Koca Ventures Ltd
71-75 Shelton Street
Covent Garden, London
WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom
Registered in England & Wales — 16231043
UK & EU AI Startups
Fractional CTO forUK and EU AI Startups
On-demand technical leadership: architecture decisions, engineering hiring, investor due diligence, and MVP-to-scale roadmaps — without the full-time cost or equity dilution.
What Is a Fractional CTO?
Senior technical leadership, precisely when you need it
A fractional CTO is a senior technology leader who supports a company part-time on an ongoing basis — typically 10-25 hours per week — delivering executive-level architecture, hiring, and roadmap decisions without the cost or equity dilution of a full-time hire. Unlike an interim CTO (temporary full-time) or a consultant (advice only), a fractional CTO embeds and owns outcomes.
Set a technology roadmap, make the right first engineering hires, or walk into a Series A data room with a defensible architecture story — faster and cheaper than a permanent hire at this stage.
What You Get
- Technology strategy and roadmap aligned to fundraise milestones
- Engineering hiring guidance — profiles, process, and technical interviews
- Investor-ready technical due diligence documentation
- Architecture review with prioritised remediation plan
- On-call escalation for production incidents and security events
How much does a fractional CTO cost in the UK?
A fractional CTO in the UK costs £800–£1,600 per day or £3,000–£8,000 per month for one to two days per week. Senior specialists in regulated sectors (fintech, defence, healthtech) can reach £2,500/day. London rates run 20-30% above the UK average. Total annual cost: roughly £40,000–£200,000 — approximately 30-40% of a full-time CTO's true loaded cost.
| Engagement | Cadence | Monthly Cost (UK) | Day Rate (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery sprint | 2 weeks fixed | £8,000–£16,000 total | £1,000–£2,000 |
| Fractional standard | 1–2 days/week | £4,000–£7,000 | £850–£1,600 |
| Fractional heavy | 3 days/week | £8,000–£12,000 | £900–£1,800 |
| Equity-aligned | 1–2 days/week + equity | £2,000–£4,000 cash + 1–5% equity | varies |
| Full-time CTO (comparison) | 5 days/week | £12,500–£20,000+ loaded | £700–£1,250 effective |
2026 UK market figures aggregated from Renoir Interim Remuneration Guide and published fractional-CTO directories.
See full engagement models and project-size pricing on our pricing page.
When to hire a fractional CTO
Hire a fractional CTO when:
- You have validated the product idea and need senior architecture decisions before scaling past your MVP.
- You are about to make engineering hires two through eight and want consistent code standards from day one.
- Investor technical due diligence is on the calendar in the next 90 days.
- Your current CTO has departed and you need continuity while running a permanent search.
- You operate in a regulated sector (FCA, PSD2, GDPR, ITAR) and need security-and-compliance ownership without a full-time hire.
- Annual revenue or pre-seed funding will not yet absorb the £200k–£350k true cost of a permanent CTO.
- Years of shortcut-driven technical debt need an executive-level assessment and a pragmatic remediation plan.
- You are evaluating platforms, agencies, or technology partners and need an independent expert to make the call.
Core Services
What a Fractional CTO Does
01
Technology Strategy
Define your technology roadmap, align engineering with product vision, and make the architectural decisions that will scale with your business.
02
Team Leadership
Lead and mentor your engineering team, establish engineering culture, define hiring profiles, and build the processes that let teams move fast.
03
Investor & Board Relations
Prepare technical due diligence materials, represent technology to your board, and translate complex engineering decisions into business language.
04
Architecture Review
Audit your current technical stack, identify scalability risks, reduce technical debt, and produce a clear prioritised remediation plan.
Engagement Models
How We Work Together
01
Advisory
A monthly retainer for strategic guidance, board preparation, and on-call availability. Ideal for founders who need a trusted technology advisor.
02
Embedded
Part-time embedded within your organisation, attending standups, leading engineering, and working alongside your team day-to-day.
03
Project-Based
A fixed-scope engagement for a specific challenge — architecture review, due diligence preparation, team restructuring, or technical strategy sprint.
04
Board Level
Representation at board level, translating technical strategy into business outcomes and providing independent oversight of technology decisions.
SECTOR EXPERIENCE
Fractional CTO Across Industries
Why founders work with us
1
The founder still ships code. You are not hiring a slide-deck advisor. The same person who reviews your architecture also writes the Rust code that fixes the production bug at 23:00.
2
AI-first by experience, not by hashtag. We have shipped production edge AI on NVIDIA Jetson, TigerBeetle ledgers, and Isaac SIM robotics — not just integrated a third-party API.
3
UK-registered with a verifiable name. Koca Ventures Ltd, Companies House 16231043. London registered office at 71-75 Shelton Street. Click and verify.
Learn more about our background on the about page or see how we work.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional CTO?
A senior technology leader who supports your company part-time — typically 10-25 hours per week — owning architecture, hiring, and roadmap decisions without the cost or equity dilution of a full-time hire.
How much does a fractional CTO cost in the UK?
A fractional CTO in the UK costs £800-£1,600 per day or £3,000-£8,000 per month for one to two days per week. Senior specialists in regulated sectors can reach £2,500 per day. London rates run 20-30% above the UK average.
When should a startup hire a fractional CTO?
Hire a fractional CTO when you have validated the product idea, are scaling past MVP toward your second or third engineer, or are preparing for investor technical due diligence. Transition to full-time CTO once the engineering team passes eight to twelve people.
Fractional CTO vs full-time CTO — which is right for my company?
Choose fractional when engineering headcount is under twelve, budget is constrained, or strategic oversight matters more than daily presence. Choose full-time when you have 50+ technical staff, regulated daily operations, or budget for £200,000-£350,000 true loaded cost.
Can a fractional CTO help with investor technical due diligence?
Yes. A fractional CTO commonly leads pre-fundraise technical due diligence preparation, including architecture review, scalability assessment, security posture documentation, IP audit, and dry-run investor Q&A. Typical engagement: a 2-week discovery sprint at a fixed fee, quoted after a scoping call.
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Bring your fundraise timeline, your engineering headcount, and one architectural decision keeping you up at night. We will tell you honestly whether a fractional CTO engagement is the right tool.