Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at a breakneck pace, and San Diego company Cadre AI is ensuring our region has a seat at the table.
Cadre AI is a fast-growing AI strategy and implementation firm founded in San Diego. Despite its local roots, Cadre AI is quickly gaining national recognition as a leader in enterprise AI adoption.
Here’s everything you need to know about the company.
What Cadre Does
Cadre AI has built its reputation as a nationally recognized AI leader through a combination of executive-level strategy and hands-on technical implementation. While the company works with advanced AI systems and platforms and is staffed by expert technologists, its focus on strategic AI roadmaps sets it apart.
“We are an AI strategy and integration firm,” said Chief Strategy Officer Riley Stricklin. “We help companies figure out how they can leverage AI in their business, including what they should do and how to actually do it. Then, we step in and help them implement it.”
These days, many companies face an “AI gap.” Business leaders know they should adopt AI, but they aren’t sure where to start. At some companies, Stricklin said, the dominant AI “strategy” might just be an employee’s personal ChatGPT account. Cadre AI’s job is to streamline and simplify it.
To that end, Cadre AI offers a range of strategic services, from the creation of custom AI roadmaps to the actual implementation of AI tools and automation processes. This core focus of strategy and implementation, along with services like AI training and talent acquisition, can help ensure that AI adoption is transformative, and not just theoretical.
Notable Local & National Achievements
Since its founding in November 2024, Cadre AI has helped dozens of companies in both San Diego and beyond implement advanced AI solutions and strategies. Client results are crucial and the cornerstone of any consulting business, but Cadre AI is also being recognized as a thought leader in the AI space. Just recently, the company was named one of a handful of official service providers for OpenAI.
The national recognition cements Cadre AI as a company with a global reach, but that doesn’t mean it’s being pulled away from its local community. Many of the executives at Cadre AI are San Diego natives and highly passionate about fostering a local culture of AI innovation.
“We’re just passionate about building in San Diego and impacting San Diego companies,” said Stricklin. “Our whole team is locally based, and we love it here.”
Top Leadership
The term “cadre” means an elite and highly specialized group of experts. True to its name, Cadre AI has a crack leadership team comprising some of the most notable innovators, entrepreneurs, and technologists in San Diego.
Take Ben Shapiro, one of Cadre AI’s co-founders. He’s well-known for translating the complexity of AI into clear, actionable strategies for clients.
“People often have a hard time wrapping their heads around AI’s capabilities and limitations. A big part of our job is simplification and education that enables business leaders to move forward with a strategy & plan they have clarity and confidence in.” – Ben Shapiro.
After diving headfirst into the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship at San Diego State University, Shapiro began experimenting with AI systems for smart homes and assistants. Eventually, he launched his own company: TekMate.
This work in automation quickly caught the attention of the wider AI community, leading him to leadership roles in consulting and product design. At Cadre, Shapiro helps local and national companies alike adopt AI tools in a way that can fully transform their businesses.
Shapiro is also a San Diegan and frequently appears at local business forums and professional events. His career serves as an example for the next generation of San Diego students and entrepreneurs who want to merge local pride with global impact.
“My first startup at SDSU had the mission ‘Empower people to live healthier, happier, and more productive lives through technology.’ I’ve carried that forward and that is a core part of the work we do at Cadre. AI is the most empowering tool ever and we all have access to it.” – Ben Shapiro.
Cadre AI’s Future
Cadre AI’s story is more than just a tale of tech success; it’s a reminder that San Diego is home to incredible local talent and that local AI leaders are helping to steer some of the most important conversations in technology today.
“San Diego has the talent and the entrepreneurial energy to become a global AI hub. The next decade is about proving that innovation doesn’t have to come from the usual tech centers. We have an opportunity to create our own San Diego flavor of technology and entrepreneurship.” – Ben Shapiro.
