Founding Pilot Program
Test private AI on one internal-data workflow
PremisIQ’s Founding Pilot is a narrowly scoped on-premise implementation for companies ready to validate one valuable internal-data workflow before moving toward production.
- Paid pilot
- On-premise only
- Clear validation criteria
Qualification
Who the pilot is for
The Founding Pilot is designed for companies with a real internal-data problem, a narrow workflow to validate, and the internal support needed to test private AI in a controlled on-premise environment.
Clear business problem
- One identifiable business problem
- Realistic expectations
- A potential path to production
Accessible internal sources
- One or two accessible sources
- IT support or technical access
Committed validation
- An internal project owner
- Willingness to validate results
Scope guardrail
If the use case is too broad, the pilot should be narrowed before implementation begins.
Typical Setup
Example pilot scope
A founding pilot is intentionally narrow. The goal is not to replace company systems, but to validate one valuable internal-data workflow with clear test criteria.
Always on-premise
The pilot is always deployed on-premise. During assessment, PremisIQ determines whether compatible customer hardware can be used or whether a dedicated pilot server should be specified and provided.
- Customer hardware assessed
- Pilot server specified only if needed
Both are hardware arrangements within the same on-premise deployment model, not separate deployment options.
Delivery Scope
Pilot scope: what is included and where it ends
The Founding Pilot is a focused paid engagement. It includes the core work needed to define, install, connect, test, and evaluate one private AI workflow — while keeping broader rollout, automation, and custom expansion outside the initial scope.
Included in the pilot
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Define the pilot
- Discovery workshop
- Use-case definition
- Test criteria
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Review access and infrastructure
- Source review
- Permission review
- Hardware assessment
- On-premise architecture
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Install and connect
- Server setup
- Initial data connection
- Focused RAG/search workflow
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Validate and recommend
- Validation session
- Production recommendation
Timeline
Pilot timeline
A typical Founding Pilot targets eight to twelve weeks after scope, access, and hardware requirements are confirmed.
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Weeks 1–2
Discovery and pilot definition
Use case, success criteria, systems, access, security requirements, and technical constraints.
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Weeks 3–5
Environment and architecture setup
Hardware or server readiness, deployment environment, source access, and identity and permission planning.
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Weeks 6–9
Workflow implementation and internal testing
Retrieval setup, indexing, workflow configuration, answer behavior, source linking, and internal validation.
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Weeks 10–12
User validation and production recommendation
Customer testing, refinements, evaluation, risks, and the next-step production plan.
Timing depends on hardware availability, data quality, system access, and customer response time.
Success Criteria
How success is measured
Before implementation starts, the pilot should have agreed questions and practical validation criteria. The goal is to measure whether the workflow is useful, accurate enough, and realistic for production.
Answer quality
- Correct source retrieval
- Source-linked answers
- Agreed questions answered satisfactorily
Access control
- Permission behavior
- Systems accessed through one interface
Operational usefulness
- Time required to find information
- Response time
User validation
- User feedback
- Practical fit for production
The exact criteria are selected during discovery so the pilot can be evaluated against the customer’s real workflow.
Customer Role
What your team provides
A successful pilot requires a small but committed internal team and timely access to the agreed systems or sources.
People
- Internal project owner
- IT contact
- Test users
Access
- Server-room or infrastructure access
- Representative sample data
- Permission information
Validation
- Agreed test questions
- Timely feedback
Commercial Model
Commercial model
The Founding Pilot is a paid, narrowly scoped engagement. Exact pricing is defined after the fit call, once scope, hardware needs, and delivery effort are clear.
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Fit call
Review the use case and confirm pilot fit.
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Fixed pilot scope
Define fixed pilot boundaries, scope, and deliverables.
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Commercial proposal
Define exact pricing after scope validation.
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Pilot delivery
Execute the pilot with milestone-based payments.
Exact pricing is not published before scope validation.
Quoted separately when needed
- Hardware quoted separately
- Production implementation quoted separately
- Additional integrations quoted separately
- Ongoing support begins under a separate agreement
Separate items are reviewed only if needed after the pilot scope is validated.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality and case-study choices
Founding Pilot customers can choose how, or whether, their participation is referenced publicly.
Nothing is published without written approval.
Visibility choices
- Named case study
- Anonymous case study
- Technical case study without identifying details
- No public case study
- Private reference call only
Key terms
Pilot terms
These terms clarify what is being scoped before a founding pilot is accepted.
- Fixed pilot scope
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A defined pilot boundary covering one use case, selected sources, users, validation criteria, and expected duration.
It keeps the pilot measurable and prevents uncontrolled expansion.
- Validation questions
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Agreed test questions or tasks used to evaluate retrieval quality, source links, permissions, and workflow usefulness.
They give the pilot a practical basis for acceptance or revision.
- Source-linked output
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Search, chat, summary, or workflow output that points back to the source material used to produce it.
Reviewers can verify output before using it.
- Production recommendation
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A practical recommendation after validation covering whether to proceed, revise scope, prepare infrastructure, or stop.
It turns pilot evidence into a next-step decision.
- Hardware assessment
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A review of existing or required compute, storage, networking, backup, and operating needs for the workflow.
It confirms whether the environment can support the proposed implementation.
Application
Apply for the Founding Pilot
If your company has one clear internal-data workflow that could benefit from private AI, apply for a founding pilot and we’ll review whether the scope is suitable.
Founding Pilot is preselected in the form.