National Design Studio

What National Design Studio does

National Design Studio (NDS) is a federal design and engineering studio operating as a White House component, created by President Trump's executive order in August 2025 under the 'America by Design' initiative. Led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia as Chief Design Officer, the studio is tasked with modernizing approximately 27,000 U.S. federal government websites and digital services, having eliminated around 330 duplicative sites to date. It serves federal agencies (OPM, DHS, Treasury, and others) and ultimately American citizens through government-owned digital properties including retire.opm.gov, trumpaccounts.gov, trumprx.gov, realfood.gov, genesis.energy.gov, techforce.gov, safedc.gov, trumpcard.gov, hstf.gov, and 250.gov.

NDS builds on a modern web stack comprising Next.js, Tailwind, ShadCN UI components, and Azure Functions for asynchronous processing. Notable technical work includes the OPM Digital Retirement system (built by a two-person team — Yat Choi from Airbnb and Dennis Li — that pre-fills applications from OPM data warehouses for near-instant adjudication), the 250.gov AI assistant (the first public-facing AI on a government website that returns structured UI rather than text, with dual-temperature guardrails and a custom automated eval harness), and a custom data integration layer connecting previously siloed federal HR, payroll, and personnel systems with custom-built roles-based permissions and feature flagging. Partnerships with BNY Mellon and Robinhood support the Trump Accounts child savings mobile app.

NDS has no commercial revenue model. It is funded through federal appropriations, operates as an executive branch office rather than a private company, and provides services to agencies at no cost as part of a government modernization mandate. The studio is staffed by private-sector designers and engineers recruited from Silicon Valley, with Peter Arnell appointed as inaugural U.S. Chief Brand Architect. NDS is scheduled to terminate in August 2028, making its horizon inherently tied to the current administration's term.

Name

National Design Studio

Legal name

National Design Studio

Website

https://ndstudio.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Design Studio is a federal design and engineering studio, created by executive order in August 2025 and led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, that modernizes U.S. government websites and digital services for federal agencies and American citizens using modern web technologies and applied AI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Digital Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Graphic Design Services (541430), Industrial Design Services (54142)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Federal web design
• Government digital services
• Civic technology
• Digital modernization
• Government website overhaul

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Services: National Design Studio operates as a White House component created by executive order under the 'America by Design' initiative. It receives government funding and operates as an internal government design and engineering studio to modernize federal digital services. No commercial revenue is generated from citizen or enterprise customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

National Design Studio is a federal design and engineering office created by executive order in August 2025 under the "America by Design" initiative. It designs, builds, and modernizes digital services and websites for U.S. federal agencies, including the OPM Digital Retirements system, TrumpRx prescription drug portal, Trump Accounts child savings platform, 250.gov anniversary site, and other civic platforms. The studio operates from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., as a White House component funded by federal appropriations, with no commercial customers or pricing.

Product overview

National Design Studio (NDS) is a federal design and engineering studio that builds digital infrastructure for the United States Government. Created by executive order in August 2025, it operates as a White House component led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia. The studio has developed a portfolio of government digital products including TrumpRx (prescription drug discounts), Trump Accounts (child savings program), OPM Digital Retirements (federal retirement processing), Real Food, Genesis Mission, Tech Force, Safe DC, and Trump Card. NDS has also built HSTF.gov for Homeland Security and 250.gov for America's 250th anniversary with an AI-powered interface. The studio's mission is to modernize government websites and digital services, with a goal to overhaul approximately 27,000 federal websites. Notable achievements include automating federal retirement processing (retire.opm.gov) and developing the first public-facing AI instance on a government website at 250.gov.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OPM Digital Retirements (retire.opm.gov) Digital federal retirement application system that replaced a decades-long paper-based process. It pre-fills applications using OPM data warehouses, enables near-instant adjudication for qualifying cases, and is on track to handle 100,000 digital applications annually for the 2.3 million federal employees it serves.
• TrumpRx (trumprx.gov) Government portal providing Americans with direct access to discounted prescription drug prices, with savings as high as 93%. Designed for uninsured individuals, those paying out of pocket, and those who fell through gaps in the healthcare system.
• Trump Accounts (trumpaccounts.gov) Federally-backed savings initiative for children enabling parents to manage investment accounts with up to $5,000 annual deposits per child. Mobile app developed in partnership with BNY Mellon and Robinhood, providing investment account management for tens of millions of eligible children.
• 250.gov AI-Powered Interface Site for America's 250th anniversary featuring an AI assistant that returns structured interface elements (event cards, timelines, itineraries) rather than text. Treats AI as part of the interface itself, enabling users to act directly on results.
• HSTF.gov (Homeland Security Task Force) Homeland Security Task Force website featuring AI-generated imagery of armed officers, framing the mission as fighting cartels and trafficking.
• Real Food (realfood.gov) Government portal providing information about food and nutrition for the American public.
• Genesis Mission (genesis.energy.gov) Energy-focused government digital services portal supporting federal energy initiatives.
• Tech Force (techforce.gov) Federal technology hiring initiative to recruit engineers and designers from the private sector into government service.
• Safe DC (safedc.gov) Safety information portal for Washington D.C. residents.
• Trump Card (trumpcard.gov) Government portal related to the Gold Card visa program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Near-instant retirement processing replacing six-month waits for hundreds of thousands of federal employees
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BNY MelloncoreTechnology or Integration · 27 May 2026BNY Mellon designated as financial agent for the Trump Accounts program. Managing initial accounts and developing the program's digital infrastructure, including a dedicated white-label app built exclusively for the government. Partnership enables families to manage investment accounts for children through a mobile app.
• RobinhoodcoreTechnology or Integration · 27 May 2026Robinhood selected as brokerage and initial trustee for the Trump Accounts program. Provides brokerage services and trust services for the federally backed savings initiative for children, working alongside BNY and National Design Studio.
• Code and TheoryminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal user testing firm engaged to measure accessibility and usability of TrumpRx website. Conducted user testing groups to evaluate how well users navigated the site and found significant improvement in flow and experience intuitiveness after NDS design changes.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design consultancy with a long history of public-sector and civic engagements. Comparable to NDS in design-led methodology and brand of recruiting cross-disciplinary talent, but oriented around consulting engagements rather than building and operating government products in-house.
• Accenture Federal Services: Large federal IT and digital services contractor delivering modernization programs across federal agencies. Comparable to NDS in working with OPM/DHS/Treasury-class agencies on digital transformation, but operates as a traditional systems integrator on contracts rather than as an in-house design studio.
• Frog Design: Global design and engineering firm with a public-sector practice. Comparable to NDS in blending industrial/UX design with software engineering and serving government clients, but broader in scope and commercial in funding rather than operating as a federal component.

Emerging players

• Work & Co: Digital product studio known for large-scale government and civic work, including USDS projects. Closely comparable in craft, scale of single-project delivery, and modern tech stack (similar to NDS's Next.js approach), but operates as a commercial agency rather than an in-house government team.

Direct peers

• U.S. Digital Service (USDS): White House-embedded team of technologists that improves federal digital services through short-term tours of duty. Directly comparable to NDS in mission, federal placement, and reliance on recruited private-sector engineering talent, though historically more consulting-oriented and less design-led than NDS.
• 18F: Federal digital services team inside the GSA that designs and builds digital tools for government agencies. The closest structural analog to NDS — same mission of bringing private-sector product practices into the federal government, similar cross-agency delivery model, and a comparable talent-from-tech mandate.
• Code for America: Nonprofit that builds digital services for government, focused on safety net programs (healthcare, justice, benefits). Highly comparable to NDS in civic-tech mission and product orientation, though nonprofit-funded and operating outside the executive branch rather than as a federal component.

Peers

• Deloitte Digital (Government & Public Services):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ndstudio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 National Design Studio