What TSAO Design does

TSAO Design Group is a privately held architecture and interior design firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operational presence in Miami/South Florida. Founded by Jonathan Tsao, who serves as managing principal, the firm has been operating for over three decades delivering comprehensive design services for corporate, institutional, and private clients. The firm's offering is organized around five horizontal service categories: Work Spaces (corporate offices), Health & Wellness (healthcare and medical facilities), Retail, Aviation (notably SFO), and Hospitality & Residential (hotels, resorts, condominiums, private residences).

The firm's client roster is unusually broad for a boutique practice, spanning marquee logos across multiple industries: Kaiser Permanente (multiple healthcare facilities), Bank of America, Oracle, Cisco, Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Union Bank, Sephora, Best Buy, Levi's, Gap, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, ALDO, 100% Pure, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, SFO, Hult International Business School, ASPCA, and the cities of Miami and Miami Beach. Notable project scopes include a 45-story, 1,258-unit Hallandale Beach Club oceanfront condominium with a 132,000 SF pool deck redesign, a 160,000 SF Queen's Flowers distribution facility, and the AIA-award-winning Axel Hotel Miami Beach historic preservation project.

Revenue is generated exclusively through project-based professional design fees, with each engagement scope-determined and quote-based — no public pricing or recurring revenue model exists. The firm employs industry-standard architectural tooling (AutoCAD, Revit, 3D Studio, Rhino, Grasshopper) and executes work via direct principal-led business development, reputation-based referrals, and case-study marketing through its portfolio website. Jonathan Tsao holds AIA, NCARB, and LEED AP credentials and is a registered architect in 30 states, supporting the firm's ability to operate across jurisdictions.

Name

TSAO Design

Legal name

TSAO Design Group

Website

https://tsaodesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TSAO Design Group is a privately held San Francisco-based architecture and interior design firm, founded by Jonathan Tsao, serving corporate, institutional, and private clients across work spaces, healthcare, retail, aviation, and hospitality sectors via project-based fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Interior design
• Commercial architecture
• Healthcare facility design
• Workplace design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Comprehensive design services for new building development, renovation of existing structures, and interior architecture. Revenue is generated through project-based professional fees for design consulting services across commercial, healthcare, retail, workplace, aviation, and hospitality sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

TSAO Design Group provides architecture and interior design services for corporate, institutional, and private clients, encompassing new building development, renovation of existing structures, and full interior architecture. Service offerings are organized into five practice categories: Work Spaces (commercial offices), Health & Wellness (healthcare facilities, medical offices, sports medicine), Retail (stores and shopping centers), Aviation (airport terminals and aviation facilities), and Hospitality & Residential (hotels, resorts, condominiums, and private residences), delivered from programming through construction administration.

Product overview

TSAO DesignGroup is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm providing comprehensive design services for corporate, institutional and private clients. The firm's offerings span multiple service categories including Work Spaces (commercial offices), Health & Wellness (healthcare facilities, medical offices, sports medicine), Retail (shopping centers and brand environments), Aviation (airport facilities), and Hospitality & Residential (hotels, resorts, and private residences). With over three decades of experience, the firm delivers projects from programming through construction administration, serving clients across San Francisco and Miami markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture and Interior Design Services Comprehensive architecture and interior design services for corporate, institutional, and private clients, including new building development, renovation of existing structures, and full interior architecture delivered from programming through construction administration.
• Work Spaces Design Services Commercial office space design and interior architecture for corporate environments, balancing enclosed and open work environments, communal zones, and brand/culture expression.
• Health & Wellness Design Services Design of healthcare facilities, medical offices, sports medicine centers, wellness centers, and spas that combine clinical functionality with patient-centered, calming, spa-like aesthetics.
• Retail Design Services Retail environment design including shopping centers, brand stores, and specialty retail spaces that enhance brand identity and customer experience for clients such as Sephora, Best Buy, ALDO, 100% Pure, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Gap, Levi's, and Westfield San Francisco Centre.
• Aviation Design Services Airport terminal design and aviation facility interiors, including the SFO T1/BAB terminal and executive/administrative offices for San Francisco International Airport.
• Hospitality & Residential Design Services Design of hotels, resorts, condominiums, and private residences, including historic preservation and restoration projects, for clients such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Axel Hotel (Miami Beach), and Hallandale Beach Club.

Named customers35 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Surface Design, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on the Concreteworks Custom Planter project. Surface Design, Inc. worked with TSAO Design Group and Concreteworks on this custom design element.
• ConcreteworksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on the Concreteworks Custom Planter project involving custom concrete planter design and fabrication.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Steinberg Hart: Mid-sized architecture and interior design firm headquartered in San Francisco with national reach, focused on civic, education, healthcare, workplace, and cultural projects. Comparable to TSAO as a similarly sized California-rooted practice competing in adjacent commercial, institutional, and healthcare segments.
• Aidlin Darling Design: Boutique San Francisco architecture and design practice with a small principal-led studio producing award-winning residential, hospitality, and institutional work. Comparable to TSAO in scale, founder-driven model, design-led culture, and Bay Area base, with overlapping client types in hospitality and private commissions.
• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: Small-to-mid architecture firm with offices in multiple U.S. cities (including San Francisco), known for design excellence across commercial, civic, residential, and workplace projects. Comparable to TSAO in studio size, design-led identity, multi-state licensing, and breadth across project types.
• Olson Kundig: Principal-led architecture and interior design firm recognized for hospitality, residential, and commercial work with a strong design signature and national client base. Comparable to TSAO as a small, design-pedigree firm with cross-sector expertise spanning hospitality, workplace, and cultural clients.
• SHoP Architects: Design-led architecture firm with offices in multiple cities, known for large-scale commercial, cultural, and mixed-use projects. Comparable to TSAO in design-driven identity and cross-sector practice (workplace, hospitality, cultural, retail) at a larger scale and broader footprint.
• Huntsman Architectural Group: Mid-sized architecture firm specializing in commercial interiors and base building projects across workplace, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use sectors. Comparable to TSAO in practice areas (interior architecture, corporate office, retail, hospitality) and B2B project delivery model.
• RLPS Interiors: Interior architecture and design firm serving retail, hospitality, healthcare, and corporate clients across the U.S. Comparable to TSAO as a similarly positioned interior-architecture practice with a national footprint and overlapping retail, hospitality, and healthcare mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global design and architecture firm with thousands of employees and offices in dozens of markets, providing architecture, interiors, and consulting across workplace, healthcare, retail, aviation, and hospitality — overlapping directly with TSAO's five core sectors. Relevant as the dominant broad incumbent against which TSAO competes on premium enterprise mandates.
• HOK: Large global architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with deep practices in healthcare, aviation, workplace, and commercial development. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the same verticals TSAO serves, and a frequent competitor on enterprise healthcare, airport, and corporate RFPs.
• SmithGroup: National architecture, engineering, and planning firm with major practices in healthcare, workplace, and cultural/institutional markets. Comparable to TSAO in healthcare and institutional expertise, though at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TSAODesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 TSAO Design