Concrete

What Concrete does

Concrete is a privately-held behavioral design and UX research consultancy that helps technology companies diagnose and resolve friction in complex human-technology interactions, with a primary focus on developer experience (DevX), AI-era product usability, and hardware/software kit adoption. Its core technology is a mixed-methods behavioral research framework that combines quantitative system metrics (latency, system load, jitter) with qualitative observation (ethnographic studies, usability testing, body-language analysis, cognitive-load measurement) to surface invisible friction in developer journeys. Proprietary methodologies include the Friction Score — a composite metric blending technical and cognitive load — and the Agentic Readiness Audit (ARA), which evaluates whether developer products are prepared for AI-agent-mediated evaluation. The firm has accumulated nearly two decades of qualitative research archives (video, audio, transcripts) that it positions as a proprietary data asset for behavioral prediction and affective-computing training.

Concrete operates as a project-based professional services firm with no publicly disclosed pricing, custom quote-based engagements, and a sales-led go-to-market anchored by long-tenured enterprise relationships. Its client roster spans semiconductor and AI hardware leaders (notably Intel, across 35-40 developer products, and Google ATAP on Project Soli and Jacquard), enterprise technology marketing organizations, healthcare, cybersecurity, and wearables companies (SwingIQ, Oakley Radar Pace, Recon Jet, Vaunt). The firm is founder-led (Colin Bay, Sean Dunnahoo, Damon Sullivan, Mark Rose), organized as Concrete, LLC in the US, and operates from six offices across Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Taipei. The company has no disclosed external funding, no parent or subsidiary entities, and no public listing, indicating a bootstrapped, founder-owned consultancy model that has scaled organically over more than two decades.

Name

Concrete

Legal name

Concrete, LLC

Website

https://concreteux.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Concrete is a US-based, founder-led behavioral design and UX research consultancy serving enterprise technology clients — including semiconductor leaders like Intel and Google's ATAP group — with mixed-methods research, developer-experience optimization, and AI-readiness audit services for hardware, software, and AI products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Usnice

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. UX Research and Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements focused on behavioral design, UX research, developer experience optimization, and strategic advisory services for technology companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Concrete provides AI-driven behavioral design and UX research consulting for technology companies. Its core work includes persona research, journey mapping, expert reviews, usability testing, developer experience (DevX) optimization, and mixed-methods qualitative/quantitative research, with deep specialization in developer tools, AI/silicon ecosystems, wearables/IoT, and spatial computing.

Product overview

Concrete is an AI-driven behavioral design and UX research consultancy offering a portfolio of professional services. The core offering consists of behavioral design consulting and mixed-methods research services to help technology companies improve developer experience and product adoption. Services include persona research, journey mapping, expert reviews, usability testing, and First Mile optimization. The company applies behavioral science insights to complex technology domains including AI, developer tools, wearables, and spatial computing. Concrete does not offer a unified software product or platform but rather provides consulting engagements and research services tailored to client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AI-Driven Behavioral Design Services Consulting services applying behavioral science and UX research methodologies to help technology companies understand user needs, improve product adoption, and optimize developer experiences.
• Developer Experience (DevX) Consulting Services focused on improving the developer journey for hardware and software kits, including persona research, experience journey mapping, expert reviews, and usability testing.
• Mixed Methods Research Qualitative and quantitative research combining ethnographic studies, usability testing, and observational research to uncover human behavior insights for AI and technology products.
• First Mile Optimization Services Consulting to help companies optimize their 'First Mile' developer experience from discovery to first successful code execution, reducing friction and improving adoption rates.
• Agentic Readiness Audit (ARA) Assessment service to evaluate whether developer products are ready for AI agent evaluation, including metadata density, environment parity, contextual chunking checks, verification tooling, and deterministic path assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Task success rates improved from 90% fail to 90% succeed after usability testing and revisions
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cooper (design consultancy): Interaction design and UX research consultancy that originated the "persona" methodology; directly comparable to Concrete in behavioral research depth, enterprise technology focus, and methodology-led positioning.
• Frog Design: Design and innovation consultancy (part of Capgemini Engineering) serving global technology and hardware clients with research-driven design; directly comparable in serving semiconductor and hardware manufacturers with experience design and developer-adjacent engagements.
• IDEO: Globally recognized design and innovation consultancy that combines behavioral research with product design for enterprise clients; comparable to Concrete in its human-centered research approach and enterprise technology client base, though at much larger scale.
• Answerlab: UX research consultancy specializing in enterprise B2B and technology clients; directly comparable to Concrete in its focus on research-led engagements for technology buyers, with similar mixed-methods and behavioral research practices.
• Nielsen Norman Group: The leading independent UX research and training consultancy; directly comparable to Concrete as a research-led practice serving enterprise technology buyers with behavioral and usability expertise, and similarly monetizing thought leadership alongside consulting engagements.
• Method (design consultancy): Design and technology consultancy focused on customer experience and digital product innovation; comparable to Concrete in serving enterprise technology clients with research-driven design services.
• Ustwo Studios: Digital product studio combining research, design, and engineering for technology clients; comparable to Concrete in delivering human-centered design and behavioral research for developer-adjacent and consumer tech products.

Emerging players

• UserTesting: UX research platform combining human insight tools with on-demand participant networks; partially overlapping with Concrete in the user research value chain, though as a software platform rather than a bespoke consultancy, it represents both a complement and a competitive substitute.

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Song (formerly Fjord): Global design and experience consultancy within Accenture that serves enterprise technology clients with research, design, and innovation services; a broad incumbent that competes with Concrete for enterprise DevX and experience design engagements, but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• EPAM (digital and design practice): Global digital transformation services firm with significant UX research and design capabilities serving enterprise technology and semiconductor clients; a broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise DevX and experience research budgets that Concrete targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Concreteux
• Facebookfacebook.com/ConcreteUX
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/concreteux
• Instagraminstagram.com/concreteux

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 Concrete