MakerX
MakerX is a Melbourne-based, bootstrapped R&D studio of 40+ senior engineers that designs, builds and ships production AI software, products and automation for enterprise clients across healthcare, education, events, fintech and cybersecurity, via outcome-based fixed-price engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What MakerX does
MakerX is a Melbourne-headquartered research and development studio, founded in 2020 and operating as MakerX Pty Ltd (ABN 54 651 621 966), that designs and engineers AI-powered software, products and automation for enterprise and high-growth clients. The company operates a hybrid model: it runs a portfolio of in-house venture products — QRX (an AI-generated artistic QR code platform with 800,000+ codes created), Choose Your News (an automated AI news-to-video engine), MakerBos (an AI value-stream mapping platform) and the Data History Museum (an NFT-powered historical artefact collection on Algorand) — alongside a custom R&D services practice that ships production AI for named clients in healthcare, human services, education, events management, CRM, fintech, blockchain and cybersecurity.
Technically, MakerX builds on hyperscaler AI infrastructure (Microsoft Azure AI Services, AWS) and third-party foundation models (Stable Diffusion, Claude Code) rather than developing proprietary base models, and differentiates through its Responsible AI Framework — six principles (Fairness, Reliability & Safety, Privacy & Security, Inclusiveness, Transparency, Accountability) embedded directly in engineering. Its AI capabilities span natural language, generative AI, computer vision, recommendation engines, agentic coding, predictive analytics and multimodal document understanding, applied both to client deliverables and internal software engineering workflows.
Commercially, MakerX engages enterprise clients through a senior-led, direct sales motion in three modes — exploration, problem-solving and fixed-price product delivery — using an outcome-based pricing model with multi-year contracts and guaranteed outcomes. The team of 40+ senior engineers, designers and product specialists is distributed across Australia, the UK and Luxembourg, and the company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, founder-led by CEO Matt Davies with CTO Rob Moore, CFO Dan Healy and CPO Jess Panni.
MakerX firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MakerX
- Legal name
- MakerX Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://makerx.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MakerX is a Melbourne-based, bootstrapped R&D studio of 40+ senior engineers that designs, builds and ships production AI software, products and automation for enterprise clients across healthcare, education, events, fintech and cybersecurity, via outcome-based fixed-price engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MakerX industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Custom AI Software Development Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)
Keywords
Where MakerX is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices7 records
Markets served
MakerX business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Project-Based Consulting: MakerX works with organisations on AI-powered software, products and automation. Engagements include fixed-price projects with guaranteed outcomes as well as exploratory work to figure out what's possible with AI in a business.
- Outcome-Based Pricing: Unique outcome-based pricing model described as a genuine partnership that puts value above scope. Pricing is based on outcomes rather than time and materials.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | Fixed-price engagements with guaranteed outcomes |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Exploratory and problem-solving engagements |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
MakerX product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MakerX is an R&D Studio that partners with organisations to invent, engineer and ship AI-powered software, products and automation. Engagements span three modes: structured experiments to figure out what's possible, exploration and validation of complex problems, and fixed-price product builds with guaranteed outcomes. The studio also operates a portfolio of in-house venture products (QRX, Choose Your News, MakerBos, Data History Museum) and offers the Azure Private AI Kickstarter as a packaged service.
Product overview
MakerX is a research and development studio — not a single-product company. It operates a portfolio of distinct venture products and client-delivered AI solutions spanning multiple industries. Its core venture products include QRX (an artistic QR codes platform with over 800,000 codes generated), Choose Your News (an automated AI-driven news-to-video platform), Data History Museum (an NFT-powered historical artefact preservation platform built on Algorand), and MakerBos (an AI-powered value-stream mapping tool). Service offerings include the Azure Private AI Kickstarter, a secure Azure AI implementation service. In addition, MakerX's project portfolio includes multiple client-facing AI solutions across healthcare, human services, events, education, CRM, business intelligence, marketing automation, retail, and software engineering — delivered under its three engagement modes: figuring out what's possible, solving a specific problem, and shipping a product.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- QRX: Artistic QR codes platform built in 2024 with over 800,000 codes created
- Choose Your News
- Data History Museum
Products and services
- QRX AI-generated artistic QR codes platform that re-imagines engagement across marketing, packaging and events, generating scannable yet visually distinctive QR codes using AI image generation.
- Choose Your News Visionary R&D experiment that automatically transforms global news coverage into multi-variant CNN-style video stories, combining AI-driven content distribution with automated video generation.
- MakerBos AI platform that turns light-touch workforce conversations into living value-stream maps, replacing static process diagrams with a continuously refreshed view of how a business actually runs.
- Data History Museum NFT-powered collection of historical artefacts built on the Algorand blockchain, bridging the physical and digital realms of historical artefact preservation; first NFT series uses the US Geological Survey's open API to create real-time assets from earthquakes around the globe.
- Azure Private AI Kickstarter
Quantifiable outcome
- Medical report generation cutting hours of work down to minutes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use MakerX
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MakerX technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability14 records
Feature2 records
MakerX partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Verified OrchestrationcorePartnership for identity and credential management infrastructure. Verified Orchestration specialises in providing a seamless identity and credential management infrastructure, making it easier for organisations to adopt verifiable credentials via a Turnkey SaaS solution.
- KangamajorPartnership to deliver automated data analytics, reporting and performance management SaaS solutions for small to medium-sized businesses worldwide.
- Amerinda AdvisorymajorStrategic partnership to drive the creation of innovative digital businesses and products. Combines Amerinda's deep advisory expertise with MakerX's venture building and product design capabilities.
- EventsAircoreBuilt a modern GraphQL API platform for EventsAir, a world-leading events management platform. The partnership transformed how EventsAir delivers bespoke solutions, enabling customers and partners to build integrations on top of the platform. The API now helps foster customer retention and unlocks new business opportunities.
- VentureCrowdcorePartnership to build Vest, a world-first blockchain-based wealth technology platform where syndicate communities can view hyper niche deal flow. VentureCrowd is Australia's leading digital investment platform for alternative assets.
- Algorand FoundationmajorMakerX innovations were showcased at Algorand Decipher 2024 conference. MakerX has worked on various Algorand blockchain projects including dynamic NFT-powered dashboard (GoannaX) and other blockchain landscape work.
- Azure/MicrosoftcoreMakerX offers Azure Private AI Kickstarter, a secure solution using Azure AI Services. Extensive experience with Azure cloud infrastructure including Azure AD B2C, Azure API Management, Azure App Service, and Azure Functions.
- AWScoreMakerX works extensively with AWS services including Fargate, CloudWatch, X-Ray, Lambda, S3, IAM Access Analyzer, EventBridge, and AWS CDK for infrastructure as code.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MakerX competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Slalom: Global consulting firm with deep AI/ML and data engineering practices delivering bespoke enterprise solutions. Comparable on enterprise AI delivery model but with much broader industry coverage and headcount.
- Accenture: Global professional services firm with large-scale AI engineering and applied AI delivery for Fortune 500 enterprises. Operates in the same enterprise AI services category as MakerX but as a much broader incumbent spanning strategy through implementation.
- Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy that designs and delivers custom digital and AI products for enterprise customers. Comparable on outcome-driven enterprise software delivery but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple geographies.
- Globant: Global digital transformation and AI engineering firm that designs and ships enterprise software products. Comparable on studio-style AI product delivery for enterprise but with global delivery footprint and significantly larger headcount.
- Cognizant: Global IT services firm delivering AI, digital engineering and custom software at enterprise scale. Overlaps with MakerX on AI-led enterprise application development but at vastly larger scale and broader service portfolio.
Direct peers
- Faculty AI: UK-based AI services firm that designs, builds and deploys applied AI solutions for enterprise and government. Comparable as a senior-talent-led boutique AI studio delivering production AI rather than research demos.
- Versent: Australian cloud and AI consultancy that builds enterprise-grade software and AI solutions for large Australian organisations. Closely comparable in geography, target enterprise customers, AWS/Azure-native delivery model, and senior-engineer-led boutique studio positioning.
- Willow: Australian digital transformation consultancy delivering complex software, data and customer experience programmes for enterprise clients. Comparable on enterprise delivery model, Australian footprint, and senior consulting-led engagement style.
- Mantel Group: Australian data, analytics and AI consultancy building production AI/ML solutions for enterprise customers. Direct overlap on AI engineering services, enterprise customer profile, and Australia-headquartered boutique positioning.
- DiUS: Australian technology consultancy specialising in applied AI, data engineering and emerging tech for enterprise and government clients. Highly comparable boutique studio model with senior engineers delivering AI/ML products in production.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MakerX social profiles
Digital presenceMakerX financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MakerX leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
MakerX funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MakerX 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 MakerX
What does MakerX do?
MakerX is an R&D Studio that partners with organisations to invent, engineer and ship AI-powered software, products and automation. Engagements span three modes: structured experiments to figure out what's possible, exploration and validation of complex problems, and fixed-price product builds with guaranteed outcomes. The studio also operates a portfolio of in-house venture products (QRX, Choose Your News, MakerBos, Data History Museum) and offers the Azure Private AI Kickstarter as a packaged service.
Is MakerX a public or private company?
MakerX is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MakerX founded?
MakerX was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MakerX based?
MakerX is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does MakerX make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Project-Based Consulting is the primary driver. The others are outcome-Based Pricing.
Who are MakerX's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Slalom, Accenture, Thoughtworks, Globant and Cognizant. Direct peers are Faculty AI, Versent, Willow, Mantel Group and DiUS.
Does MakerX have an API?
No public API is recorded for MakerX.
What industry is MakerX in?
MakerX's product category is Custom AI Software Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX), with a secondary code of BPAFAEAI, Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design.