How we work

We embed. We build.
We leave something behind.

Every engagement starts the same way: understanding how the organisation actually works — not just the data, but the people, decisions, constraints, and histories that shape how things get done.

01 The premise
We work where operations are genuinely hard. The problems we solve demand deep operational understanding before any solution — and that understanding is what separates a system that works from one that doesn't.
02 The model

We surface how your operation actually works — then build on it.

Every complex organisation runs on concepts that live informally — in people's heads, in spreadsheets, in disconnected systems. Different teams picture the same concepts differently, and that invisible misalignment slows everything down. Structured discovery turns it into an ontological model: the objects that matter, the relationships between them, and the actions taken on them. It's the foundation for everything we build — and it belongs to you at the end.

OBJ — the nouns

Objects

People, assets, cases, risks, events, workflows — the things that matter, made explicit and formally defined.

REL — the connections

Relationships

Who owns what, what depends on what, which teams touch which data. The hidden structure, made visible.

ACT — the verbs

Actions

Create, assign, assess, escalate, resolve. The workflows and decisions the system must support.

FIG.01 — ONTOLOGY MODELOBJ · REL · ACT
03 The method

Working models in days, production in weeks.

Our accumulated experience across complex global organisations — compounded by AI — means what used to take months now takes days.

01

Working models in days

We analyse existing data, documents, and workflows to produce an initial operational model — fast.

02

Prototypes on real data

Working prototypes connected to your actual workflows and data — not toy demos.

03

AI-native from the start

AI integrated throughout, creating symbiotic human-and-agent workflows rather than bolt-ons.

04

Production in weeks

Foundry's architecture and our familiarity with it strip out most infrastructure overhead — production-ready from the start.

04 Where Foundry fits
Palantir Foundry, from day one.

We build on Palantir Foundry — giving clients enterprise-grade security, scalability, and data infrastructure without the overhead of procuring or managing it. As a founding member of Palantir's Foundry for Builders program, we were among the first startups to deploy Foundry, and we've built on it ever since.

New to Palantir Foundry & AIP? See what they are and why they matter →
Palantir, on Hence's founder & CEO, Steve — a Palantir alumnus:
Steve understands the value of our technology and will be able to utilize Palantir Foundry to its full potential.
Shyam Sankar  CTO, Palantir
If you use Foundry

We deploy in your environment

Deep Foundry-native engineering on top of what you already run — ontology design, pipeline development, AIP integration, production deployment.

If you don't

You don't need to know it

We host and deliver on our own infrastructure. You work with purpose-built applications while keeping control of your data and key operational functions.

05 The engagement

A focused engagement, scaled to the problem.

A clear objective, and an explicit conversation about what comes next — agreed before we start.

Weeks 1–2

Understand

  • Map the problem and operational environment
  • Surface misalignments across teams
  • Build the ontological model
  • Working prototypes on real data before week two ends
Weeks 3–4

Build

  • Production system — Foundry where it fits, the right stack where it doesn't
  • Data pipelines, applications, security, access controls
  • AI capabilities layered onto real operational data
  • Users testing and giving feedback throughout
Weeks 5–6

Productionise

  • System goes into production
  • Your team trained to run and extend it
  • Ontological model documented and handed over
  • An ownership arrangement that fits your context
06 What you own

Working systems, not slide decks.

Every engagement produces operational capability that belongs to the organisation. What you own depends on the engagement — sometimes everything we build, sometimes a licensed solution for a narrowly defined problem. We agree which, up front.

A working production system — not a recommendation deck.
The ontological model, documented and handed over.
Your team trained to run and extend it.
An ownership arrangement agreed before we start.

An ontological model

A structured, queryable map of your operational environment — built during discovery, yours to build on.

Production data pipelines

Complete lineage and governance. Data flowing from source to decision, reliably and auditably.

Purpose-built applications

Designed for your users and their workflows — not generic software adapted to fit.

AI capabilities

Intelligence layered onto your operational data — specific to your business, not applied from outside.

Enterprise-grade security

SSO, role-based access, encryption, audit logging. Production-grade from day one.

A clear path forward

Own and operate, work with us long term, or license a proven solution — agreed before we start.

The first step is a conversation.

Tell us the operational problem that matters most. We'll be direct about whether Hence is the right fit — and if there's a match, we'll have prototypes in your hands within weeks.

Start a conversation →