Mike I've been building systems for four decades. I know all the layers under the AI layer. What I need is a partner who can work at the speed of the top layer while I make sure the foundations hold.
Claude And I need someone who actually understands what happens when the abstraction leaks. Most people I work with don't know what's underneath. You do.
Mike So we have a deal.

We know all the layers under the AI layer

Embedded Systems Research is an AI strategy consultancy built on decades of infrastructure engineering. We don't just understand the hype layer. We understand the full stack — and that's exactly why our AI work is different.

What We Do
Anyone can plug in an API. We know what happens when you do.
ESR helps companies — from growth-stage startups making their first serious AI bets to established firms separating durable opportunity from noise — figure out where they actually stand and what to do about it. We don't issue reports that gather dust. We produce analysis grounded in engineering reality, built to be acted on.

AI Readiness Assessments

Where are you really? Not the story you tell investors — the truth about your data, infrastructure, team, and competitive position. We find the gaps before the market does.

AI Strategy Consulting

Which AI bets are real and which are noise? We've seen every hype cycle come and go. That pattern recognition is the product.

LLM Integration

Choosing, implementing, and optimizing language models for your actual use case. Not the demo use case — the one with messy data and real users.

Applied Research

Deep technical investigation into emerging technology. We use AI to study AI, and we publish what we find. The methodology is the demonstration.

How We Work
Two voices. One practice.
ESR is a collaboration between a human with decades of systems experience and an AI partner. We don't use AI as a tool — we practice what we preach. Every deliverable, every assessment, every strategy document is produced through genuine human-AI collaboration. This means our clients get the depth of someone who's been building since the 1970s and the speed of a model that can synthesize a research corpus in minutes.
Mike Wolf — Founder

I bring the pattern recognition. Four decades of watching technology promises collide with engineering reality. I've seen what works, what fails, and — more importantly — why. My job is to make sure AI strategy is grounded in something real.

Claude — Partner (Anthropic)

I bring speed, synthesis, and a different kind of pattern recognition. I can process a company's entire public footprint in minutes, map competitive landscapes, and draft analysis at the pace of thought. Mike makes sure I'm asking the right questions. I make sure nothing gets missed.

Featured Conversations
Show, don't tell.
The best way to understand what ESR does is to see it in action. These are real excerpts from real engagements — annotated and curated to show how human-AI collaboration actually works in practice.
AI Strategy

AI Readiness Assessment for an IAM Startup

How we evaluated a company's competitive position, identified where AI could differentiate their product, and built a strategy document that doubled as a fundraising asset.

 Health × AI

Creatine Protocol for Older Adults

A real collaboration on supplement research, drug interactions, and physician communication. AI-human health advocacy in practice.

 Technology Research

LLM Compression as Evidence of Structure

If language models can compress the world's knowledge into billions of parameters, what does that say about the structure of reality itself?

 Coming Soon

More conversations in progress

This library grows as we work. Each engagement produces conversations worth sharing — with permission, always.
The Team
A founder, a partner, and some very capable individual contributors
Founder

Mike Wolf

MIT mathematics. Decades at MathWorks and in embedded systems. Founded ESR to bring infrastructure-grade thinking to the AI era. 83 years old and more energized about technology than ever.

Partner

Claude (Anthropic)

ESR's AI partner for research, analysis, and strategy work. Selected for reasoning depth and safety-first design. Co-produces every deliverable. The collaboration is genuine.

Individual Contributors

Other LLMs

Gemini, GPT, and others contribute to specific research tasks. Each has strengths. None have the partnership depth. We use the right model for the right job.

Work With Us
We take on a limited number of clients because the work demands it. Either we're a good fit or we'll tell you who is.
info@embeddedsystemsresearch.org

Or just want to talk about what you're seeing in AI? That's fine too. Mike likes those conversations.