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    Mekanism acquires hybrid design studio Zapiens

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1115 Views
    Jason Harris
    NEW YORK --

    Mekanism has acquired Zapiens Design, a Madrid-headquartered boutique agency with a track record of transforming digital design and UI/UX for some of Europe’s most prominent brands. The 20-person Zapiens team brings soup-to-nuts experience crafting digital identities that weave brand, business, and experience together. Its distinctive approach to human-centric design has been recognized by Red Dot, Cannes Lion, Awwwards, and Laus.

    Zapiens helps to further establish Mekanism’s burgeoning digital offering, which spans a spectrum of digital capabilities including digital strategy, consumer and employee experience, UX/UI, digital product and service design, and data & 1:1 CRM services.

    “By welcoming the Zapiens team to our in-house digital design studio, we offer clients the creative agility necessary to thrive in today’s competitive landscape,” said Jason Harris, founder and CEO of Mekanism. “Coming from a creative hub like Madrid, Zapiens injects fresh design thinking and an entrepreneurial energy to our digital practice. With this digital design powerhouse in our toolbelt, we are better positioning ourselves to win more full-funnel business.”

    Over the last half-decade, Mekanism has scaled its talent and resources to provide integrated value for clients. It launched a media & intelligence vertical in 2018 and invested in a performance division as well before building out its digital capabilities. Last year, Mekanism incorporated the agency Eleven to become the flagship US creative agency for its parent network Plus Company. Mekanism plans to continue to expand its offerings through organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

    “This is a right place, right time partnership for two agencies on similar growth trajectories,” said Miguel Gomez, Zapiens co-founder and CEO. ‘We’ve been hungry to break into the U.S. market and in Mekanism we’ve found the right strategic platform to make that possible. We’re joining a fantastic digital team at Mekanism and are excited to help clients rethink how products, brands, and services can come together.” 

    Tags:Jason HarrisMekanismMiguel GomezZapiens Design



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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