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Trust Your AI

AI is everywhere. People talk about security, productivity gains, or how to get started with AI… but what about trust?

What do we believe?

  • At Underfold, we believe trust is the new paradigm. In an age of disinformation, customers, partners, and employees are asking how they can trust the companies they buy from, work with, and work for.

    Here at Underfold we will help you understand how you can build trust in your AI.

Underfold is built upon new industry standard frameworks; currently the following frameworks are folded into our governance:

  • NIST AI Risk Management Framework

  • ISO 42001

We tailor frameworks to your requirements, making sure you can build trust that is aligned to your company, it’s ethics, and your something.

Our Foundations

  • We don’t stop at the formal frameworks, we also keep abreast of latest research, regulations and social commentary.

    We regularly post articles on LinkedIn and Substack to show our current research and development of the Underfold foundations.

    Underfold’s latest R&D is to understand how the following frameworks are relevant to small business:

    • ISO 42005 (Ethics)

    • The proposed Human-AI Governance framework

We’re a British startup built to support other small businesses. Our mission is to help you build trust in your AI with your customers, partners and employees, using governance that is clear, useful and adaptable.

So, Why Underfold?

  • Underfold will work with you to understand your business, ethics and principles, we will deliver an AI governance framework that is flexible to your requirements, but critically enable you to talk about how you use AI with confidence. Let us help you build trust.

Our Principles

  • Underfold is underpinned with continuous research. Always adapting to the latest academic research, reviewing and implementing new frameworks, social commentary and regulations.

  • AI Governance is a rapidly evolving field with competing voices. We commit to work with your ethics profile, and ensure you can innovate in your way.

    We’ll make sure you stay on the right side of the line.

  • We recognise the need to marry innovation with oversight; Underfold will help you build governance to enable you to be flexible to innovate while keeping an eye under the fold.

John Archbold

I’ve spent over 20 years in technology, from leading global teams to working in cyber security, but what really drives me is helping small businesses make sense of AI. I started Underfold to give them clear, practical ways to build trust in their AI. My journey is still unfolding, and I’d like to share it with you.

  • It started with building my own machines as a teenager and grew into leading teams of 60+ people in the financial services industry; a world where governance, regulation, and trust aren’t just buzzwords. Over the years my work has taken me from designing infrastructure to running global departments, and later into cyber security, helping organisations respond to real-world incidents while keeping things safe without holding people back.

    During my MBA, I was surprised by what really hooked me: the modules on human rights, law, and ethics. They made me realise I wanted to do more than just keep systems running. As AI started to take off, I saw a bigger question opening up… how can businesses use AI responsibly, in ways that fit their needs, while still leaving room for innovation and flexibility? And most importantly, how can they show their customers they can be trusted?

    When I built a side-project apparel company, with my partner, that used generative AI, I saw first-hand just how messy, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming AI can feel for a business. It made me realise that small businesses don’t need more paperwork; they need clear, practical guidance they can actually use.

    That’s why I started Underfold: to help small businesses build and show trust in their AI, and to make sure they feel confident rather than left behind. I’m still learning, still researching, and still asking questions. And I want to share that journey with others.

Our Services

AI Governance consultancy

Work with Underfold to develop a custom governance framework for your business, whether you’re just getting started with AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude, or you’re building your own AI product, we’re here to help. Book an introductory chat, or send us a quick email below.

The Underfold Framework

Right now we’re building the Underfold Framework, a reasonable, responsible, flexible governance framework ready for small businesses. Check out how we’re developing the framework on our LinkedIn page.

Contact us.

john@underfold.co