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Deep Learn Studios is the custom AI development arm of Deep Learn Institute. Studios builds production AI systems — agents, RAG, integrations, and governance frameworks — for organizations that want practitioner-grade implementation backed by the team that teaches the next generation of AI builders. Tagline: "Custom AI, built by the team that teaches it."

Studios is a division of Deep Learn Institute (DLI). DLI is the training organization — 43 courses across 5 tiers covering AI Solutions Architect, AI Governance, RAG Systems, Multi-Agent Systems, and AI Red Team. Studios is the build arm where DLI graduates and instructors ship production systems for clients. The team teaching AI implementation is the team building it for clients.

Studios was founded by Trevor James, Founder and CEO of T. James Enterprises Inc. — the parent holding company for Deep Learn Institute, Deep Learn Studios, and a broader portfolio of for-profit and nonprofit ventures including the HBCU Endowment Fund, World Nourishment Foundation, T. James Foundation, Mavenly, Boss Holdings (Boss Traders AI, Boss Investors, Boss Finances), and Budget Travel Media. Studios' practitioner experience comes from building production AI across this portfolio.

Studios operates as a remote-first team distributed across the US, with our mailing address at 777 Brickell Avenue, Suite 500, Miami, FL 33131. We do periodic on-site engagements when client work warrants — kickoff sessions for enterprise builds, mid-engagement working sessions for complex integrations, executive briefings at handoff. International clients are welcomed; Studios has shipped engagements across multiple jurisdictions.

Studios is intentionally lean — we run a core senior practitioner team supplemented by vetted contractors for engagement-specific specializations (specific platforms, niche compliance domains, languages). Every engagement is staffed with four named roles: Engagement Lead, AI Engineer, Integration Engineer, and Quality Lead. You meet your team at kickoff. We're optimized for delivery quality, not headcount.

Six primary verticals: Financial Services & Fintech (anchored by Boss Holdings portfolio experience), Nonprofits & Mission-Driven, Education & HBCUs, SaaS & B2B Software, Travel & Consumer Brands, and Healthcare-Adjacent & Regulated industries. Beyond verticals, Studios serves any organization where the use case fits our mission and ethical commitments. See Solutions for the full breakdown.

Studios refuses engagements involving predatory lending optimization, surveillance technology (including law enforcement facial recognition and employee monitoring designed to fire workers), defense and weapons applications, disinformation and political deepfakes, and gambling AI optimized against problem gamblers. These commitments are non-negotiable regardless of payment offered. See Our Mission for the complete list of refused work.

Four practice areas: AI Agents & Workflows, RAG & Knowledge Systems, AI Integrations & Automation, and AI Strategy, Governance & Audits. Within these, five productized services with fixed scope and pricing: Claude Agent Builder ($7,500), RAG-in-a-Box ($15,000), AI Audit & Roadmap ($10,000), AI Compliance Setup ($25,000), and Fractional AI CTO retainer ($10K-$25K/month). Custom engagements available for builds that don't fit a productized service.

Productized services have defined scope, fixed price, and published timelines — they're the same engagement Studios has run many times, refined over multiple delivery cycles. Custom engagements are scoped to your specific situation under Studios Growth ($25K–$75K), Enterprise ($150K+), or Fractional AI CTO retainer tiers. If a productized service fits your use case, it's almost always the better starting point — faster, lower risk, no discovery-tax engagements.

Three quick paths: (1) You know what to build → match to a productized service (Agent Builder, RAG-in-a-Box, etc.). (2) You know AI matters but not where to deploy → AI Audit & Roadmap. (3) You need to pass an audit or operate under regulatory scrutiny → AI Compliance Setup. If none fit cleanly, book a discovery call — we'll recommend the right starting point in 30 minutes. We turn away ill-fit engagements rather than oversell them.

Claude Agent Builder is Studios' entry-level productized service: $7,500 fixed, 3 weeks, producing one production-ready Claude agent for a defined use case. Includes tool integrations, eval rubric, deployment, and runbook. The fastest way to ship your first production AI agent and the most common Studios entry point for SaaS and operations teams.

RAG-in-a-Box is Studios' most-requested productized service: $15,000 fixed, 5 weeks, producing an end-to-end retrieval system over your documents. Includes embedding pipeline, vector database, retrieval tuning, citation provenance, and deployment. The right starting point for customer support copilots, internal knowledge bases, sales enablement systems, and compliance-grounded research tools.

The Fractional AI CTO retainer is for organizations going through their first major AI buildout that need embedded strategic leadership, not just project execution. Three tiers: Advisor ($10K/mo), Embedded ($18K/mo), Operating ($25K/mo). 6-month minimum, 30-day chemistry guarantee. Most clients move into this retainer after a Studios productized engagement reveals ongoing strategic need.

Three options: (1) Pay-as-you-go: hourly support at $250/hr when you need it, no minimum. (2) Studios Retainer ($5K–$25K/month, 6–12 month minimum) for ongoing optimization, new features, or dedicated engineer hours. (3) Fractional AI CTO if ongoing strategic leadership is what you need. About 40% of Growth and Enterprise clients convert to retainer within 90 days of launch — usually after seeing what they could build next.

Productized services range from $7,500 (Claude Agent Builder) to $25,000 (AI Compliance Setup). Custom engagements: Studios Starter ($5K–$15K, 4-6 weeks), Growth ($25K–$75K, 8-12 weeks), Enterprise ($150K+, 16-26 weeks). Fractional AI CTO retainers: $10K–$25K/month with 6-month minimum. Pricing is published; we don't run "request a quote" gating. See Services for the full breakdown.

No. Third-party costs — model API usage (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI), vector database hosting (Pinecone, Weaviate), embedding generation, and cloud infrastructure — are paid by you directly to the applicable providers. Studios does not mark up these costs. We provide cost estimates in each SOW and a cost dashboard with production deployments so you can monitor and forecast spend.

Fixed-fee engagements: 50% deposit on SOW signature, 50% on delivery of final Deliverables. Both invoices due net-30. Retainer engagements: monthly in advance. Time-and-materials engagements: monthly in arrears. Late payments accrue interest at 1.5%/month. We do not require pre-payment beyond the standard deposit and don't offer pay-on-completion structures (it creates misaligned incentives for both parties).

Productized services are fixed price, fixed scope — the price is the price. The whole point of productized services is predictability for both sides, and discounting undermines that. Custom engagements have more flexibility, with pricing scoped to specific work. HBCUs and 501(c)(3) nonprofits receive preferential pricing programs (including the $50K HBCU Partnership bundle). For everyone else, the published price is the price.

Engagement-level termination is set forth in the MSA Section 12. In short: termination for convenience by either party requires 30 days' notice when no SOW is active. Mid-engagement: you can terminate for cause if Studios materially breaches the agreement and fails to cure within 30 days. Studios can terminate for non-payment after 30 days past-due plus 10 days' cure notice. The 30-day chemistry guarantee on Fractional AI CTO retainers allows you to exit the retainer in the first 30 days with no further obligation. We don't offer general "money-back guarantees" — fixed-fee structure protects both sides.

Yes. 501(c)(3) nonprofits receive preferential pricing on Studios engagements — typically 20-30% below standard rates depending on engagement type and scope. HBCUs and minority-serving institutions qualify for the $50K HBCU Partnership Program: a bundled audit + Agent Builder + DLI faculty training package designed for institutional budgets. Email partnerships@deeplearninstitute.ai to discuss the right path.

Every Friday during an engagement, you see working software against the evaluation set we agreed on in week one. No multi-month dark periods, no "we'll show you at the end" reveals. The Friday demo is the load-bearing event of the Studios delivery model — feedback compounds into the next sprint, not into a separate revision phase. See Process for the full operating model.

Through written change orders, not informal "while you're at it" requests. Scope changes happen in most engagements — they're a sign the project is generating real learning. The discipline is: every change requires a written change order, signed by both parties, before any new work happens. This protects you (you know what new scope costs and adds in time) and protects us (we don't drift into delivering unpaid work, which never ends well).

Productized services have published timelines: Claude Agent Builder (3 weeks), AI Audit & Roadmap (3 weeks), RAG-in-a-Box (5 weeks), AI Compliance Setup (6 weeks). Custom engagements: Studios Starter (4-6 weeks), Growth (8-12 weeks), Enterprise (16-26 weeks). Fractional AI CTO retainers have 6-month minimum terms. From signed SOW to engagement kickoff is typically 1-2 weeks.

Every Studios engagement is staffed with four named roles: Engagement Lead (senior practitioner accountable for delivery), AI Engineer (the builder), Integration Engineer (when integration scope warrants), and Quality Lead (owns evals and runbook). You meet your team at kickoff. Productized services run lean (1-2 people across roles); enterprise engagements have dedicated coverage per role.

Remote by default. Our team is distributed, which means more business-hour coverage and no commute overhead. We do periodic on-site sessions when warranted — kickoff for enterprise builds, mid-engagement working sessions for complex integrations, executive briefings at handoff. On-site travel is billed at cost with prior approval. Fractional AI CTO at Embedded and Operating tiers can accommodate recurring in-person presence if your operating model requires it.

We'd rather show you a struggling demo than hide it. A struggling Friday demo triggers an immediate working session — what's not working, why, what's the path forward. Sometimes the answer is a tactical fix, sometimes architectural pivot, sometimes "we mis-scoped this." In every case, you find out in week 4 or 5, not month 4 or 5 — and the engagement adapts before damage compounds. We've never had an engagement fail at handoff because of a quality issue.

You own everything specifically built for you on full payment — custom code, custom prompts, project-specific configurations, deployment infrastructure, and Deliverables. Studios retains "Background IP" (methodologies, reusable patterns, evaluation rubrics, prompt libraries developed across many engagements) and licenses it to you perpetually, royalty-free, as embodied in your Deliverables. No vendor lock-in. You can take the codebase to any other vendor.

For enterprise and ongoing-relationship engagements: a Master Services Agreement (MSA) plus one or more Statements of Work (SOWs) under it. For productized self-serve engagements, our Terms of Service plus an SOW may be sufficient. Additional documents when applicable: Data Processing Addendum (DPA) for engagements processing Personal Data, Business Associate Agreement (BAA) when Protected Health Information is involved. Templates available on request.

Standard structure: each party's total cumulative liability is capped at fees paid in the 12 months preceding any claim, with consequential damages excluded. Carve-outs (uncapped liability) apply to indemnification obligations, confidentiality breaches, payment obligations, and fraud/gross negligence. This matches industry-standard professional services agreements. The cap structure is documented in the MSA Section 9.

Delaware law governs. Disputes (other than claims for injunctive relief) are resolved via binding arbitration administered by JAMS in Wilmington, Delaware. Class action waiver applies. The Parties agree to attempt informal resolution before initiating arbitration. Full dispute resolution provisions in MSA Section 13.

Yes, with standard carve-outs. Studios defends, indemnifies, and holds you harmless against third-party claims alleging that Foreground IP infringes US patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets. Carve-outs: claims arising from your modification of the Foreground IP, combination with third-party materials, use in violation of the agreement, or AI model outputs. Studios indemnification doesn't extend to Third-Party Materials (model providers, open-source) or your specific instructions to Studios. Full details in MSA Section 11.

No — and no responsible AI services provider should. Studios warrants that Services are performed in a workmanlike manner and that Deliverables substantially conform to SOW specifications. Studios does NOT warrant that AI System outputs will be accurate, complete, free from hallucination, or fit for any particular purpose. AI Systems are probabilistic; you're responsible for reviewing AI-generated outputs before deploying or relying on them. This is an industry-standard limitation and matches major model providers' own terms.

No, never, without your explicit written consent. Client Data is used solely to perform the Services and provide the Deliverables — not to train Studios' own AI models, not to improve services for other clients, not for any other purpose. This commitment is contractual under MSA Section 7.1 and BAA Section 3.4. The no-training commitment is a foundational Studios policy.

Studios notifies you within 48 hours of confirming any unauthorized access to or disclosure of Client Data in our possession or control. Notification includes reasonably available information about scope, nature, and likely impact. Studios cooperates with your investigation and response, including providing information to support your notification obligations to authorities and affected individuals. For Personal Data, specific obligations are set forth in the DPA per applicable Data Protection Laws.

Studios provides a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) compliant with GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable Data Protection Laws. The DPA establishes Studios as a Processor acting on your Controller (or upstream-Controller) instructions, with appropriate technical and organizational measures (Annex A), sub-processor management, international transfer mechanisms (Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable), and 48-hour breach notification. Note: ultimate compliance with these laws applies to your business as the Controller — Studios supports compliance, doesn't substitute for it.

Yes, with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) executed before any PHI flows to Studios. The BAA establishes Studios as a Business Associate under HIPAA with appropriate Use and Disclosure limitations, safeguards under the Security Rule, breach reporting obligations, and an explicit prohibition on using PHI to train or improve Studios' own AI models. We work alongside your counsel and Privacy Officer on healthcare engagements — we don't replace them.

Upon engagement termination or your earlier request, Studios will, at your election, return Client Data or delete it from Studios' systems. Exceptions: backup copies retained per standard backup procedures (which expire in due course), and any copies required to be retained by law. Studios confirms completion of return or deletion in writing on request. Personal Data handled per the DPA; PHI handled per the BAA.

Every Studios Growth-tier engagement and above funds one HBCU scholarship seat through the HBCU Endowment Fund — the Jesse L. Jackson "Keep Hope Alive" Scholarship for full-time HBCU students with 2.5+ GPA, FAFSA filed, and an essay. The mission contribution is funded from Studios' margin, not from your project budget. Clients receive an annual impact report showing exactly which scholarships their engagement funded.

The HBCU Impact App delivers Deep Learn Institute AI training to HBCU students at no cost. Built and maintained by Studios for the HBCU Endowment Fund. AI skills training that leads to the jobs that fund the next generation. Part of the practitioner pipeline pillar of Studios' mission — every client engagement funds the courses that bring more people into the AI workforce.

A $50K bundle priced specifically for HBCU institutional budgets that combines an AI readiness assessment, a Claude Agent Builder production system, and faculty training delivered by Deep Learn Institute. Each HBCU partnership also funds an additional scholarship seat through the HBCU Endowment Fund. Email partnerships@deeplearninstitute.ai to discuss the program.

A portion of every Studios engagement supports World Nourishment Foundation programs — Feed a Neighbor (US food insecurity), Adopt-a-Meal ($25/month = 30 meals), and crisis-response feeding programs. Like the HBCU contribution, this is funded from Studios' margin. Food insecurity isn't abstract for the founder; the commitment is non-negotiable and built into Studios' operating model from day one.

Clients receive an annual Studios Impact Report with attribution to your specific engagement — which scholarships were funded, how many meals were provided, what training programs were supported as a result of your contribution. The report is shareable for your own ESG reporting, internal communications, or board reporting. Most clients reference the impact report in their next-year vendor selection processes.

Five-minute application via the Partners page. Approval within 48 hours. You'll receive partner portal access with unique referral tracking, a welcome packet covering Studios services in detail, and email confirmation of your entry-tier commission rates (10% on first engagements, 5% recurring on retainers for 12 months). No quota, no exclusivity, no commitment — refer one client a year or twenty.

Three partner tiers: Referral Partner (10% first engagement, 5% retainer for 12 months), Certified Partner (12%/10%, after $25K trailing-12-month volume), Strategic Partner (15%/15% with no recurring cap, after $100K trailing-12-month volume). Tier advancement is automatic based on closed referred revenue. New tier rates apply to new referrals signed after advancement.

180-day attribution window from first introduction. If a referred client signs within 180 days of your introduction, commission is yours — even if Studios' own outbound reaches them in the interim. We protect partner attribution by default. After 180 days without progress, attribution lapses. First-introduction wins for conflict resolution between partners.

Refer clients who: have $5M+ revenue or institutional budget, have a specific AI use case in mind, have executive sponsorship, have realistic timeline expectations, and are open to fixed-scope productized services. Don't refer clients who: are still in "should we do AI?" mode, want surveillance/defense/predatory use cases, want to negotiate productized pricing, have unrealistic AI expectations, or are looking for the lowest-cost vendor. Full ICP detail on the Partners page.

Commission is earned when Studios collects payment from the referred client. For fixed-fee engagements: 50% deposit invoiced on SOW signature, 50% on delivery, with commission paid net-30 after each collection. A typical $25K engagement pays partner commissions in two installments roughly 30 and 90 days from contract signing. Retainer commissions pay monthly as collected. ACH, wire, or check at your preference. International partners welcome with appropriate tax documentation.

No. Partners can simultaneously refer to Studios and to other AI service providers, agencies, or platforms. We don't ask you to commit to Studios as your sole referral relationship. Many partners maintain relationships with multiple AI vendors and refer based on each client's specific fit. Studios competes on delivery quality, not contractual lock-in.