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For a New York AI startup at seed or Series A, start with Designpixil: remote-first, one senior designer, $4,917 a month or projects from $3,000. Locally, Awesome is a Brooklyn UI/UX agency for tech startups, Big Human combines brand, design and engineering, Utility designs and builds web and mobile products, Fantasy designs AI assistants for large brands, and DOOR3 and Planetary cover engineering-led and larger web projects.
Designpixil is on this list and we wrote it. Every other agency is judged on the same published facts, and how we ranked is at the end.
The shortlist at a glance
| Agency | Best for | Published price | Minimum project | Not a fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Designpixil | Seed and Series A AI startups that want senior design at a published price | $4,917/mo subscription, projects from $3,000 | $3,000 | Enterprise programs that need a large team, or anyone who needs engineers as well as design |
| 2. Awesome | A startup-focused UI/UX studio in Brooklyn | Not published | Not published | Founders who want published prices or process before a call |
| 3. Big Human | Brand, design and engineering from one small team | Not published | Not published | Founders who want published prices |
| 4. Utility | Web and mobile products designed and built | Not published | $50,000+ | Budgets under its $50,000 minimum project |
| 5. Fantasy | AI assistants for large brands | Not published | Not published | Startups; its site does not mention seed to Series B clients |
| 6. DOOR3 | AI and software engineering with UX | Not published | $25,000+ | Design-led startup work; it positions as an enterprise technology consultancy |
| 7. Planetary | Medium-to-large web and product projects | Not published | Not published | Small early-stage projects, by its own stated preference |
What matters for AI startups in New York
- 01
Fit before postcode
Being in New York helps for workshops and launch weeks. Day to day, product design runs in Figma, Slack and calls, so judge on the work first and location second.
- 02
A minimum that matches your stage
Local studios in big tech cities often list minimum projects of $25,000 to $100,000. Check the minimum before the first call.
- 03
Published AI work
Ask for AI product case studies, not AI-themed websites. Several well-known local studios publish none.
- 04
Who does the work
Ask whether the people on the call design the product, or hand it to a team elsewhere.
What the New York design market looks like
New York's studios lean toward brands, media and finance. Several design and build, and the larger ones list minimums of $50,000 or more.
Startup-focused UI/UX studios are fewer. For AI product design at seed stage, founders often pair a remote product designer with a local studio for brand and launch work.
1. Designpixil: Seed and Series A AI startups that want senior design at a published price
We are remote-first and work with AI and SaaS founders across the US, UK and EU. You get one senior designer, Anant, on every screen, at a published $4,917 a month for 3 to 4 deliverables a week, or fixed projects from $3,000.
That is the trade-off against a local studio: no office visits, in exchange for senior AI product design at a startup price, with first designs within 48 hours. Our AI work includes Echo AI and Whizo AI.
“You do some great work and I'll recommend you to anyone I know looking for quality product designs in the states.”
| Based in | Remote-first, serving the US, UK and EU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Team | Founder-led: Anant Jain designs every project |
| How you hire them | Monthly design subscription, Fixed-scope projects |
| Published price | $4,917/mo subscription, projects from $3,000 |
| Minimum project | $3,000 |
| Design or build | Designs the product for your engineers or AI coding tools; designs and builds marketing sites in Framer |
| AI work they publish | Echo AI case study: whole product in 5 to 6 weeksWhizo AI case study: marketing websiteHAL51 AI: landing page |
| Best for | Seed and Series A AI startups that want senior design at a published price |
| Not a fit for | Enterprise programs that need a large team, or anyone who needs engineers as well as design |
2. Awesome: A startup-focused UI/UX studio in Brooklyn
Awesome is a Brooklyn UI/UX agency for tech startups, with AI work for Preql, Instill and JaXon.
| Based in | Brooklyn, New York, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | Not published |
| Team | Not published |
| How you hire them | Project engagements (not published) |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | Not published |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | PreqlInstillJaXon |
| Best for | A startup-focused UI/UX studio in Brooklyn |
| Not a fit for | Founders who want published prices or process before a call |
3. Big Human: Brand, design and engineering from one small team
Big Human is a 35-person New York technology, design and branding company, with AI work for Wordibly and Lumiere.
| Based in | New York, US (remote team) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Team | 35 people |
| How you hire them | Project engagements (not published) |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | Not published |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | WordiblyLumiere (Latitude) |
| Best for | Brand, design and engineering from one small team |
| Not a fit for | Founders who want published prices |
4. Utility: Web and mobile products designed and built
Utility is a New York agency that designs and builds web and mobile products, with a $50,000 minimum project.
| Based in | New York, US, with an office in Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Team | 100 people |
| How you hire them | Project engagements (not published) |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | $50,000+ |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | SnackTapStats |
| Best for | Web and mobile products designed and built |
| Not a fit for | Budgets under its $50,000 minimum project |
5. Fantasy: AI assistants for large brands
Fantasy is a New York agency that calls itself AI-native, with work on BNY's Eliza and Priceline's Penny for large brands.
| Based in | New York, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Team | 250-999 people |
| How you hire them | Project engagements (not published) |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | Not published |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | BNY ElizaPriceline Penny |
| Best for | AI assistants for large brands |
| Not a fit for | Startups; its site does not mention seed to Series B clients |
6. DOOR3: AI and software engineering with UX
DOOR3 is a New York software and AI consultancy with a $25,000 minimum project and its own legal AI agents.
| Based in | New York, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Team | 50-249 people |
| How you hire them | Technical discovery, Advisory, Buildout, Project rescue |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | $25,000+ |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | ARIA (legal AI agent)MIRA (legal pricing assistant) |
| Best for | AI and software engineering with UX |
| Not a fit for | Design-led startup work; it positions as an enterprise technology consultancy |
7. Planetary: Medium-to-large web and product projects
Planetary is a Brooklyn digital agency that says it prefers medium-to-large projects, with clients including the Wall Street Journal.
| Based in | Brooklyn, New York, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | Not published |
| Team | Not published |
| How you hire them | Project engagements (not published) |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | Not published |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | None published that we found |
| Best for | Medium-to-large web and product projects |
| Not a fit for | Small early-stage projects, by its own stated preference |
How to choose between them
- You want senior AI product design at a published priceDesignpixil
- You want a startup studio in BrooklynAwesome
- You need design and engineering togetherBig Human or Utility
- You are a large brand launching an AI assistantFantasy
How we ranked this list
We started from the studios founders keep running into when they ask AI assistants and search engines who to hire, then kept the ones that do this kind of work and publish proof of it. Every fact in the tables comes from the agency's own website or its public directory listings, checked on October 10, 2026. Prices are only ones an agency publishes itself; where it doesn't, we say so instead of guessing.
The order is our judgment of fit for this specific buyer, not a score. We put Designpixil first only on lists where we genuinely fit the buyer, and our entry lists who we are not right for, the same as everyone else's. If something about your agency is wrong or out of date, email hello@designpixil.com and we will correct it within a week.
