Nikunj Chugh · Marketing and AI SpecialistEvery company adopting AI faces the same fork: build it, or buy it. Picking wrong wastes either money or your most strategic capability.
Buy for commodity needs
If a problem is common and well-served by existing tools, buy. Reinventing transcription or generic chat support rarely makes sense.
Build where it's your moat
When AI touches your unique data or core differentiation, owning the implementation protects the advantage. That is where custom work earns its cost.
The pragmatic middle
Most useful systems wrap a foundation model with your data and guardrails. You rarely need to train from scratch; you need smart orchestration and retrieval.
The takeaway
Buy commodities, build moats, and wrap foundation models for the rest. Match the investment to the strategic value of the problem.
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AI Consulting at Hashtag Consultancy
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Nikunj Chugh
Marketing and AI Specialist, Hashtag Consultancy