Mastra launches Forward, an AI engineering service for building agents

A Mastra engineer works inside the customer's team

Mastra says companies trying to become AI native often face a shortage of engineers who know how to build agents. Its new service is designed to address that gap without requiring a company to wait for a senior AI hire to learn the framework.

Each customer gets a named, forward-deployed Mastra engineer who works in the customer's codebase alongside its team. The engineer is backed by Mastra's wider engineering organization, including the people who built the framework and its Knowledge product.

Mastra says this gives customers access to expertise in the framework's internals and to engineers who have shipped agents on it. If a product needs a new framework feature, customers can contact the people who wrote the relevant code.

Factory adds a team of agents to the engagement

Mastra Forward includes Mastra Factory, which the company installs in the customer's repository and configures for its codebase. Mastra's engineers can then use the software to run a swarm of agents on the customer's roadmap.

The company describes this setup as a way for one Forward engineer to work like a larger team. Customers can also observe how Mastra uses Factory on real projects and later use it themselves.

The package includes a named forward-deployed engineer, access to Mastra core engineering, Mastra Factory operated by Mastra's team, and an Enterprise license. Customers can choose hosted, self-hosted or BYOC deployment.

What customers receive and how Mastra handles the code

Mastra Forward also includes a Trace Intelligence pool, with evaluations run as a service, and a quarterly architecture review covering diagramming, infrastructure and the roadmap. The engagement is annual and can be invoiced quarterly or prepaid upfront at a discount.

Mastra says the service costs less than one senior AI hire and does not require an onramp. It also says its engineers are backed by the software factory the company uses to produce more than 750 PRs per week.

Code delivered into a customer's repository belongs to that customer. When work improves Mastra itself, including the framework, Factory, Harness or Knowledge, Mastra says it will add that work to its core and maintain it, so customers do not have to carry a fork.

For early-stage teams seeking a lighter-touch relationship, Mastra says its Design Partner Program remains the appropriate starting point. Companies interested in Forward can share what they are building and where their teams are stretched, then schedule time with Mastra to whiteboard.