SENSIPODE

What SENSIPODE does

Sensipode is a Nantes-based design agency operating as a SAS (SIRET 493 668 883) that has been active for approximately 20 years, organized around four service pillars: Stratégie à impact, Innovation & Expérimentation, UX/UI responsable, and Design des vulnérabilités. The agency delivers impact strategy, service design, UX/UI, and innovation consulting to public-sector and enterprise clients, with a distinctive specialization in involving vulnerable or fragile user populations in co-design — a focus that the firm markets as 'Design des vulnérabilités.' It has built a portfolio of 300+ projects and 200+ client references, including major institutions such as CHU de Nantes, CHU de Montpellier, Nantes Métropole, Caisse des Dépôts, Heppner, Eurofins, AS24, and Région Pays de la Loire.

The underlying technology is a structured design thinking methodology ('Think-Make': Lancer, Comprendre, Définir, Imaginer, Concevoir, Suivre) packaged into three proprietary tools: Panorama (a serious game for mapping user engagement in complex transformation projects, developed from a 2020–2024 CIFRE thesis), Hero (a collaborative ESG/CSRD workshop tool aligned with EU ESRS standards), and Le laboratoire des incertitudes (a toolkit for scoping experiments through to decision-support reports). These tools are distributed via dedicated microsites with free discovery webinars, functioning as a light product-led growth layer on top of the core consulting offering.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively through project-based professional services engagements in design consulting, supplemented by training programs (e.g., a 2-day 'Formation inter-organisations'). No pricing is publicly disclosed, no subscription or SaaS revenue is listed, and the agency does not sell through resellers. The typical engagement is initiated via direct contact ('Contactez-nous') or through referrals and the firm's event-driven ecosystem (Hacking Health Nantes, Europathon). Sensipode is a subsidiary of the Sigma Group, with Sigma Informatique serving as shareholder, legal representative, and provider of administrative, HR, financial, IT, and data-protection services under an intragroup agreement. Headcount is described as 1–10 with ~100 years of combined team experience, indicating a small, senior-led boutique rather than a scaling firm.

Name

SENSIPODE

Legal name

Sensipode

Website

https://sensipode.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sensipode is a Nantes-based design agency providing impact strategy, innovation, UX/UI, and service design consulting across four pillars, with a specialization in designing for vulnerable populations. It serves public-sector and enterprise clients in France primarily, delivering via co-design workshops, hackathons, and three proprietary tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Design Consulting: Sensipode operates primarily as a design agency providing consulting services organized across four strategic poles: Stratégie à impact (Impact Strategy), Innovation & Expérimentation (Innovation & Experimentation), UX/UI responsable (Responsible UX/UI), and Design des vulnérabilités (Design of Vulnerabilities). Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with public and private sector clients, involving activities such as co-design workshops, user research, service design, digital product design, and organizational transformation. No subscription or product pricing is publicly listed.
2. Training & Formation: Sensipode offers training programs, including a 2-day 'Formation inter-organisations' for Panorama and UX/UI design training (e.g., 'Profiter d'une formation UX/UI design pour faire avancer un projet concret'). Training appears to be offered as a paid service complementing core consulting engagements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sensipode is a Nantes-based design agency that provides consulting services in impact strategy, innovation and experimentation, responsible UX/UI, and design of vulnerabilities. The agency deploys design thinking, co-design, and user research to support public and private organizations through service transformation, digital product design, and ESG strategy. It also distributes three proprietary methodology tools (Hero, Panorama, Le laboratoire des incertitudes) and runs training programs to support project engagements.

Product overview

Sensipode is a design agency based in Nantes, France, operating as a single integrated service offering rather than a software platform. The company organizes its work around four strategic pillars: Stratégie à impact (Impact Strategy), Innovation & Expérimentation (Innovation & Experimentation), UX/UI responsable (Responsible UX/UI), and Design des vulnérabilités (Design of Vulnerabilities). In addition to consulting services, Sensipode has developed proprietary tools including Hero (a cooperative ESG strategy game), Panorama (a board game for user involvement in complex projects), and Le laboratoire des incertitudes (an experimentation kit). The company operates under the Sigma Group and primarily serves public sector and healthcare clients in the Nantes region of France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Panorama: A serious game tool developed by Sensipode to analyze users to involve and collection methods to implement in transformation projects of complex environments.
• Hero
• Le laboratoire des incertitudes

Products and services

• Stratégie à impact (Impact Strategy) Design consulting pole that helps organizations explore desirable futures by integrating social and environmental stakes, understanding complexity, reorienting the organization, and accompanying change management.
• Innovation & Expérimentation (Innovation & Experimentation) Design consulting pole that deploys innovation dynamics based on experimentation, including innovation scoping, collective engagement, exploration of possibilities, and experimentation of solutions. Includes hackathon organization (e.g., Hacking Health Nantes, Europathon).
• UX/UI responsable (Responsible UX/UI) Design consulting pole that eco-designs user journeys and professional tools, including digital innovation activation, real-world usage research, design of high-performing digital solutions, and product lifecycle management. Includes design system construction.
• Design des vulnérabilités (Design of Vulnerabilities) Specialized design consulting pole focused on involving the most fragile and vulnerable user populations in co-design processes to transform everyday environments and services. Activities include diagnosing vulnerabilities, framing user involvement, streamlining life pathways, and transforming reception spaces.
• Hero — ESG strategy workshop tool Proprietary collaborative tool that transforms ESG issues into strategic levers. It helps teams identify impacts, risks, and opportunities and act concretely through three sequential workshops (value chain formalization, stakeholder identification, sustainability issue assessment aligned with CSRD/ESRS). Distributed as a free web application via hero.sensipode.com with discovery webinars.
• Panorama — User involvement serious game Proprietary serious game (board game/card game) for mapping and analyzing users to involve and the data collection methods to implement in transformation projects for complex environments. Designed for teams of 2-6 players across three steps: select users, choose collection methods, and evaluate the experience. Duration: 60-120 minutes. Developed from a CIFRE thesis (2020-2024). Distributed free via panorama.sensipode.com.
• Le laboratoire des incertitudes (Laboratory of Uncertainties) Proprietary toolkit developed by Sensipode to accompany an experiment from its framing phase through to the production of a decision-support report. Used within the Innovation & Expérimentation pole.
• Design training programs (Formation) Paid training programs complementing core consulting engagements, including the 2-day 'Formation inter-organisations Panorama' program and UX/UI design training (e.g., 'Profiter d'une formation UX/UI design pour faire avancer un projet concret'). Offered both in-person at Nantes and online via webinar format.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 projects completed and 200+ client references, demonstrating extensive delivery track record.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fjord (Accenture Song): Design and innovation consultancy within Accenture Song offering service design, experience strategy, and digital transformation. Comparable service offerings (UX, service design, transformation consulting) but operates at massive scale with global delivery - a key incumbent benchmark for Sensipode.
• Frog Design (frog): Global design and innovation firm offering strategy, design, and technology services across digital products, services, and experiences. Comparable to Sensipode in design thinking, co-design, and service design methodology, though broader in scope and serving global enterprise clients.
• Nielsen Norman Group: Global UX research and consulting firm offering training, research, and UX advisory services. Comparable to Sensipode's user research, UX training, and design strategy consulting offerings, though they are primarily known as thought leaders and training providers rather than transformation consultants.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep expertise in human-centered design, service design, and prototyping. Most comparable as the global benchmark for design-led organizational transformation that Sensipode operates in, but at vastly larger scale and geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• UX Republic: Paris-based UX/UI design agency offering training, research, and UX consulting services. Most directly comparable French boutique design agency in terms of size, services (UX/UI design, training), and customer base (mid-market French enterprises).
• Ergosign: European UX design agency specializing in UX strategy, research, and product design with a methodology-driven approach. Comparable mid-sized European design consultancy with comparable service portfolio (UX consulting, strategy, design systems).
• La Maison / Livework: Service design consultancy founded in the UK with European presence, focused on service design, transformation, and co-design with public-sector and private clients. Closely comparable to Sensipode's service design and public-sector transformation offerings.

Regional players

• Carbone 4: French independent consultancy specialized in climate strategy, ESG, and low-carbon transition. Operates in the same French market and overlaps with Sensipode's Hero ESG/CSRD positioning, though their focus is technical carbon accounting rather than user co-design.
• Blauwazur / Bluenove: French consultancy specialized in collective intelligence, stakeholder engagement, and innovation through participatory methods. Comparable to Sensipode in co-design, hackathons, and innovation facilitation methodology, also operating from France.
• Résonances Humaines: French consultancy specializing in participatory design, user research, and inclusive design methodologies. Comparable niche competitor focused on co-design with vulnerable populations in France - directly overlaps with Sensipode's 'Design des vulnérabilités' pole.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sensipode

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 SENSIPODE