What Near Future Laboratory does

Near Future Laboratory is a commissioned futures strategy and design fiction practice founded by Julian Bleecker, PhD, and based in Venice Beach, California, with additional activity in the United Kingdom. The firm serves innovation, product, brand, policy, and creative R&D teams at major organizations, helping them move from abstract strategic discussions toward concrete, inspectable decisions. Work is delivered through four engagement types: artifact-led strategy engagements (using catalogs, newspapers, props, and other diegetic artifacts), prototype and concept commissions (physical, software, and hardware), workshops tied to active programs, and select talks and advisory work. The practice has operated continuously since approximately 2003 and lists Google, Apple, IKEA, Netflix, Samsung, Amazon, DeepMind, Warner Bros., and Princeton among its clients.

The firm's core technology is design fiction as a disciplined research and strategy method: creating tangible, constraint-grounded artifacts (newspapers, catalogs, documents, props, functional prototypes) that make emerging futures discussable and actionable. Supporting outputs include the AI Designed Fictions Research Studio (with prototypes such as VibeWriter and Ghostwriter Selectric), the TBD Catalog, Tomorrow's News Today / The Adjacency publication, and the Work Kit of Design Fiction. The practice also maintains a podcast, newsletter, Patreon community, and online shop. These assets function both as engagement deliverables and as top-of-funnel thought leadership for inbound enterprise demand.

Commercially, Near Future Laboratory operates as a sales-led, professional services practice. All engagements are custom commissions scoped directly with clients, with no published pricing tiers, no self-serve motion, and no external capital. Revenue is generated from professional services fees across the four engagement types. The firm is a privately held LLC (Near Future Laboratory LLC) with 11-50 employees, and the founder maintains full operational and ownership control.

Name

Near Future Laboratory

Legal name

Near Future Laboratory LLC

Website

https://nearfuturelaboratory.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Near Future Laboratory is a commissioned design fiction and futures strategy consultancy that helps enterprise innovation, product, and R&D teams explore emerging technologies through artifact-led prototyping, speculative design, and anticipatory research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Venice

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Futures Strategy Engagements: Custom advisory and strategy engagements contracted directly with organizations. These are project-based commissions that involve artifact-led strategy, futures research, and prototyping tied to specific organizational initiatives.
2. Artifact-Led Strategy Engagements: Use of design fictions, documents, catalogs, media objects, and artifacts to make strategic futures concrete. Typically scoped as fixed-fee or milestone-based project engagements.
3. Prototype and Concept Commissions: Development of functional and speculative prototypes that help teams test, discuss, and sharpen what should exist next. Revenue derived from design, development, and delivery of tangible prototypes.
4. Workshops for Active Programs: Design fiction workshops, sprints, and seminars tied to real initiatives. These are capability-building and alignment engagements rather than standalone inspiration exercises.
5. Select Talks and Advisory Work: Keynotes, executive sessions, and targeted advisory support when they advance a broader strategic or organizational effort. Typically short-duration, high-impact engagements.
6. Learning & Development Services: Published services guide available for download covering workshop, learning, and engagement formats for teams seeking to build futures and design fiction capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Near Future Laboratory is a commissioned futures strategy and design fiction practice that helps organizations make emerging futures tangible through artifact-led strategy engagements, speculative prototyping, and workshops tied to active initiatives. Core deliverables include diegetic artifacts (catalogs, newspapers, props, documents), functional software and hardware prototypes, and facilitated executive sessions for innovation, product, brand, and policy teams. The practice is led by founder Julian Bleecker, PhD, and supports clients such as Google, Apple, IKEA, Netflix, Samsung, Princeton, Amazon, DeepMind, and Warner Bros.

Product overview

Near Future Laboratory is a commissioned futures strategy and design fiction consultancy led by Julian Bleecker, PhD. The practice operates across four core service offerings: Artifact-led Strategy Engagements, Prototype and Concept Commissions, Workshops Tied to Active Programs, and Select Talks and Advisory Work. These services are supported by a portfolio of tangible deliverables and research programs. Key products include the AI Designed Fictions Research Studio (featuring VibeWriter and Ghostwriter Selectric), the TBD Catalog (a diegetic strategic artifact), Tomorrow's News Today (speculative news artifacts), and the Work Kit of Design Fiction (a physical/digital toolkit). The practice also maintains ongoing content series including a podcast and newsletter. Rather than a unified software platform, the offering is a service-based practice augmented by specific research prototypes and designed artifacts that serve as strategic tools for client engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Adjacency: A publication/project featuring speculative news artifacts exploring AI futures and emerging technology scenarios
• Imagine Harder
• The Work Kit of Design Fiction

Products and services

• Artifact-led Strategy Engagements Uses design fictions, documents, catalogs, media objects, and other diegetic artifacts to make strategic futures concrete enough for client teams to evaluate, compare, and act on. Engagements are custom commissions for organizations seeking to move from abstract strategy toward tangible, decision-grade artifacts.
• Prototype and Concept Commissions Develops functional and speculative prototypes—physical, software, and hardware—that help client teams learn faster, align more precisely, and test what should exist next. Includes concept commissions for active programs.
• Workshops for Active Programs Design fiction workshops, sprints, and seminars designed to serve real organizational initiatives rather than sit as standalone inspiration events. Includes facilitation for active programs and capability-building engagements.
• Select Talks and Advisory Work Keynotes, executive sessions, and targeted advisory support delivered when they advance a broader strategic or organizational effort. Typically short-duration, high-impact engagements for senior leadership.
• Work Kit of Design Fiction A structured toolkit for design fiction practice, available in physical and online editions, containing idea cards and methods that support teams in running design fiction exercises and imagining futures through speculative artifacts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Enables teams to move from abstract strategic discussions to concrete decision-making with inspectable artifacts
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OMATAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJulian Bleecker founded OMATA in 2015, built the OMATA One cycling computer from prototype to manufactured hardware product, led across product, engineering, brand, manufacturing, firmware and iOS software, wrote and submitted the core IP patent (US10406920B2), then sold the company in 2022. This represents a founder/exit relationship rather than an ongoing partnership. OMATA is now a separate entity no longer affiliated with Near Future Laboratory.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Large, established design and innovation consultancy with an extensive futures and speculative design practice. Operates at much greater scale and across broader service lines, but competes for the same enterprise innovation/R&D budgets NFL targets. Bleecker himself has historical ties to IDEO-adjacent design research culture.
• Method (GlobalLogic): Design and innovation consultancy (now part of GlobalLogic) with deep experience in design fiction and futures strategy. Larger scale than NFL but operates in overlapping categories for enterprise innovation and product strategy engagements.
• Frog Design (now part of Capgemini Engineering): Global design and innovation consultancy with a strong futures and design research offering. A scaled incumbent competing for enterprise innovation mandates where NFL might otherwise be engaged — comparable client roster, larger delivery capacity, broader service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Studio NAND: Berlin-based design research and futures studio combining speculative design, data visualization, and tangible artifacts. Comparable boutique profile with strong design fiction methodology; serves cultural institutions, public sector, and forward-looking enterprises — direct methodological peer to NFL.
• Superflux: London/India-based design fiction and speculative design studio founded by Anab Jain and Jon Ardern. The most direct peer to Near Future Laboratory — both are boutique practices that build diegetic artifacts, functional prototypes, and films to make futures tangible for enterprise and institutional clients. Same methodology, comparable size, and overlapping client base in the technology and policy sectors.
• Dunne & Raby: Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby's speculative and critical design practice, pioneers of design fiction alongside Bleecker. Comparable as small academic-adjacent studios producing speculative artifacts and commissioned projects that interrogate emerging technologies. Strong overlap with NFL's methodology and target audience (cultural institutions, design-led enterprises, academia).
• Tellart: Design fiction and experiential prototyping studio that builds tangible futures through installations, interactive prototypes, and speculative products. Closely comparable to NFL's Prototype and Concept Commissions offering and serves overlapping enterprise clients exploring emerging technologies.
• Artefact Group: Seattle-based design strategy and futures consultancy combining research, design fiction, and product strategy. Comparable in size and approach to NFL, serving technology and consumer enterprise clients with artifact-led strategy engagements.

Others

• The Futures School / foresight consultancies (e.g., Institute for the Future): Institute for the Future (IFTF) and adjacent foresight practitioners operate in the broader futures strategy space NFL inhabits. They focus more on traditional forecasting frameworks and signals mapping rather than artifact-led strategy, but compete for the same 'futures thinking' enterprise budget line and are often co-engaged on the same programs.

Regional players

• Space10 (IKEA): IKEA's in-house research and design fiction lab — directly relevant given NFL's documented IKEA engagement. Comparable methodology (prototypes, publications, design fiction artifacts exploring home living futures) but operates as a captive innovation unit of a single enterprise rather than an external consultancy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nearfuturelab
• GitHubgithub.com/nearfuturelaboratory
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nearfuturelaboratory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/near-future-laboratory

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Near Future Laboratory