Home / Case studies / Winning funding for new AI programs
Winning funding for new AI programs
Delivering AI well is half the job. The other half is winning the work: finding the right problems, making the case, and proving value before anyone commits budget.
6programs funded in 2026
4new business groups
15agentic programs in the lab portfolio
€85Klargest single win so far
The problem
The lab's first wave of agentic AI work sat in procurement. To grow, it needed funded programs in other parts of the business.
Each new program had to win a business case against other priorities, often with sponsors who had not yet seen agentic AI work in their own area.
The approach
- Led early presales conversations with business teams to find problems worth solving and owners willing to champion them.
- Built each business case and delivery roadmap alongside the product owner, who owned the vision while I owned the plan and the path to value.
- Built the first prototype before funding decisions, so sponsors could see the idea working rather than imagine it.
- After approval, handed each build to Forward Deployed Engineers for production while keeping overall accountability for the outcome.
- Designed for reuse: an orchestration capability built for one product category was planned to extend to other categories and then other business groups.
The outcome
- 6 AI programs funded in 2026 across 4 new business groups.
- Individual budgets ranging from CAD $40K to €85K, part of a lab portfolio of 15 agentic AI programs.
- A repeatable path from conversation to funded program that the lab can keep using.
What I would tell another leader
A working prototype in the room shortens the funding conversation more than any slide.