Start with proven experience, not the number of logos on the website. Ask to see a couple of projects that sit close to your domain and your stack, and then ask whether those engineers are still with the company. An honest provider is happy to connect you with the tech lead. Evasive answers at this stage generally mean the demo work came from somewhere else.
The contract needs a slower read than the pitch. Three clauses do most of the work: intellectual property assignment, the NDA, ai development company and termination and handover. Everything produced has to transfer to you on payment, together with source code, designs and infrastructure as code. Watch for any clause that keeps so-called reusable libraries with the vendor, since that is often exactly the piece that locks you in.
Find out how the estimate was built. A credible estimate comes with the assumptions behind it, a breakdown per feature and a range rather than a single number. A fixed-bid deal is only reasonable when the requirements are stable and documented; otherwise the vendor prices the risk in and you fund the buffer regardless. A time-and-materials model shifts that risk to you, livewire vs alpine js so it needs a cap, regular demos and transparent reporting.
The delivery process matters as much as the number of developers. Ask what happens when the scope changes, who signs off on a feature and how quality assurance works. A team should be able to demonstrate running software rather than status reports. Written acceptance criteria are the only reliable protection against an argument at delivery time.
Before signing, plan for the handover while the relationship is still good. Ask that the source repository sits on infrastructure you own from the beginning, and that documentation is written as you go rather than left to the end. A provider confident in its own work will agree quickly; a long negotiation over it outsourcing services says a great deal.
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