Software and AI advisory

See the forest and the trees

I'm Dr. Henry Franks, director of Async Forest Ltd. I have spent two decades researching agentic systems, building production machine learning in startups and enterprises, and teaching responsible AI. I'll help you make the right decisions about your AI strategy and architecture.

Get in touch about your project

What people say

  • Henry is wonderful to partner with, especially when brainstorming new ideas or trying to figure out how to make something work with caveats or complex constraints. He has a keen eye for tradeoffs, and is able to discern the need for quick wins vs longterm sustainability. He is constantly learning new things and diving deep into how new technologies work and experimenting with them. He's also a delightful human.

    Tamara Miner Founder, Senior Technology Leader, Former CTO of Climate Policy Radar

  • Each semester, I invite Henry to be a Guest Lecturer for my International Digital IP and Cyber Security Course. His ability to make even the most complex and contested topics feel clear, engaging, and genuinely accessible is exceptional. He has a rare talent for translating nuance into something a non-specialist audience can not only understand but truly connect with. His perspective brings depth, clarity, and real impact.

    Frederick Mostert Professor of Practice, Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London

What I can help you with

  1. Is it sound? Technical due diligence and portfolio reviews, architecture and technology decision review, technology strategy audit. For investors and founders.
  2. What should we do? GenAI architecture, build-vs-buy, scale readiness, technical narratives. Best practices for production ML and GenAI are still emerging and volatile; I'll help you de-risk your approach.
  3. What next? The AI era changes fast enough that long-term decisions can feel impossible. I'll help you build durable, de-risked stability into your AI strategy and architecture.

If you're facing one of these decisions, the fastest way to start is to tell me about it.

Tell me about the decision you're facing