Oxford, UK · Senior technology & AI advisory

Put AI to work in your business. Senior-led, built properly, priced clearly.

We find the AI and automation opportunities that actually pay back, then build and integrate them into the way your team works. Need senior technology leadership too? We step in as your fractional CTO or CPO.

  • Founder-led15+ years building technology and products
  • Regulated-readyFintech, banking and healthcare experience
  • Fixed-price start2-week diagnostic from £2,000
Services

Focused services, one simple way to start

Most clients begin with a fixed-price diagnostic. From there, we build what we found, lead your technology and product on a part-time retainer, or help you prepare and run your next funding round.

Fractional CTO / CPO

A senior CTO or CPO, without the full-time hire

For funded startups that need senior technology and product leadership now, but not a full-time executive salary. We join your leadership team about two days a week.

  • Technology and product strategy, roadmap and architecture
  • Hands-on leadership of your engineers, agencies and contractors
  • Hiring plan, interviews and onboarding of your future full-time CTO
  • Investor and board-ready technology due diligence
  • Security, compliance and vendor decisions in regulated markets
From £4,000 / month~2 days a week · 3-month minimum
Fundraising

Fundraising support for your next round

For founders preparing a pre-seed to Series A round. Practical, hands-on help from someone who has raised venture funding as a founder, so you go to investors prepared and run a tight process.

  • Deck and narrative: story, positioning and the questions investors will ask
  • Financial model review: assumptions, unit economics and use of funds
  • Investor list and targeting: the funds and angels that fit your stage and sector
  • Intro strategy: how to reach each investor, and in what order
  • Process management: pipeline, follow-ups, timelines and term-sheet preparation
  • Data room: structure, documents and technical due-diligence material

No one can honestly guarantee a raise, and we don't. We help you give your round the best chance.

£1,000 / month + 3% success feeSuccess fee on capital closed · terms agreed in writing
Start here

2-week AI & technology diagnostic

A fixed-scope review of your processes, systems and team. You get a prioritised list of opportunities, rough costs and returns, and a practical 90-day plan you can act on with or without us.

From £2,000Fixed price · 2 weeks
Specialist

Blockchain & tokenisation advisory

Over a decade in crypto, including building blockchain infrastructure that banks use. Practical advice on tokenisation, stablecoins, custody and digital-asset products, from architecture to institutional sales.

Priced on scopeAdvisory sessions or projects
Who it's for

Built for companies that need senior help, not a big consultancy

Funded startups

  • Seed to Series A, no senior tech or product lead yet
  • A product to ship and investors to reassure
  • Want to use AI properly from day one

Small and mid-sized firms

  • Teams buried in repetitive admin and manual work
  • Know AI could help, unsure where to start
  • Want results in weeks, not a year-long programme

Fintech and regulated businesses

  • Payments, lending, wealth, digital assets, health
  • Data protection, audit and regulator expectations
  • Need someone who has sold technology to banks
How it works

Start small, prove value, then scale

No long contracts up front. Every engagement starts with a clear scope and a fixed price.

  1. Free · 30 minutes

    Intro call

    We talk through your goals, constraints and what you've tried. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so and point you elsewhere.

  2. Fixed price · 2 weeks

    Diagnostic

    We review your processes, systems and team, then hand over a prioritised plan with costs, expected returns and risks.

  3. Project or monthly retainer

    Build or lead

    We build the priority AI solutions on a fixed quote, or join you as fractional CTO/CPO to lead delivery with your team.

What you get, every time

Senior attention

The founder leads every engagement personally. No hand-off to juniors.

Plain English

Clear recommendations, written down, with costs and trade-offs you can take to your board.

Working software

Solutions running in your environment, documented, and owned by you.

No lock-in

We hand over code, prompts, configuration and know-how so your team can run it.

Example engagements

What working together could look like

Illustrative examples of typical engagements, to show the shape of the work. They are not client case studies.

Example · AI implementation

Automating customer onboarding

A diagnostic maps the onboarding process and finds where staff re-key documents by hand. We then build an AI workflow that extracts and checks the data, flags exceptions for a person to review, and logs every step for audit.

Example · Fractional CTO

Leading a seed-stage product team

A newly funded startup with an outsourced dev team needs direction. Two days a week, we set the architecture and roadmap, run delivery, prepare technical due diligence for the next round and hire the first full-time engineering lead.

Example · Tokenisation

Taking a pilot to production

A team with a tokenisation proof of concept needs to pass a bank's security and procurement review. We advise on architecture, custody choices, controls and the documentation institutional buyers expect.

Founder-led experience

Senior experience, applied hands-on

CPTOX is a founder-led advisory based in Oxford, UK. The founder leads every engagement, supported by vetted specialists and modern AI tooling where they add value, so you get senior judgement and fast delivery without big-consultancy overheads.

  • Outcomes over activity. We recommend only what we would pay for ourselves.
  • Honest scoping. If AI isn't the right answer, we'll tell you.
  • Built to be handed over. Your team owns what we build.
  • 15+ years in technology and productLeading engineering and product teams from first prototype to production.
  • Co-founded a blockchain fintech that serves banksLed product and technology at a company that raised about $40m and sells infrastructure to financial institutions.
  • In crypto since 2013Deep, practical experience of digital assets, tokenisation, stablecoins and custody.
  • Regulated healthcare technologyEarlier work building technology where data protection and compliance are non-negotiable.
FAQ

Common questions

What does the 2-week diagnostic include?

Interviews with your team, a review of your key processes, systems and data, and a written report: a prioritised list of AI and technology opportunities with rough costs, expected returns, risks and a 90-day plan. It's fixed price, and you can use the plan with or without us.

How much does AI implementation cost?

It depends on scope, which is why we start with the diagnostic. After it you get a fixed quote for each build, so there are no open-ended invoices.

What does a fractional CTO or CPO actually do?

The same job as a full-time CTO or CPO (strategy, architecture, roadmap, team leadership, hiring and board or investor conversations) for about two days a week. Retainers start from £4,000 a month with a three-month minimum, then roll monthly.

Who will actually do the work?

The founder leads every engagement and stays your main contact. For larger builds we bring in vetted specialists, and we use AI tooling to move faster. You'll always know who is working on what.

Is our data safe?

We work under NDA, follow UK GDPR, and design for data protection from the start: choosing where data is processed, limiting what AI models can see and keeping audit trails. For regulated clients we work within your existing policies and controls.

How does the fundraising success fee work?

The retainer is £1,000 a month and covers preparation and process support. The 3% success fee applies only to capital closed from investors we introduce, or whose process we manage, during the engagement. The exact terms, including what counts and any period after the engagement ends, are agreed in writing before we start. We don't guarantee that a round will close or on what terms.

Where are you based? Do you work outside the UK?

We're based in Oxford, UK. We meet clients in person where it's practical and work remotely with companies across the UK and Europe.

Do we need a technical team already?

No. We can work with your in-house developers, an external agency, or build with our own specialists if you have no team yet.

Get in touch

Book a free 30-minute call

Tell us what you're working on. We'll reply within one working day with honest next steps, even if that's "you don't need us".

Based in Oxford, UK. Working with companies across the UK and Europe, in person or remotely.

Prefer to pick a time?

Choose a slot that suits you for a no-obligation intro call.

Book a time

Or email info@cptox.com

Find out where AI will pay back in your business

Two weeks, fixed price, a clear plan at the end.

Book a free call