LevelFive names Patrick Richardson US managing director to drive North American expansion

LevelFive has appointed agency veteran Patrick Richardson as US managing director as the UK Applied AI studio opens a Boston base and pushes deeper into North America. The move is aimed at mid-market companies, scale-ups and PE-backed firms looking for faster product delivery and AI-native engineering support.

Why it matters: - LevelFive is using the hire to anchor its US expansion and reach more North American mid-market companies, scale-ups, PE funds and portfolio companies. - The studio is positioning its outcome-based model as an alternative to traditional consultancies for teams that want faster software delivery and AI capability transfer.

What happened: - LevelFive appointed Patrick Richardson as Managing Director, US. - Richardson will lead LevelFive’s North American growth from a new Boston headquarters. - Richardson is the founder of fractional management firm The States. - LevelFive said Richardson will build senior partnerships and a local team of forward-deployed builders. - The company also said Richardson will help scale its fixed-price, outcome-based delivery model in the US.

The details: - LevelFive describes itself as a UK-based Applied AI studio focused on high-velocity product engineering and agentic workflows. - The studio says it combines senior builders with AI agents to ship working software in weeks rather than quarters. - LevelFive says its approach is five times faster than traditional consultancies. - Core offerings include custom digital product builds, agentic workflows for business operations and turning “vibe-coded” prototypes into production-grade systems. - The company targets organizations turning over $50 million to $500 million. - LevelFive also offers fractional CTO services and AI capability transfer. - Richardson previously worked with LevelFive co-founder Sarat Pediredla and Alan Morris at hedgehog lab for more than a decade. - During that period, Richardson served as Managing Director of the United States and Global CMO. - LevelFive said Richardson helped build hedgehog lab’s US and Americas operations from zero to multi-millions in annual revenue. - His responsibilities there included client strategy, marketing, sales, operations and financial management. - Richardson also oversaw teams delivering mobile, web, AI and connected device applications. - LevelFive’s announcement included its website at more information. - The States lists its website at more information. - LevelFive also shared its LinkedIn page at the company’s LinkedIn profile and Instagram account at the company’s Instagram profile.

Between the lines: - The Boston headquarters signals LevelFive wants a permanent US operating base, not just project-by-project business in the market. - Richardson’s background in agency scaling suggests LevelFive is betting on commercial and operational execution, not just technical delivery. - The emphasis on outcome-based pricing and “production-grade” systems is a direct pitch to buyers dissatisfied with hourly consulting models.

What's next: - LevelFive will establish and scale its US operations under Richardson’s leadership. - The company expects to expand senior partnerships and recruit local delivery talent in North America. - LevelFive will continue pitching its AI-native engineering model to US scale-ups and PE-backed companies looking for faster deployment timelines.

The bottom line: - LevelFive is turning a senior appointment into the launchpad for a broader US expansion, with Boston as the base and faster AI-driven software delivery as the sales pitch.