HatchWorks AI

HatchWorks AI is an Atlanta-based software and AI services firm founded in 2016 by Brandon Powell. The company pivoted entirely around generative AI in late 2022 and now operates across the US and Latin America with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Jose (Costa Rica), Medellín, and Lima. They work with mid-market to enterprise clients across fintech, healthcare, aviation, ecommerce, and recruitment—typically companies trying to move AI initiatives beyond pilots into production systems that actually move revenue or efficiency metrics.

The core pitch is straightforward: HatchWorks doesn't sell AI as a side service. AI is the entire business. They claim a 97% client retention rate and are ranked #1 AI Services Company by Clutch (as of their site publish). Brandon Powell was named Nearshore Entrepreneur of the Year by Nearshore Americas in 2023, and the company made Inc.'s AI Power Partner list that same year.

What distinguishes them operationally is their nearshore delivery model. Rather than offshore-only teams, they staff projects with engineers across Costa Rica and Colombia working in US time zones. Clients like TrueBlue's CEO reports their "AI capabilities, combined with their Nearshore delivery model," have been "a game-changer." PeopleReady scales with 30+ nearshore engineers from HatchWorks. COX reported a 300% velocity increase and near-zero bugs after engaging them.

Services and capabilities

HatchWorks breaks their work into five main buckets. AI Strategy & Roadmap covers transformation strategy, empowerment training, agent deployment strategy, and MLOps governance. Data Engineering & Analytics includes data readiness assessments, migration and modernization, business intelligence, and a 2025 partnership with Databricks. AI-Powered Software Development is where they spend most energy: AI-native products, agentic software, application modernization, and dedicated engineering teams. Agentic AI Automation builds systems that run unattended. AI Training & Workshops runs from individual developer tracks to executive strategy sessions.

They also sell three "accelerators"—low-risk products designed to compress timelines. The AI Solution Accelerator validates use cases via prototype. The AI Data Readiness Assessment identifies gaps and opportunities. A RAG accelerator connects proprietary data to LLMs. They also built GenIQ, a proprietary "AI-driven process intelligence platform for software development."

The methodological anchor is Generative-Driven Development (GenDD), their proprietary approach launched in 2024. Per the site, it's "a repeatable path from idea to production—blending AI, agents, and engineering." They describe it as embedding AI at every step of the software design and delivery cycle, though specifics on how it differs from standard AI-integrated SDLC are sparse in the source material.

Notable work

Clearway Health is the most detailed case study in the source. The Boston specialty pharmacy firm needed to replace a commercial off-the-shelf system that constrained their workflows. HatchWorks built "Charter," a proprietary patient management system on AWS. The outcome was concrete: new client onboarding became "99% faster." The platform unified data for better leadership visibility, and pharmacy teams report better UX and more time with patients. This project involved a cross-functional team (Product Owner, Lead Architect, Senior Engineer, Data Engineer, UI/UX Designer, Project Manager) and deployed CI/CD, real-time data sync, and custom workflow design.

Other named clients include COX (reported 300% velocity gain with near-zero bugs), TrueBlue, PeopleReady (30+ engineers engaged), Diebold Nixdorf, Vanco, NV5, Capital Choice Financial Group, DesignIntelligence, Aero Star Aviation, and DronePort Network. Case study titles hint at patterns: "From Complex Fleet Data to Instant Answers with AI" (DronePort), "AI Agent That Makes Every Recruitment Dollar Work Harder," "99% Faster Client Onboarding for Specialty Pharmacy," "47% of Sales Emails Now Handled by AI," "30% Fewer Recurring Maintenance Issues with AI-Powered Insights." These suggest they work across operations, sales, HR, and maintenance domains. Specifics beyond titles are sparse; most cases require clicking "Learn More" on their site.

How they work

HatchWorks operates as a nearshore augmentation shop. They embed engineers in US time zones (Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru) rather than using offshore centers. For larger commitments, they sell dedicated teams—PeopleReady maintains 30+ engineers through them. They also run fixed-price projects (as evidenced by DesignIntelligence's quote: "You delivered exactly what you said in exactly the budget and in exactly the timeline") and likely T&M engagements. The company emphasizes outcome accountability—their site states they measure success "in business impact, not just deliverables."

Engagement start typically involves an AI expert conversation. Many deals flow through their accelerators, which compress discovery into defined sprints. No public pricing is disclosed, though the accelerators are described as "low risk," implying lower entry cost than full custom builds. Team composition varies; the Clearway Health case involved seven roles (PM, architect, engineers, designer). Communication appears structured—the source mentions "close communication with stakeholders" and "maximized use of communication channels for smoother virtual work management."

Team and credentials

Brandon Powell is CEO and founder. J Schwan is Executive Chairman. CTO is Omar Shanti. The VP of Engineering is Randall Ramirez. Other senior leads include David Blanchard (VP, Business Operations), Matt Paige (VP, Marketing & Strategy), Kathleen Wood (Sr. Director, People Operations), and client partners Braden Barras and Doug Anderson. Team size is not published, though their "global presence operating in 4 countries across 2 continents" and nearshore delivery model suggest 51–200+ employees; without explicit headcount, this is estimated at "51-200." They hold a 2025 partnership with Databricks. Clutch ranked them #1 AI Services Company. Inc. Magazine included them in the 5000 fastest-growing companies (2021) and Best Places to Work (2022), plus the AI Power Partner list (2023). No ISO, SOC 2, or HIPAA certifications are mentioned in the source.