Lateral

What Lateral does

Lateral, Inc. (operating as Lateral Group) is a privately held, founder-led design and technology consultancy headquartered at 110 Wall Street, New York, NY. Founded in 2008 by CEO Ciprian Morar, the company delivers six core professional service lines: Architecture & System Design, Consulting (Due Diligence, Recovery & Transformation), Staff Augmentation, AI & Machine Learning, UI/UX & Product Design, and Mobile Development. Delivery is globally distributed across the United States, Canada, the Benelux region (with a regional headquarters in Maastricht, Netherlands), broader Europe (including engineering centers in Romania), Latin America, and Asia, supporting 24/7 onshore/nearshore/offshore execution for clients.

The firm underpins its services with a proprietary 'Artificial Agility AI & Machine Learning' framework and an award-winning design studio. Lateral has produced notable client-facing platforms that embed AI/ML, including Ezra Flash AI (MRI image enhancement for early cancer detection), the Ezra customer booking portal, Skincoach (AI-driven personalized skincare), FlyBLACK (computer vision-assisted private aviation booking), and a Rubicon suite of SaaS products (RUBICONSmartCity, Rubicon Connect, Rubicon Pro) for waste and fleet management. The company also distributes the Project Design Master Class, a five-day IDesign Method training program taught by Juval Löwy.

Lateral monetizes primarily through time-and-materials, monthly retainer, and fixed-price/milestone-based contracts across staff augmentation, dedicated team, and outsourced development engagements, with enterprise sales conducted directly via 'Get in touch' and 'Book a call' CTAs. Marquee customers include Red Bull, Intel, American Express, Princess Cruises, Adidas, and Lego, alongside growth-stage clients such as Ezra, Rubicon, Flyblack, and Skincoach. The company is described as profitable, independent, and self-funded, with no disclosed external investment.

Name

Lateral

Legal name

Lateral, Inc.

Website

https://lateralgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Lateral is a private, founder-led design and technology consultancy delivering architecture, AI/ML, UI/UX, mobile, consulting, and staff augmentation services to enterprise brands and growth-stage startups across the US, Europe, and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Staff Augmentation & Outsourcing: Enhance teams with specialized professionals who integrate seamlessly with existing workflows. Flexible resource allocation for scaling teams, access to global talent pool for specialized skills, and cost efficiency compared to long-term hires. Delivery through onshore, nearshore, and offshore talent with 24/7 development capabilities.
2. Dedicated Teams: Hire an exclusive team focused solely on client projects, working as an extension of the organization. High commitment and focus with domain-specific expertise tailored to business needs. Monthly retainers based on team composition and expertise.
3. Outsourced Development Services: Delegate entire software projects for end-to-end execution, from concept to deployment. Complete ownership and delivery by specialized team with reduced time-to-market. Fixed project rates, milestone-based payments, or time-and-materials pricing.
4. Consulting: Due Diligence, Recovery & Transformation: Technology strategy, due diligence, recovery, and transformation services to optimize technology operations and ensure sustainable growth. Comprehensive analysis for strategic planning and investment decisions.
5. Training - Project Design Master Class: IDesign Method training program taught by Juval Lowy covering software project design techniques. 5-day intensive course delivered via Zoom.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lateral is a design and technology consultancy that delivers end-to-end software development through six professional service lines: Architecture & System Design, Consulting (Due Diligence, Recovery & Transformation), Staff Augmentation, AI & Machine Learning, UI/UX & Product Design, and Mobile Development. Engagements are delivered via staff augmentation, dedicated teams, or fully outsourced projects for startups and enterprise brands, supported by a proprietary Artificial Agility AI & ML framework. The company also runs a 5-day instructor-led online training program, the Project Design Master Class, based on the IDesign Method.

Product overview

Lateral is a design and technology consultancy offering a portfolio of six core professional services: Architecture & System Design, Consulting (Due Diligence, Recovery & Transformation), Staff Augmentation, AI & Machine Learning, UI/UX & Product Design, and Mobile Development. These services are delivered by a globally distributed team and supported by a proprietary AI & Machine Learning Framework. Lateral's client-facing product portfolio includes AI-powered platforms developed for clients: Ezra (AI-powered cancer screening via full-body MRI with Ezra Flash AI and customer booking portal), Rubicon (a suite of SaaS products including RUBICONSmartCity for government fleets, Rubicon Connect for waste management at scale, and Rubicon Pro for haulers), FlyBLACK (a private aviation booking app), and Skin Coach (an AI-based personalized skincare platform for teens). Additionally, Lateral offers a training program, the Project Design Master Class, based on the IDesign Method taught by Juval Löwy. The company was founded in 2008, has 200+ experts globally, and serves clients across healthcare, waste management, aviation, e-commerce, and other industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture & System Design Software architecture and system design services that build scalable, efficient platforms and robust infrastructures for digital products, delivered to enterprise brands and startups.
• Consulting: Due Diligence, Recovery & Transformation Consulting services covering technology strategy, due diligence, recovery, and transformation to optimize technology operations and ensure sustainable business growth.
• Staff Augmentation Staff augmentation and outsourcing services providing top-tier onshore, nearshore, and offshore talent, including 24/7 round-the-clock development, to scale client teams and close skill gaps.
• AI & Machine Learning Bespoke AI and machine learning solutions including predictive analytics, natural language processing, computer vision, intelligent automation, and AI-driven personalization for business transformation.
• UI, UX & Product Design Award-winning creative studio transforming digital presence through intuitive, user-friendly UI and UX aligned with brand identity, delivered to enterprise brands and startups.
• Mobile Development Native mobile app design and development for iOS and Android platforms, with 17+ years of experience building award-winning mobile products for bold startups and established brands.
• Project Design Master Class A 5-day instructor-led online training course teaching IDesign Method techniques for software project design, including critical path method, risk quantification, and project compression techniques, taught by Juval Löwy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50%+ sales increase during campaign for Skincoach online store
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• IDesign / Juval LowyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2024IDesign is the provider of the Project Design Master Class training program. Juval Lowy, founder of IDesign and master software architect, serves as instructor for the 5-day intensive course. Lateral hosts and promotes this training as part of their professional development offerings. The course teaches IDesign Method techniques for software project design.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation consultancy with deep UI/UX, product design, and digital transformation offerings. Comparable to Lateral on the design-services dimension and in serving mission-driven, brand-conscious clients.
• Globant: Globant is a global digital engineering and IT services firm with a strong AI and software development focus. Directly comparable to Lateral in services mix, global delivery model, and AI positioning, though at significantly larger scale.
• Slalom: Slalom is a mid-size management and technology consultancy with design-led digital transformation services. Comparable to Lateral in hybrid strategy+delivery engagements, design emphasis, and enterprise brand client profile.
• Thoughtworks: Thoughtworks is a mid-size global technology consultancy specializing in custom software, AI engineering, and digital transformation for enterprises. Overlaps with Lateral in bespoke software delivery, AI capability, and premium enterprise clients.
• Endava: Endava is a UK-headquartered IT services and digital transformation firm with distributed delivery across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Closely matches Lateral's staff-augmentation-plus-strategic-delivery hybrid model and approximate size band.

Emerging players

• Andela: Andela is a global talent marketplace and engineering services firm focused on matching companies with vetted technical talent, often for staff augmentation. Overlaps with Lateral's talent-placement and distributed-delivery motion.
• Toptal: Toptal is a freelance talent network specializing in placing top software developers, designers, and AI engineers with enterprises. Adjacent to Lateral's staff augmentation stream, though Toptal operates a marketplace rather than a delivery firm model.

Broad incumbents

• Infosys: Infosys is one of the largest global IT services and consulting firms, with a mature staff augmentation and digital transformation practice. Competes with Lateral for the same enterprise mandates but at hyperscale.
• Accenture: Accenture is the world's largest technology and consulting firm with deep AI, design, and digital engineering capabilities. Relevant as the dominant incumbent competing for the same enterprise digital-transformation budgets that Lateral targets.
• Cognizant: Cognizant is a global IT services giant offering digital, consulting, and operations services across all major verticals. Overlaps with Lateral in enterprise software delivery and staff augmentation but at vastly greater scale and breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/home
• Facebookfacebook.com/lateral.inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lateral-group-official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Lateral