Macro Waves

What Macro Waves does

Macro Waves is a QPOC-led interdisciplinary arts collective and creative studio founded in 2015 in California by Robin Birdd David and Jeffrey Yip. The collective produces community-engaged exhibitions, site-specific installations, AR experiences, projection-mapped murals, haptic vibrational installations, 3D scanning projects, and virtual galleries. Its core technology stack centers on creative and interactive media — augmented reality (Altar-n8 Realm, Leafly AR murals, Yeah Art! AR Experience), haptic vibrational systems (Collective Futures at Edge on the Square), projection mapping (AC Hotel by Marriott, Continuous Thread at SFAC), and 3D scanning for intergenerational archiving (Recology residency). The 6-person team includes designers, visual artists, and new media artists focused on themes of immigration, tech justice, collective care, and QPOC storytelling, with works exhibited at SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Chinese Historical Society of America Museum, and SOMArts.

The organization's business model is project-based and nonprofit in structure, operating as a fiscally sponsored 501(c)(3) project under SOMArts. Revenue flows from commissions (cultural institutions, public art programs like SF Arts Commission's Shaping Legacy initiative, corporate experiential activations with Red Bull, Leafly, AC Hotel), foundation grants (Zellerbach Family Foundation, Fleishhacker Foundation, Cal Humanities, NEH), and artist residencies (Recology, Youkobo Tokyo, SOMArts). No commercial product, subscription pricing, or SaaS offerings exist; each project is a bespoke creative engagement. Customers split across three segments: the primary public/community segment (immigrant, refugee, QPOC communities), cultural institutions (museums, galleries, public art commissions), and corporate partners seeking experiential activations.

Growth momentum is driven by escalating project prestige — from micro-grants and small residencies (2017–2019) to major institutional commissions and a 2025 SF Arts Commission city-wide initiative — rather than by headcount or revenue scale, which remain flat at 6 employees with no disclosed financials. The collective pursues an international footprint through Tokyo and Hanoi-based projects, and recent work indicates a thematic pivot toward tech justice research and policy-adjacent programming.

Name

Macro Waves

Legal name

Macro Waves

Website

https://macrowaves.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Macro Waves is a QPOC-led interdisciplinary arts collective and creative studio founded in 2015 in California, producing community-engaged AR installations, projection mapping, haptic vibrational art, and multimedia exhibitions for immigrant and QPOC communities, cultural institutions, and corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Arts Services / Immersive Installation Design

NAICS

Sound Recording Industries (5122)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM & Lab Simulation Media (Virtual Labs, AR/VR) (EDAGALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hybrid/Virtual Corporate Events & Webcasts (Town Halls, Virtual Launches) (MPAGAHAK)

Keywords

• Immersive art installations
• Augmented reality experiences
• Projection mapping
• Interactive media art
• Creative studio services

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Macro Waves is an interdisciplinary arts collective and creative studio that produces commissioned interactive experiences, exhibitions, site-specific installations, and community-engaged projects. It delivers work combining creative technology (augmented reality, projection mapping, 3D scanning, haptic vibrational systems) with social practice, serving museums, cultural institutions, public art programs, and corporate partners.

Product overview

Macro Waves is a QPOC-led creative studio that operates as an interdisciplinary arts collective producing interactive experiences, exhibitions, site-specific installations, and interdisciplinary projects. The studio offers a portfolio of creative services including community-engaged exhibitions (Home Without Borders, Reworlding the Unimaginable), multi-sensory installations (Collective Futures with haptic technology), artist residencies (Make This Last Forever at Recology), AR experiences, projection mapped murals, virtual galleries, LED installations, Instagram filters, and experiential design for events. The collective functions as a project-based studio, with each offering being a distinct creative project rather than a unified software platform. Projects are developed through collaboration with community partners, cultural institutions, and technology platforms, with recent work exploring themes of immigration, emerging technology impacts, intergenerational experiences, and collective care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Home Without Borders Collaborative community art project celebrating immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through shared stories, performance, and workshops, featuring hybrid physical/digital monuments created through community contributions. Commissioned by SF Arts Commission in partnership with Gray Area.
• Reworlding the Unimaginable Research-based exhibition examining connections between big tech, militarization, and global impact while highlighting tech justice activists and alternative future builders, featuring interactive installations and world-builder teach-ins. Hosted at Dream Farm Commons in Oakland.
• Make This Last Forever Artist residency project utilizing an archiving framework to explore intergenerational stories through inherited objects, 3D scanning technology, and community interviews about managing belongings passed down from elders. Hosted at Recology San Francisco.
• Collective Futures Multi-sensory art installation and collective space focusing on healing through community care, utilizing haptic vibrational technology and collaborative healing-based workshops including sound, breathwork, meditation, and intergenerational wellness practices. Commissioned by Edge on the Square.
• Flora 5000 Inflatable vehicle installation depicting a post-apocalyptic greenhouse preservation robot for plant conservation and reforestation, commissioned by SFMOMA for the Soapbox Derby at McLaren Park.
• Breath.io Augmented reality art experience exploring breath and respiratory health themes, exhibited at SWIM Gallery in San Francisco.
• Altar-n8 Realm Augmented reality art tour in San Francisco Chinatown exploring ancestral realm themes as part of the Augment Reality Art Tour.
• Pastures LED stage installation commissioned by Gray Area and presented at the Gray Area festival in San Francisco.
• Proxy for Place Virtual art gallery exploring themes of place and displacement, commissioned by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Quantifiable outcome

• Commissioned by SF Arts Commission as part of city-wide Shaping Legacy initiative in partnership with Gray Area
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• SF Arts CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Macro Waves was commissioned by SF Arts Commission as part of the city-wide Shaping Legacy initiative to create 'Home Without Borders,' a collaborative community art project celebrating immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through shared stories, performance, and workshops.
• Gray AreacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with Gray Area for the 'Home Without Borders' project, bringing hybrid physical/digital monument to life through community creative contributions. Gray Area provides exhibition space and institutional support for Macro Waves' work.
• Dream Farm CommonsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Host venue for 'Reworlding the Unimaginable' research exhibition examining big tech's global impact and alternative futures. Dream Farm Commons provides Oakland space for the community-engaged research project.
• RecologymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Recology Artists In Residence program hosted Macro Waves for a summer residency. Macro Waves utilized Recology's Public Reuse and Recycling Area to gather materials and create work exploring archiving, intergenerational stories, and object reuse.
• SFMOMAmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022SFMOMA commissioned Macro Waves to create 'Flora 5000' for the Soapbox Derby at McLaren Park. Also featured in CAAM Representing Chinatown exhibition at SFMOMA.
• Edge on the SquaremajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Edge on the Square commissioned 'Collective Futures,' a multi-sensory installation and workshop series exploring community care and collective healing through haptic vibrational technology.
• Yeah Art!minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Created AR Experience commission for Yeah Art! in San Francisco.
• LeaflyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Created AR mural commission for Leafly in San Francisco.
• Independent Lens / PBSminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Created Instagram Filter 'Try Harder' for Independent Lens, PBS.
• 18 Million RisingmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with Turner Willman of 18 Million Rising to lead digital safety workshops for frontline communities, offering practical tools for resisting ICE monitoring as part of the Home Without Borders project.
• Chinese Historical Society of America MuseummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Featured in 'We Are Bruce Lee' exhibition and conducted artist talks including 'Twin Walls & Macro Waves' collaboration. Created mural tribute to Bruce Lee.
• SFSU Fine Arts GallerymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Featured in 'The Power of Community' exhibition exploring multigenerational art celebrating Chinatown communities.
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020YBCA commissioned Macro Waves to create 'Proxy for Place' virtual art gallery. Also featured in YBCA's programming exploring creative technology and community engagement.
• Stanford UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Macro Waves conducted a Visiting Artist Talk at Stanford University. Stanford Tech For Liberation also contributed to the 'Reworlding the Unimaginable' teach-ins.
• SOMArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019SOMArts hosted Macro Waves for Curatorial Residency Program and multiple exhibitions including 'Rebooting the Futures' and 'Night Light Multimedia & Performance Art Festival.' Also a fiscal sponsor.
• Red BullmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Multiple partnerships with Red Bull including grants, content creation for Red Bull 3Style DJ Championship, and Red Bull Music Presents events including 'The Bay,' 'Club Chai 3 Yr. Anniversary,' 'Oakland Block Party,' and 'Generations.'
• AC Hotel by Marriott (Santa Clara)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Created projection mapped mural commission for AC Hotel by Marriott in Santa Clara.
• SFAC (San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Created interactive design for 'Continuous Thread' exhibition at SFAC. Featured in multiple SFAC programming including 'Culture Catalyst' exhibition.
• Filipino Mental Health InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Created mural animation for Kapwa Rising project supporting Filipino mental health.
• SFSU AS Art GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Featured exhibition 'N.V.M (never-mind)' at SFSU AS Art Gallery, with panel discussion on mental health and tech.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Random International: London-based studio known for large-scale interactive and sensory installations; comparable in producing audience-engaged technology-driven installations for museums and public spaces, including haptic and responsive environments similar to Macro Waves' Collective Futures.
• Second Story: Portland/NYC-based experiential studio producing interactive narrative and technology-driven installations for museums, cultural institutions, and brands; comparable mix of museum commissions and experiential activations to Macro Waves.
• Obscura Digital: San Francisco-based immersive media studio producing large-scale projection mapping, AR, and interactive installations for museums, brands, and public spaces; directly comparable geographic and technological base to Macro Waves, though historically more corporate-client focused.
• United Visual Artists (UVA): London-based art practice producing immersive audiovisual installations, projection mapping, and interactive environments for cultural institutions and live events; closely comparable technology-driven installation format to Macro Waves' projection mapping and LED stage work.
• Refik Anadol Studio: LA-based new media art studio producing AI-driven, projection-mapped, and immersive data installations for museums and cultural institutions; comparable technology stack and museum-client base to Macro Waves, though at higher production budget tier.
• Artechouse: DC-based operator of immersive AR and technology-driven art exhibition spaces partnering with independent artists and collectives; comparable exhibition/commission model and AR-driven immersive format to Macro Waves' Altar-n8 Realm and Breath.io work.

Broad incumbents

• Moment Factory: Montreal-based multimedia studio producing immersive projection-mapped environments, interactive installations, and AR experiences for museums, civic spaces, and brands; directly comparable modality and client mix (cultural institutions + corporate activations) to Macro Waves.
• Meow Wolf: Artist-founded collective creating permanent immersive art installations with interactive technology and narrative storytelling; similar in collective-led DNA and installation format to Macro Waves, though significantly larger, for-profit, and commercially scaled.
• teamLab: Tokyo-based interdisciplinary art collective producing large-scale immersive digital installations using projection, AR, and interactive technology — comparable to Macro Waves in modality (AR, projection mapping, interactive installations) but operating at vastly larger global scale with permanent venues worldwide.

Others

• Gray Area: San Francisco nonprofit arts organization commissioning and presenting new media art, cultural technology, and immersive works (including Macro Waves' own Pastures LED installation); comparable as a Bay Area cultural-institution commissioning partner and ecosystem peer in the same artistic network.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@macrowaves624
• Facebookfacebook.com/MacroWavesCollective
• Instagraminstagram.com/macro.waves
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/macro-waves

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 Macro Waves