The kyu Collective announced this month that it has acquired a majority stake in ATÖLYE, the Istanbul-based creative company.
Headquartered in New York, kyu is a collective of strategically curated companies whose purpose is to be a source of creativity that propels the economy and society forward. kyu’s member companies include the global design firm IDEO; Kepler, the data-driven media and CRM services provider; Sid Lee, the multi-disciplinary creative brand-building agency; and SYPartners, the transformation consultancy.
ATÖLYE, like kyu, is a pioneer in the building of a vibrant creative organization for the digital age. First and foremost, ATÖLYE is a community–a next generation creative practice that places a Strategic Design Studio within a wider Creative Hub. While the Studio itself tackles a diverse set of challenges in areas such as education, technology, finance, telecommunications, and social impact; the Creative Hub, comprising over 150 professionals with highly diverse skill sets, serves as the backbone of the organization by providing the widest range of creative services.
In addition, ATÖLYE encompasses a Ventures arm, which is an investment vehicle for innovative products and services, as well as an Academy, which develops learning programs and builds talent recruitment processes.
ATÖLYE was recognized as the most impactful spinoff of the Stanford University d.school in 2014, while in 2016 it was named as a sector-leading creative hub by Monocle.
ATÖLYE’s operating and management model for curating and engaging a diverse creative community, when combined with kyu’s capacity to provide scale, will create a significantly more powerful and impactful offer in many markets that have previously been served in a more limited way by traditional network outposts.
“Both kyu and ATÖLYE are 21st-century projects built on the guiding principle of community. ATÖLYE has fostered a vibrant and fluid creative community driven by a unique culture and a unique space,” said Farah Ramzan Golant, CEO of kyu EMEA. “As kyu looks to markets such as the Middle East, India, and beyond to lead with new forms of creative organization, we are thrilled to partner with ATÖLYE to explore how its innovative, community-first approach can be imagined, interpreted, and applied effectively.”
On joining the kyu Collective, ATÖLYE’s Co-Founder Engin Ayaz said: “As an explorer organization, we are happy to be joining forces with the top-tier global companies in the kyu Collective to hone and refine ATÖLYE’s craft.” Co-Founder Kerem Alper added: “The possibility of applying ATÖLYE’s approach in other key markets is truly an exciting exploration opportunity for us. We feel invigorated to have such forward-thinking creative partners going into the future.”
About ATÖLYE
Founded in Istanbul in 2013, ATÖLYE is an innovation platform that places an award-winning Strategic Design Studio within a Creative Hub. ATÖLYE fosters a fluid talent curation model that currently comprises a 150-people community.
Fuelled by the diversity of its community, scarcity of its space, and the permeability of its system, ATÖLYE explores a new model for the creative services industry—one that may be called a “membrane organization.” With this system, ATÖLYE is able to offer a wide range of capabilities to its clients, all of which are centered around the core mission of addressing vital problems and creating the most positive impact through its solutions.
About kyu
kyu is a strategic operating unit of Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. (“HDY”). The kyu Collective was created in May 2014 to help drive the continuous enhancement of specialization and innovation for HDY.
Led by CEO Michael Birkin, the kyu Collective is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. To date, kyu member companies include BEworks, C2, Digital Kitchen, Hornall Anderson, IDEO, Kepler Group, RedPeak Group, Sid Lee, and SYPartners.
Content courtesy of ATÖLYE
