An AI studio, run like an atelier.
We build AI in service of people — through partnership rather than replacement, thoughtfulness rather than utility.
DeepMind + Pentagram
The world’s premier research lab working on intelligence, with the point of view of the world’s premier design studio that defines brands and culture.
Where AI labs take influence from — research and the pursuit of intelligence above all else.
The part every other AI practice is forgetting: that the pursuit of intelligence means nothing if there’s no plan to share it in ways that actually solve people’s problems.
02 · Values Five values
We live and work by our five values — creativity, design,
novelty, critique, and expression.
Similar to Pentagram’s “conviction that great design cannot happen without passion, intelligence and — above all — personal commitment,” these five values are core to Thinking Studios’ identity. They are the crux in which we make every decision and the standards we uphold in our work, how we interact with it, and how we present it to the world. Without a strict orientation around these five values, we cannot effectively do our best work — for ourselves, our Partners, our clients, and our collaborators.
- Creativity
Creativity is collaboration.
Every decision we make needs to be grounded in creativity through collaboration. It is the multidisciplinary framework that underscores and binds the work into a cohesive and coherent solution. Through collective structure are we free to think about what should be rather than what is or could. And this collective structure seen through our work with one another, our Partners, and our clients.
- Design
Design is spiritual.
— Eddie Opara — pentagram.com/news/design-is-spiritual
As Eddie Opara writes, “Design and spirituality, it seems, are not so different. In both, we are uplifted through our imaginations.” Imagination, unfettered and unbounded, is what allows us to build and, more importantly, believe. And through that belief we are able to shape things to how we see fit instead of what the world already has in place.
- Novelty
Novelty is promise.
With every original act or intention, comes with them is promise. Promise that things will work as intended. Promise that this is different and valuable. Promise that we have not forgotten the present in pursuit of the future.
- Critique
Critique is consideration.
We critique in the service of acting with the utmost consideration towards ourselves, each other, and those around us. It is through objective appraisal that we are able to understand and empathize with one another while maintaining the goal of presenting our best selves and work to the world.
- Expression
Expression is progress.
There is no path forward without expressing ourselves — it is a fundamental truth that we believe. Without having a point of view and an articulation of it, we cannot see the path towards a better today and tomorrow. Because we are unable to name what that is for ourselves.
Thinking Studios is the first and pre-eminent AI studio that treats its identity the same way an atelier would — by having our craft advance itself through the work to deliver on the promise of what AI could and should be.
Endeavor, build, and strive towards a future where AI is in service of people through partnership rather than replacement, through thoughtfulness rather than utility.
Hypotheses
We are out to prove these are true through our work and collaboration.
- 01 A general commodified intelligence is a solution for everyone that fits no one. Only a deep commitment to understanding what an individual’s (person or brand) problem is will allow AI deployments to succeed.
- 02 AI is not meant to replace, it is meant to supplement the human experience. Digital twins are not the same as personalized AI.
- 03 AI will only be useful when it can live in abstraction the same way people can.
- 04 AI is not a blanket panacea — only after someone can articulate what their problem is can AI then be built to satisfy it.
- 05 Cognition is the starting point to building truly intelligent systems — ones that can combine the superhuman abilities of a machine with the metacognition of humanity.
How Thinking Studios works with you.
Working with us has two movements — a commission, then a license. The commission gets your problem precisely understood and solved. The license keeps the solution — your own Umma — working for you long after.
Before anything is built, we buy the time to understand you. A commission isn’t optional, and it isn’t a formality — it’s how the work gets valued by the care it takes, and how we earn the room to articulate your problem with precision before we solve it.
It unfolds in three moments:
- The pilot We begin once your problem is centered and understood, with a custom solution devised for it.
- The build When the pilot proves out and you accept the path, we build the full solution toward it.
- The handoff We deliver the finished product to you — with deployment, onboarding, and training planned and scheduled.
Each stage reflects the time it genuinely takes to solve your problem well — not a moment rushed, not a corner cut. What you’re left with is a custom Umma operating system, designed for your problem, your circumstance, yours. Often alongside other artifacts — an analysis, an application — but always with Umma at the center.
Once the handoff lands, your Umma keeps working. From there, a monthly or annual license covers her continued use — the operating system built by, and for, your commission.
We don’t price the license by what it costs us. We price it by what it’s worth to you:
- How much time does it give back?
- How much does it recapture?
- How much ROI was out of reach before — and is now on the table?
Partners, not investors.
If you want to collaborate and help advance Thinking Studios’ mission of fulfilling AI’s promise, become a Partner.
We say Partner, not investor, on purpose — it means something different. Like Pentagram, whose Partners hold a stake in the business while actively shaping its day-to-day, we’re looking for people who build alongside us, not capital alone.
Being a Partner isn’t a pure quid pro quo — you invest, we hand over equity, we both call it a day. It’s a true working relationship where we’re both incentivized to make the Studio succeed: one built on shared values, purpose, intent, and — perhaps most importantly — vision.
What that partnership looks like is undefined at the start, because we haven’t defined it together yet. Whether you come as an individual, an entity, a fund, or a brand, you and Thinking Studios bring different things to the table — each valuable in its own right. Any partnership worth having needs mutual planning, support, and alignment, reached only together, in trust and collaboration.
So the first thing we do is define what the partnership looks like — the same way we approach the work. We’ll sit with you for however long it takes: no “i” left un-dotted, no “t” left uncrossed, both sides clear on the value they bring the other. To build it any other way would be as foolhardy as turning AI into a commodified general utility — it serves no one.
Axioms to live and work by
The principles we center.
- Intelligence is neither a commodity nor utility but a means to reach an innate understanding of one’s self and others.
- Don’t assume others are going to care just because of capability — show them we care through personalization and demonstration.
- Admit immediately we’re not experts, but that we want to spend the time getting to know you and your problem before curating and articulating a solution.
- Center time as the most valuable resource for us, prospects, clients, and collaborators — don’t waste it, but take as much as needed to reach an authentic point of view on problems and their solutions.
- Be confident knowing that we may have to say, “thanks but no thanks, not a good fit.”
- Always uphold our standards and values — no exceptions.
- Know what we are worth, and ask for what we deserve.
- Proactively partner with others who understand us deeply, to advance a shared goal and mission.
- Focus on the unique problem of each collaborator, prospect, and client — ignoring larger abstractions until absolutely necessary.
- Understand that we are not a tech company — we are a studio that builds, designs, and curates AI.
Meet Umma, see the work, or tell us what you’re trying to do →