PurposeLab

What PurposeLab does

PurposeLab is a Santa Monica-based product development firm and venture studio, founded in 2009 by Rob Kramer and Andrew Skinner. The company operates two distinct business lines. The first is a venture studio that partners with early-stage, domain-expert founders to ideate, design, and build consumer and enterprise software products, taking equity stakes in select companies in exchange for engineering resources, strategic advisory, and sometimes cash investment. The second is AI Studio, an enterprise-facing service that deploys AI-powered tech assessment and product implementation against private equity, venture capital, and large legacy family-owned enterprises, with claimed outcomes around technical debt reduction, cost optimization, and workflow automation.

The company's underlying technology is a mix of custom mobile and web application development for portfolio clients, alongside an internal AI Studio assessment platform. PurposeLab has shipped mobile and web products across consumer social (The Pattern), celebrity content/commerce (Kardashian-Jenner Sisters app, Tyler the Creator), fintech (Swan Bitcoin), cannabis compliance (Greenspace), healthcare (MedConcert), EdTech (Get Lit), e-commerce (HipSwap), travel (Go Do Trip), social impact (Tell Your Story), and conscious commerce (Goodbuy). It also holds equity investments in Plant Prefab, Ostendo, Vytalize Health, and Myco.

PurposeLab makes money through a combination of professional services fees for product development engagements, consulting and implementation fees for AI Studio enterprise work, and equity participation in venture studio portfolio companies. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contracts typical for venture studio partnerships. The company markets primarily through its portfolio website and direct founder/enterprise outreach rather than a scaled demand generation function.

Name

PurposeLab

Legal name

PurposeLab, LLC

Website

https://purposelab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PurposeLab is a Santa Monica venture studio and product development firm that builds and equity-invests in early-stage consumer and enterprise software startups, and operates an AI Studio offering AI-powered tech assessment and implementation services for PE, VC, and large family-owned enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Studio / Startup Investment: PurposeLab invests product development resources, strategic business advice, and sometimes cash into compelling tech-enabled startups in consumer, enterprise, fintech, and impact spaces. They evaluate startups like angel investors and provide acceleration through their venture studio.
2. AI Studio Enterprise Services: Works with Private Equity, Venture Capital, and large Legacy Family Owned Enterprises to accelerate value creation through AI-powered tech assessment and product implementation platform. Revenue derived from consulting and implementation engagements with large enterprises.
3. Product Development Services: Partners with like-minded founders who need a tech partner to ideate, design and build consumer and enterprise software products. Provides full product development lifecycle from conception to launch.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

PurposeLab is a product development and venture studio that builds and funds software startups. Through its Venture Studio, PurposeLab partners with tech-enabled founders to ideate, design, and build consumer and enterprise software products, investing product development resources, strategic business advice, and capital in exchange for equity. Through its AI Studio, PurposeLab delivers AI-powered tech assessment and product implementation services to Private Equity, Venture Capital, and large Legacy Family-Owned Enterprises seeking to reduce technical debt and accelerate value creation through enterprise technology transformation.

Product overview

PurposeLab is a product development and venture studio that builds and funds startups focused on AI transformation, consumer apps, enterprise software, fintech, and impact-driven technology companies. The company operates two core offerings: (1) Venture Studio – which partners with entrepreneurs to ideate, design, and build consumer and enterprise software products, investing product development resources, strategic advice, and capital; and (2) AI Studio – an AI-powered tech assessment and product implementation platform for Private Equity, VC, and large enterprises. PurposeLab has a portfolio of completed projects including The Pattern (personality app), Get Lit (EdTech poetry platform), Kardashian-Jenner Sisters app (#1 App Store), Swan Bitcoin (crypto platform), Greenspace (cannabis compliance), Tyler the Creator Golf Media app, MedConcert (healthcare), HipSwap (e-commerce), Storyblaster (social media SaaS), Tell Your Story, Go Do Trip (travel), and Goodbuy (conscious shopping). Current investments include Plant Prefab, Ostendo, Vytalize, and Myco. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Studio A venture studio offering that partners with tech-enabled founders to ideate, design, and build consumer and enterprise software products across consumer, enterprise, fintech, and impact verticals. PurposeLab invests product development resources, strategic business advice, and sometimes cash into portfolio companies, acting as an embedded technical co-founder for impactful startups.
• AI Studio An AI-powered tech assessment and product implementation service targeting Private Equity, Venture Capital, and large Legacy Family-Owned Enterprises (e.g., Automotive). Delivers rapid ROI by reducing technical debt by 40-60%, optimizing costs by reducing budgets by up to 50%, and automating up to 80% of workflows through AI enhancements across the enterprise tech stack.

Quantifiable outcome

• Technical debt reduced by 40-60%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Greenspace (Anami Technologies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurposeLab partnered with Anami Technologies to create Greenspace - a cannabis industry compliance, sales tracking and tax collection platform for retailers.
• Whalerock IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurposeLab partnered with Whalerock Industries to create engaging mobile content and commerce experiences for the Kardashian-Jenner sisters, resulting in a #1 app in iTunes App Store.
• Tyler, the CreatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurposeLab collaborated with Tyler, the Creator to create an iOS and Android content, commerce and community platform featuring exclusive announcements, live streaming video, music, articles, and merchandise.
• OverseeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurposeLab partnered with Oversee to disrupt the consumer travel planning and booking space with GoDoTrip.
• MedConcertminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurposeLab helped MedConcert, a leading healthcare provider of cloud-based solutions, deploy their web-based platform on iOS and Android, migrating their coordination of care solution onto mobile.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Atomic: Atomic is a venture studio that builds and funds startups from inception, partnering with founders to co-create companies. Directly comparable to PurposeLab's venture studio arm, with similar model of investing engineering resources, capital, and operational support into portfolio startups.
• Betaworks: Betaworks is a startup studio and venture fund based in NYC that builds and invests in early-stage companies. Directly comparable to PurposeLab's venture studio model, with similar approach of building and funding multiple startups across consumer and frontier tech.
• Idealab: Idealab is one of the longest-running technology venture studios, creating and launching internet-based businesses. Directly comparable to PurposeLab given both operate venture studios building and investing in tech startups, with similar longevity in the space.
• Science Inc. Science Inc. is a Los Angeles-based startup studio that builds, launches, and invests in technology companies. Directly comparable to PurposeLab's venture studio + product development hybrid, with similar LA presence and consumer/internet focus.
• Pioneer Square Labs (PSL): PSL is a Seattle-based venture studio that ideates, builds, and spins out new startups. Directly comparable to PurposeLab as a venture studio with similar studio-fund-services hybrid model, building companies from scratch with founding teams.
• High Alpha: High Alpha is a venture studio that partners with founders to build B2B SaaS companies. Comparable to PurposeLab's studio model, though with greater emphasis on enterprise SaaS rather than consumer products and entertainment apps.

Broad incumbents

• Accenture: Accenture is a global professional services firm with deep enterprise technology transformation and AI implementation practices. Comparable to PurposeLab's AI Studio as a competitor for the same PE, VC, and large enterprise buyers seeking AI-driven tech modernization.
• Thoughtworks: Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that provides custom software development, digital transformation, and AI/ML services. Comparable to PurposeLab's AI Studio services arm — both target enterprise tech transformation engagements, though Thoughtworks operates at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• IDEO: IDEO is a design and innovation consultancy that partners with companies to design and develop new products and services. Comparable to PurposeLab's product development services arm — both take an ideation-to-launch approach with consumer and enterprise clients, though IDEO emphasizes design thinking methodology.
• Sway Ventures: Sway Ventures is a venture firm and studio that invests in and builds consumer-facing technology companies. Comparable to PurposeLab given overlap in venture studio operations and consumer technology focus, particularly around purpose-driven and impact investments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/purposelab-llc

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 PurposeLab