What Say Studio does

Say Studio is a Dubai-headquartered architectural and interior design consultancy founded in 2018 by Matthew Sexton (Managing Director) and Laila Al-Yousuf (Design Director). It offers four integrated service lines — Workplace Design, Hospitality and F&B Design, Residential Design, and Architecture — to enterprise and government clients across the Middle East. The firm has delivered more than 3,000,000 square feet of designed space, with documented projects for Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Apple, PwC, McKinsey, Deloitte, Siemens Energy, PepsiCo, Natixis, AIG, Fairmont, Reliance Industries, and others.

The firm operates as a project-based professional services business: each engagement is custom-scoped and quoted based on square footage, complexity, and deliverables, with no standardized public pricing tiers. Projects are won through direct enterprise engagement with corporate real estate decision-makers, referrals from existing multinational clients, and competitive tenders. The firm holds third-party-validated sustainability credentials on flagship projects, including LEED Gold (Siemens Energy, Natixis), WELL Platinum (PwC HQ at Emaar Square), and WELL Gold (Natixis), which it uses as both a delivery standard and a positioning tool in enterprise RFPs.

Say Studio operates a four-person executive team (the two co-founders plus a Strategy Director and a KSA Director) out of offices in Dubai (HQ, The Onyx Tower 2, The Greens) and Riyadh (Sharik Business Community, At Taawun), supported by a 11-50 employee base. The firm has no disclosed external investors, no funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and no acquisitions or partnerships on record, indicating a founder-owned, organically grown consulting practice rather than a venture-backed platform. Go-to-market relies on direct enterprise relationships, industry events (INDEX Dubai, INDEX KSA, Workspace Exhibition, Dubai Design Week, Big 5 Construct Saudi Arabia), and earned media in regional design and construction outlets, with awards (Architizer, Workspace Awards, MUSE, Mentl, Dubai/International Property Awards) functioning as the primary credibility signal.

Name

Say Studio

Legal name

SAY Studio

Website

https://saystudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Say Studio is a Dubai-headquartered architectural and interior design consultancy, founded in 2018, serving enterprise and government clients across the UAE and KSA in workplace, hospitality, F&B, residential, and architecture sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Interior Design Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Interior Fit-Out (Offices & Corporate) (IMAFANAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Interior design consultancy
• Workplace design services
• Hospitality interior design
• Residential interior design

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural and Design Consultancy Services: SAY Studio generates revenue through providing architectural and interior design consultancy services across multiple sectors including Workplace, Hospitality, F&B, and Residential. Revenue is project-based, custom quoting for each engagement based on scope, complexity, and deliverables.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SAY Studio is an architectural and interior design consultancy headquartered in Dubai with regional operations in Riyadh. The firm delivers human-centric, sustainability-led design solutions across four core sectors—Workplace, Hospitality, F&B, and Residential—for multinational and regional clients across the Middle East. Its services cover corporate office design, hotel and restaurant interiors, residential and community projects, and full architectural commissions.

Product overview

SAY Studio is an architectural and interior design consultancy offering four core service areas: Workplace Design, Hospitality and F&B Design, Residential Design, and Architecture. The firm operates as a unified service consultancy rather than a software product company, providing end-to-end design and fit-out services across multiple sectors including corporate offices, hotels, restaurants, and private residences. The company has delivered over 3,000,000 sq ft of designed space across the Middle East region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workplace Design
• Hospitality and F&B Design
• Residential Design
• Architecture

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered over 3,000,000 sq ft of designed space
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ): UAE-headquartered architecture and interior design consultancy with similar multi-sector scope (workplace, hospitality, residential) and a comparable Middle East enterprise client base. GAJ is a direct regional competitor to SAY Studio in workplace and hospitality interior design.
• M Moser Associates: Workplace-focused interior design and build consultancy with offices across Asia, Middle East, and globally. Comparable to SAY Studio on corporate workplace design and competes for similar enterprise HQ and fit-out mandates.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): Global hospitality-focused interior design firm with significant Middle East operations. Directly comparable to SAY Studio on hospitality interior design (Fairmont, Grand Mercure projects), competing for the same hotel brand and F&B mandates.
• Wilson Associates: Luxury hospitality interior design firm with established Middle East presence, comparable to SAY Studio's hospitality work for Fairmont and Grand Mercure — competing for similar luxury and upper-upscale hotel design mandates.
• dwp (design worldwide partnership): Global interior design consultancy with a strong Middle East presence focused on workplace, hospitality, and retail — overlapping with SAY Studio's core service lines and competing for similar enterprise and hospitality mandates in the Gulf.

Regional players

• AESG: Dubai-headquartered consultancy spanning architecture, sustainability, and engineering — overlapping with SAY Studio on sustainable design execution (LEED/WELL) and competing for sustainability-driven enterprise mandates in the Gulf.
• Stickman Designs: Dubai-based interior design studio with comparable hospitality, F&B, and residential focus across the UAE and broader Middle East — a regional boutique peer competing for similar high-end hospitality and F&B briefs.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a major Dubai office serving workplace, hospitality, and mixed-use clients across the Middle East. Larger, broader incumbent that competes with SAY Studio for enterprise workplace and large-scale architectural commissions.
• Woods Bagot: Global architecture and design firm with significant Middle East activity across workplace, hospitality, and residential sectors — competes with SAY Studio on larger enterprise workplace and hospitality briefs in the Gulf.
• Benoy: International architecture and design practice with Middle East operations spanning retail, workplace, hospitality, and mixed-use — overlapping with SAY Studio's broader architectural and interior design scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saystudiodxb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/say-studio

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Say Studio