What TEAMS does

TEAMS is a global strategic design consultancy established in 1956 and headquartered in Esslingen, Germany. The firm provides product design, digital design, and strategic design services to enterprise clients across eight verticals: medical and healthcare, transportation and mobility, professional equipment, consumer goods and electronics, capital goods, building and infrastructure, sports and leisure, and the digital economy. TEAMS operates through a studio network spanning Germany (Stuttgart, Hamburg), the United States (Chicago), China (Shanghai), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam), with regional presidents for the Americas and Asia-Pacific. The company is a subsidiary of Kearney, the global management consultancy, formalized through the PERLab joint venture (announced 2019, operationalized 2023) that combines TEAMS' design expertise with Kearney's operational consulting to deliver end-to-end product transformation engagements claiming 15-50% profit margin improvements.

The company's service portfolio spans physical product design, digital/UX design, CGI and animation, innovation engineering, and strategic design consulting. Its flagship enterprise relationships include Bosch (continuous partnership since 1957 across power tools, security, automotive, and DIY), Kärcher (200+ appliances co-developed, 100+ awards), Siemens Healthineers, Dräger, Samsung, Stryker, Signia, Körber, STILL, Dremel, Weishaupt, and United Imaging. In 2023 TEAMS launched two proprietary AI platforms: Velocity AI, an Agentic AI system that monitors material prices, production costs, and market conditions to auto-generate product optimization paths and design briefs; and K.AI, a knowledge-retrieval gateway with a gender-neutral avatar serving Körber's PAS-X pharmaceutical manufacturing users. The firm has also extended into circular-economy design via PERLab Circularity to Go and is hosting the World Design Congress 2025 as a positioning initiative.

TEAMS makes money primarily through project-based, quote-driven professional services engagements with enterprise clients, supplemented by the PERLab platform offering and emerging AI-platform monetization. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with multi-year strategic partnerships; marketing relies on portfolio case studies, industry event presence (CES, NAMM, LogiMAT, IAA, Eurobike), a corporate journal, and social channels. The business is privately held with no disclosed revenue, no public listing, and no venture funding history. Headcount is reported in the 101-250 range, and Kearney's strategic ownership provides both distribution leverage and a backstop for cross-sell into operational transformation mandates.

Name

TEAMS

Legal name

TEAMS Design

Website

https://teamsdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TEAMS is a 70-year-old German strategic design consultancy serving global enterprise clients across eight verticals (medical, mobility, consumer, industrial, etc.) through studios in Europe, the US, and Asia. A Kearney subsidiary, it now pairs traditional design services with AI platforms (Velocity AI, K.AI) and the PERLab product transformation joint venture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Esslingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Design Consulting: TEAMS provides strategic design services to enterprise clients across multiple industries. The company has been operating since 1956, offering product design, digital design, and strategic design services globally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TEAMS is a global strategic design agency that delivers brand-defining product design, digital design, and strategic design services to enterprise clients across consumer goods, medical technology, transportation, professional equipment, capital goods, building infrastructure, sports, and digital economy verticals. The firm supplements these services with two proprietary AI platforms (Velocity AI for product optimization and K.AI for pharmaceutical knowledge retrieval), CGI & animation services, and innovation engineering, all delivered under its "Products of Empathy" methodology through global studios in Europe, the US, and Asia.

Product overview

TEAMS is a global strategic design company established in 1956 offering a comprehensive portfolio of design services and AI-powered platforms. Their core offerings include Product Design, Digital Design, and Strategic Design services that create brand-defining products and meaningful digital experiences. The company has developed proprietary AI platforms including Velocity AI for product optimization and K.AI for pharmaceutical knowledge management, alongside the PERLab platform (in partnership with Kearney) for end-to-end product lifecycle transformation. TEAMS serves diverse industries including consumer goods, medical & healthcare, transportation & mobility, sports & leisure, professional equipment, building & infrastructure, and capital goods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product Design Brand-defining product design services that win at the point of truth and ensure time-to-market for physical products across consumer goods, medical, mobility, and professional equipment industries.
• Digital Design Meaningful digital experiences that drive measurable business impact, including UI/UX design, digital product strategy, and user experience design for digital products and services.
• Strategic Design Clarity, alignment, and growth through design thinking and strategic consulting services for brand development and product portfolio strategy.
• CGI & Animation Service Computer-generated imagery and animation services for product visualization, marketing materials, and digital experiences.
• Innovation Engineering Technical feasibility assessment and engineering services supporting product development from concept through production, ensuring next-level feasibility for complex product designs.
• PERLab (Product Excellence and Renewal Lab) A creative powerhouse combining TEAMS' product design expertise with Kearney's operational expertise to transform products and boost global brands' profit margins by 15 to 50 percent through end-to-end product lifecycle optimization.
• Velocity AI AI-driven product optimization platform that transforms traditional processes into continuous, data-driven workflows by integrating AI insights with real-time data from supply chains, materials, and market shifts. Enables faster decisions, reduced costs, and sustainability-by-design.
• K.AI (PAS-X K.AI) AI-first knowledge gateway for PAS-X pharmaceutical manufacturing systems. K.AI provides instant expert access, answering questions in the language of shopfloor users and enabling faster onboarding and knowledge transfer while maintaining GMP-compliant standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kärcher products have won over 100 major awards since partnership began
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KearneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019PERLab (Product Excellence and Renewal Lab) is a joint venture between TEAMS and Kearney management consulting. It fuses TEAMS' design knowledge with Kearney's operational expertise to transform products, claiming to boost client profit margins by 15-50%. The partnership represents a creative powerhouse combining strategically informed thinking, design-driven creativity, and strategic approach.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lunar Design: Independent design and innovation firm specializing in product, hardware and digital design for global brands. Directly comparable in professional services model and enterprise client base.
• fuseproject: Yves Béhar-led design and branding firm delivering product, brand and experience design for global clients. Comparable as a high-profile industrial design studio serving enterprise and consumer brands.
• Ammunition Group: US-based product and brand design studio serving consumer, technology and lifestyle clients. Comparable in scale and product-design focus with TEAMS' consumer goods and electronics vertical.
• Bresslergroup: US-based design and engineering consultancy developing physical and digital products for medical, industrial and consumer clients. Comparable in product-design depth and engineering integration.
• Frog Design: Global design and innovation firm (now part of Capgemini Engineering) providing product, brand and digital design for large enterprises. Directly comparable to TEAMS in service breadth and enterprise focus.
• Whipsaw: Industrial design and engineering firm recognized for consumer electronics, medical and IoT product development. Comparable in industrial-design focus and award-winning product portfolio.
• Pentagram: Independent multidisciplinary design firm delivering brand, product and digital design for global enterprises. Comparable as a high-end, partner-led design studio serving Fortune 500 clients.
• IDEO: Globally recognized design consultancy offering product, digital and strategic design to enterprise clients across multiple verticals. Most direct comparable to TEAMS in scope, model and client type.
• Smart Design: Independent global design consultancy offering product, brand and experience design for enterprise clients across consumer and healthcare. Closely aligned business model and client roster profile.

Broad incumbents

• Designworks (BMW Group): BMW-owned strategic design consultancy serving mobility, consumer and industrial clients globally. Comparable scale and cross-vertical design strategy, but parent-owned rather than independent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TEAMSDesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/77961
• Instagraminstagram.com/teams_design
• Xx.com/teamsdesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TEAMS