San Diego is a hotspot for advanced technology, and locally founded company Cadre AI is at the forefront of the city’s ongoing AI revolution.
Cadre AI is a strategic consulting firm that helps companies harness the power of artificial intelligence to streamline operations, increase employee happiness, and scale their businesses. And it’s a prime example of why San Diego is at the cutting edge of the ongoing AI revolution.
Here’s what you should know.
Strategic AI Implementation
With so many products and platforms on the market, the AI landscape can be difficult to navigate for many businesses. Sometimes, even at midsize or large companies, the AI strategy can end up looking piecemeal or ad hoc.
This is where a company like Cadre AI can come in. Staffed with expert AI managers, strategists, and engineers, the company can help businesses of all sizes align AI tools with their own specific objectives and goals.
To that end, Cadre AI can help across a number of different AI-related areas, such as:
- Development of AI strategies
- Design and deployment of AI agents
- AI education and training
- AI tool implementation
- Workflow automation
- AI-powered business intelligence
“If you look at the name ‘cadre,’ it means an elite and highly specialized group of experts,” said CEO and Founder Grayson Lafrenz. “We’re your AI cadre. We become an extension of your team.”
Cadre AI’s core services are rooted in custom strategies. The company’s experts will analyze your day-to-day operations, identify high-value opportunities, and help build a roadmap that’s tailored to your unique business goals.
“AI is not a one-size-fits-all technology,” said Riley Stricklin Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. “It really has to be a bespoke strategy to drive the most impact. So, at Cadre, we help companies figure that out for themselves.”
The Cadre Process
Because no two businesses are alike, Cadre AI’s process can vary depending on a company’s specific circumstances, needs, and opportunities. However, every company that works with Cadre AI gets the same expertise.
“We build a team around all of our clients,” Stricklin said. “About a five-person team, and that includes AI managers, strategists, AI engineers, and executive sponsors.”
Once a team onboards a new client, Cadre AI measures its impact in three broad categories:
- Increasing overall business revenue
- Optimizing business profitability and efficiency
- Empowering employees and boosting employee happiness
As mentioned earlier, the exact strategy to hit targets across these three pillars can vary depending on a business. For example, Cadre AI has engineers who can develop proprietary AI platforms or large-language models specifically for a company. Oftentimes, however, Cadre AI strategists will recommend a less bespoke solution since many “off-the-shelf” AI tools are already well-suited to the task.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, an existing tool is going to be great for the business,” Stricklin said. “So our focus is to help companies figure out which tools they should integrate, and which ones they shouldn’t integrate. Then, we just customize that tool for your business and handle all of the integration for you.”
The Future of Cadre AI in San Diego
So far, the company’s approach has been wildly successful. According to Lafrenz, Cadre AI was founded in November 2024. Less than a year later, it has an impressive roster of both San Diego and national clients and is targeting over $12 - $15 million in annual recurring revenue in its second year.
While Cadre’s executive team comes from a diverse range of backgrounds, they all share one thing in common: A passion for San Diego and its technology scene.
“There are a lot of brilliant technical minds coming out of local schools like UCSD, San Diego State, and USD,” Stricklin said. “We lose a lot of that talent to San Francisco. So, we’re passionate about building that community here.”
“We’re building Cadre to be an AI unicorn here,” Grayson said. “We believe the market potential in San Diego alone is large enough for Cadre to become a billion-dollar company. And we want to make sure that San Diego businesses are also able to grow exponentially.”
