Dean Withey
01 About 02 Ventures 03 Work 04 Background 05 Get in touch
AI consultant · builder · investor
Dean Withey · AI consultant, founder and investor

Making AI real.

35+ enterprise AI deployments. Two companies founded and exited. Nine ventures up and running.

Assets, not dependencies. Outcomes, not software.

Backing and building the future.
Serial Founder · Active Investor
20+ years
In tech
Two exits
Founded and sold
Nine ventures
Across tech
What I do

I help businesses work out what AI can, and should, do for them, then make it real. Not pilots that stall. Working systems that lighten workload, sharpen decisions and show up in the numbers.

{{ stat.value }} {{ stat.suffix }}
{{ stat.label }}
Dean Withey
Dean Withey
The human behind the work

I started out as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, which taught me to read a complex situation fast, decide with incomplete information, and execute under pressure. That instinct has run through everything since.

I founded and sold a FinTech, then founded, scaled and sold a conversational AI platform, and picked up an MBA and a Master's in Professional Consulting along the way.

These days I help organisations turn AI from a promising idea into systems that genuinely work, run a portfolio of businesses solving problems in this AI-powered world, and back early-stage founders with my own fund.

I also keynote on entrepreneurship and AI, and mentor social enterprise founders and businesses pro bono.

If you're at any stage of AI implementation in your business, working on something interesting in the AI space, or a pre-seed start-up. I am always happy to have a conversation.

The portfolio

What I'm running, and the why behind it.

Nine ventures, most of them AI-native, all actively shipping. If you're building something adjacent, or just curious, I'd love to hear from you.

Currently building
{{ v.num }} {{ v.name }}
{{ v.kicker }}

{{ v.name }}

{{ v.kind }} {{ v.num }} / 09

{{ v.long }}

Visit {{ v.name }} ↗
My mission

AIAI rewards judgement, not just code.

$4.4T
On the table each year
95%
Of AI pilots stall
5%
Capture nearly all the value

Anyone can build with AI now. The hard part is knowing what is worth building, how the pieces fit, and where it creates real commercial value. That judgement is the whole job.

Selected work

Trusted with the hard problems.

A few of the 30+ AI deployments I have scoped, built and shipped, for organisations large and small.

{{ c }} {{ c }}
{{ k.num }}
{{ k.client }}
{{ k.metric }}
{{ k.prefix }} {{ k.value }} {{ k.unit }}
{{ k.big }}

{{ k.desc }}
Built & sold

Two companies, founded and exited.

{{ e.name }}

{{ e.badge }}
{{ e.tag }}

{{ e.desc }}
From cockpit to AI

Reading a situation, deciding, and executing... the throughline of a slightly unusual career.

{{ j.tag }}
{{ j.year }}
{{ j.title }}

{{ j.desc }}
Giving back

Volunteering & mentoring

Social Enterprise Consultant

Pro bono · 2014–now
London

I support tech-focused social enterprise startups and SMEs. Whether it is a coffee and a chat or more structured in-house mentoring, I give pro bono startup, growth, strategy and technology advice. Using my evil capitalist skills as a force for good makes me happy.

Career & Startup Mentor

2016–now
University of East Anglia

I mentor students who want to start their own business: demystifying the process, building their confidence, and helping them focus their effort and plan a career they actually want. Largely the advice I wish I had had at their age.

Contact

Let's talk.

Working on something interesting in AI, or just want to say hi?