Newcastle duo launch new digital consultancy

A Newcastle digital consultancy is aiming to reshape software development with a new business model built around artificial intelligence, fixed pricing and rapid delivery.

LevelFive has been launched by former hedgehog lab chief executive Sarat Pediredla and former chief technology officer Alan Morris, with a focus on helping businesses develop software faster and more efficiently using AI-native delivery methods.

Headquartered in Newcastle, the new digital product studio will work with mid-market and private equity-backed companies, delivering projects on fixed budgets and targeting completion within eight to 12 weeks.

Unlike traditional consultancies, LevelFive will not charge by the hour or operate a junior-heavy delivery model. 

Instead, it will use small teams of senior specialists supported by AI agents embedded throughout the development process.

The business has also developed Helix, its own agentic operating system, which powers its commercial and delivery functions.

Sarat said: “Mid-market clients have been asking for fixed-price outcomes for as long as we have been selling them digital services. 

“Our industry has always said no, because the uncertainty and risk of building software made fixed prices impossible to commit to. 

“AI-native delivery is what finally changes that. 

“We can ship in eight to twelve weeks what used to take six months, price the outcome instead of the days, and both sides come out better. 

“That is not a marginal improvement, it is a different business. 

“I have not seen a commercial opening this clean in twenty years.”

Sarat and Alan previously spent almost two decades helping build hedgehog lab into an international business operating across the UK and Europe.

LevelFive’s launch comes amid growing interest in the productivity gains offered by artificial intelligence, with businesses increasingly looking to accelerate software development and digital transformation projects.

Alan says the company is designed to reflect what digital product studios could look like by 2030, combining senior expertise, AI-enabled delivery and outcome-based pricing.

He added: “AI is the next generational shift in technology after cloud and mobile.

“A senior engineer’s value is in knowing what to build, and how to build it, gained through years of experience solving problems across domains. 

“Agents multiply that experience to unlock a step change in both productivity and quality, letting two senior engineers ship faster than whole teams once did. 

“The interesting questions move up the stack: which decisions belong to a senior human, which belong to an agent. 

“That is the opportunity for builders who join us, and for the clients we ship for.”

LevelFive is now accepting client enquiries and applications from senior associates across the UK.

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.