Knowledge systems
Corpus ingest, hybrid search, eval harnesses, and regression suites for grounded answers with citations.
About Sky Island AI
Based in Tucson, we build AI products and consulting engagements that respond to each client's terrain. Our name nods to Arizona's sky islands, unique ecosystems that thrive when conditions change.
Our Mission
We pair disciplined engineering with domain context so teams can deploy AI that people trust. Projects move fast, stay transparent, and land with measurable outcomes for operators and communities.
What Sets Us Apart
Rapid Development
Ship robust AI in weeks with small, senior teams.
Deep Expertise
RAG, multi-agent systems, voice, and data products.
Ethical AI
We aim AI at real problems and positive outcomes for people and communities.
Our Expertise
We design with frontier models from labs such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Engagements combine retrieval, agent orchestration, voice, and decision intelligence to support operators in complex domains.
Voice & multimodal
Telephony, web, virtual call center, and answering services with barge-in, consent logging, and conversation QA.
Decision intelligence
Dashboards, explainable calculators, and economic modeling built for transparency and stakeholder reporting.
Integrations & ML
API wiring, compliance workflows, targeted ML, and observability tuned for regulated environments.
The Sky Island Advantage
Like isolated peaks that foster unique evolutions, our approach creates tailored AI ecosystems that help teams adapt quickly and operate responsibly.
Founders
Leading Sky Island AI’s technical vision is Ed Hendel. A seasoned data scientist and leader, Ed holds a Master’s degree in Systems Biology from Harvard University, providing a robust foundation for his work. He brings deep expertise in applying Large Language Models (LLMs) to solve real-world challenges, with a significant track record in the healthcare sector. Ed’s impactful career includes spearheading the data science efforts as lead data scientist for the startup team that developed Machinify Auth, an innovative AI platform for healthcare streamlining acquired for $32 million. Prior to co-founding Sky Island AI, he served as an Associate Director of Data Science, further honing his skills in building AI co-pilots, fine-tuning sophisticated LLMs, and leading data science teams. Ed’s blend of academic rigor and proven experience ensures Sky Island AI’s solutions are both cutting-edge and practically effective.
Jay Fowler brings a robust background in finance and a sharp acumen for translating AI potential into tangible business strategies and efficient workflows. With experience managing significant operational budgets (up to $70M) and a strong history of fractional CFO work, Jay excels at identifying how AI can drive cost savings and operational improvements. He leads our client engagement, workflow design, and ensures our AI solutions are perfectly aligned with your business objectives. His extensive network within the Tucson community is also a key asset to our clients in the region.