instincts and client intuition the rest of the team leans on.

MBA, IIM Bangalore · BE, BIT Ranchi


Call to Action

Ready to make your first AI investment
your first AI success?

Book a 1-hour "Unboxing airtree labs" session. We'll walk you through our approach, show you the toolkits, and answer every question — no commitment required.

1-hour session · No charge · Face to face or virtual · No commitment required