Punch
Punch is a privately held AI and software engineering services firm that builds production-grade computer vision, LLM/RAG, forecasting, and voice AI systems for 200+ companies — from seed startups to public enterprises — using a 41-engineer senior team across Florida, London, Lahore, and Lagos.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Punch does
Punch is a privately held AI and software engineering services firm founded in 2014 by ex-Google engineers, headquartered in Florida with delivery offices in London, Lahore, and Lagos. The company builds production-grade computer vision, LLM/RAG systems, forecasting models, voice AI, and full-stack software for clients ranging from seed-stage startups to publicly traded enterprises. Its technical footprint is anchored by three owned assets: a 400+ core on-premise training cluster with 2TB+ RAM, an in-house Labeling Floor of 24+ trained annotators in Lagos, and a portfolio of proprietary models including a 1,024-dimensional multimodal embedding model, a confidence-gated model registry enforcing MAP@50 ≥ 0.78 thresholds, and a custom emotion-aware AI avatar synthesis pipeline. Punch has engineered systems for 200+ companies since 2014 and claims 4 exits (The League/Match Group, KonMari/Rakuten, Instore/Slice, MedCerts/Stride) and 2 IPOs (1-Page on ASX, RedCloud on Nasdaq) built on its work.
Revenue is generated through engagement-based professional services structured as fixed-fee Audits (2–3 weeks), MVP Sprints (6–8 weeks), Production builds, and rolling Embedded-team contracts. The company supplements this with an internal financing product (20% down, 80% amortized over up to 36 months on projects $10,000+) and a Startup Program offering discounted fees for small equity stakes in pre-seed to Series A companies. Go-to-market is enterprise sales-led, fronted by Punch AI — a voice-and-chat agent on punch.cool that scopes projects live and books 30-minute calls with the engineer who would build the work. Founder/CEO Verdi Ergün (ex-Google) leads a 41-person senior engineering bench across four time zones, enabling round-the-clock delivery. Revenue, valuation, and equity structure are not publicly disclosed, and ownership is concentrated among founders with no institutional backing referenced.
Punch firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Punch
- Legal name
- Punch, LLC
- Website
- https://punch.cool
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Punch is a privately held AI and software engineering services firm that builds production-grade computer vision, LLM/RAG, forecasting, and voice AI systems for 200+ companies — from seed startups to public enterprises — using a 41-engineer senior team across Florida, London, Lahore, and Lagos.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Punch industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Engineering Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ), End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)
Keywords
Where Punch is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Punch business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fixed-Fee Professional Services: Engagement-based professional services including Audit (2-3 weeks, fixed fee), MVP sprint (6-8 weeks), and Production builds. Structured as fixed-bid projects with clear deliverables.
- Embedded Team Engagements: Ongoing embedded senior Punch team shipping inside client organizations month over month. Rolling engagements with flexible capacity.
- Startup Program (Equity): Pre-seed to Series A startup program offering discounted fees in exchange for small equity stake. Punch builds like co-founders.
- Financing Revenue: Internal financing product for clients: 20% down payment at kickoff, remaining 80% amortized over up to 36 months at competitive rates. Available for fixed-bid projects $10,000+.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Fixed-Fee Audit - 2-3 week scoping engagement |
| Other | Multi-year contract | MVP Sprint - 6-8 week proof of concept |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Production Build - Full system development |
| Subscription | Monthly | Embedded Team - Ongoing senior team capacity |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Startup Program - Discounted fees + equity |
| Other | Monthly | Financing - 20% down, 80% amortized |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Punch product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Punch is a senior AI and software engineering services company that builds production-grade AI systems — computer vision, LLM/RAG assistants, forecasting models, voice AI — alongside the full-stack software that ships them. Engagements are delivered as fixed-fee Audits (2–3 weeks), MVP Sprints (6–8 weeks), Production Builds, and ongoing Embedded Teams, backed by Punch's in-house labeling floor and 400+ core on-premise training cluster.
Product overview
Punch is an AI and software engineering services company offering computer vision, LLM systems and RAG, forecasting, and voice AI — delivered as senior engineering engagements rather than a packaged software product. The core services portfolio includes Computer Vision Services, LLM Systems & RAG, Forecasting Services, Voice AI Services, Software Engineering, AI Transformation, and Media & Generation Pipelines. Two owned operational assets support delivery: The Labeling Floor (in-house annotation team of 24+ annotators) and The Training Cluster (400+ on-premise compute cores). The company also operates Punch AI — an internal voice-and-chat scoping agent — as a front door for project intake. All capabilities are demonstrated through client case studies rather than sold as standalone products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Punch AI: The company's voice-and-chat AI agent that scopes projects, shows work, and books calls with engineers. It is the front-door conversational interface on the website.
- The Labeling Floor
- The Cluster
Products and services
- Computer Vision Services End-to-end computer vision engineering — drone imagery inspection, product/SKU recognition from mobile cameras, real-time video inference — annotated on Punch's in-house labeling floor, trained on its 400+ core cluster, and gated on honest evaluation before deployment.
- LLM Systems & RAG Custom LLM assistants and retrieval-augmented generation systems grounded in client data, with custom embeddings and evaluation harnesses — including bidirectional multimodal retrieval for video Q&A and rubric-scored conversational AI.
- Forecasting Services Time-series pattern recognition and market forecasting models, including Punch's Numin quant engine processing 8 TB of tick data with 120+ engineered signals, deployed in production since 2018.
- Voice AI Services
- Software Engineering
Quantifiable outcome
- YOLOv11 model achieved 0.84 MAP@50 with 0.96 bad-class precision and 0.95 recall for Firmatek pole inspection
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Punch
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Punch technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability14 records
Feature8 records
Punch partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators15 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Punch competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Globant: Globant is a large-scale digital and IT services firm with a dedicated AI Studio offering computer vision, LLM, and forecasting services to enterprise clients across verticals. It competes with Punch for the same enterprise AI-services RFPs but at materially larger scale and with a global delivery footprint.
- DEPT®: DEPT is a global digital agency combining technology, creative, and AI engineering to ship production software and marketing experiences for enterprise brands. Its offering overlaps with Punch's full-stack software engineering and AI-enabled media/personalization work for marquee customers.
- Thoughtworks: Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that designs and builds production software and data/AI platforms for enterprise clients. Like Punch, it emphasizes senior engineering craft, end-to-end delivery, and emerging-tech practices, but at much larger headcount and with deeper enterprise accounts.
- SoftServe: SoftServe is a large IT services and digital engineering firm with practices in computer vision, data science, and generative AI for enterprise customers. It competes for the same senior AI/ML engineering services RFPs but operates at much larger scale across multiple geographies.
- Ust Global (UST): UST is a global digital services company offering AI engineering, data analytics, and software development for enterprise clients across industries. It competes for AI/ML engineering and transformation work against Punch, with a much larger offshore delivery footprint.
- AKQA: AKQA is a global design and innovation agency that builds brand, digital, and AI-driven experience platforms for enterprise clients. Its work on personalization, content, and immersive digital experiences overlaps with Punch's media/generation and personalization pipeline work for Netflix.
Emerging players
- Hatchworks AI: Hatchworks AI is a nearshore AI and software engineering services firm specializing in generative AI, data engineering, and cloud-native product development. It targets a similar senior-engineer-for-hire niche and competes for AI-transformation engagements against Punch.
- Rightpoint: Rightpoint is a digital experience and technology consultancy that builds custom AI-enabled software, customer experiences, and data platforms for mid-market and enterprise clients. Its engagement model and customer segment are comparable to Punch's mid-market and growth offerings.
- Diff Agency: Diff is a digital product agency that designs and builds custom software, including AI-enabled products, for startups and enterprises. Its boutique, senior-only team and project-based engagement structure closely parallel Punch's Audit/Sprint/Production model.
Direct peers
- Netguru: Netguru is a digital product and AI/ML software agency that builds custom web, mobile, and machine-learning systems for clients from startups to enterprises. It mirrors Punch's engagement-based model (audits, sprints, production builds) and competes for the same senior-driven custom-build segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Punch social profiles
Digital presencePunch financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Punch leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Punch funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Punch M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Punch
What does Punch do?
Punch is a senior AI and software engineering services company that builds production-grade AI systems — computer vision, LLM/RAG assistants, forecasting models, voice AI — alongside the full-stack software that ships them. Engagements are delivered as fixed-fee Audits (2–3 weeks), MVP Sprints (6–8 weeks), Production Builds, and ongoing Embedded Teams, backed by Punch's in-house labeling floor and 400+ core on-premise training cluster.
Is Punch a public or private company?
Punch is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Punch founded?
Punch was founded in 2014. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Punch based?
Punch is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Punch make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Fixed-Fee Professional Services are the primary driver. The others are embedded Team Engagements, startup Program (Equity) and financing Revenue.
Who are Punch's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Globant, DEPT®, Thoughtworks, SoftServe, Ust Global (UST) and AKQA. Emerging players are Hatchworks AI, Rightpoint and Diff Agency. Netguru is listed as a direct peer.
Does Punch have an API?
No public API is recorded for Punch.
What industry is Punch in?
Punch's product category is AI Engineering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAHAF, AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services, with a secondary code of HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8711.