About
An AI partner for the way your business actually works.
We work with businesses that see experience, judgement and relationships as valuable. They don't need someone to sell them an AI tool. They need a partner who can understand how their business works, recognise where technology can genuinely help, and stay involved in making sure it works.
Two founders. One team.
Hivemind is Jake in Melbourne and Ben in Newcastle, two founders who spent ten years inside local government and now build and run AI systems for a living. We have sat on the other side of the table: the long approval chain, the system nobody chose, the week that disappears into chasing and collating.
That is why we start with the work, not the technology. We have seen what happens when it is done the other way round.
People before AI.
When experienced people spend their time on work that requires little of their experience, the business loses more than hours. It loses capacity for better decisions, stronger relationships and the higher-value work their expertise makes possible.
People before AI means putting technology to work where it creates genuine value, while focusing people's time and capability where they matter most. The goal isn't to automate as much as possible. It's to give people more time for the work that needs them.
Judgement, relationships and the final say stay with your people.
Technology earns trust by being reliable and open to scrutiny, not by being clever.
The goal is for your people to become more capable, not more dependent.
What we value.
These five values shape how we work, how we make decisions, how we build partnerships, what we stand for and what we expect of ourselves.
Authenticity
We communicate honestly, avoid AI theatre and remain true to who we are.
Curiosity
We seek to understand before forming conclusions or proposing solutions.
Empathy
We consider the people affected by technology, not just what the technology can do.
Conviction
We stand behind our principles, exercise independent judgement and choose work we genuinely believe in.
Aspiration
We believe businesses, people and Hivemind itself can become something greater.
They matter individually. But they matter more together.
Authenticity means being honest about what we see. Curiosity means taking the time to understand it. Empathy keeps the people affected by our decisions in the room. Conviction means being prepared to act on what we believe is right. And aspiration keeps us looking beyond what exists today towards what could be better.
Each keeps the others in check. Curiosity stops conviction becoming certainty too soon. Empathy makes sure aspiration doesn't come at the expense of people. Conviction gives curiosity somewhere to lead. And authenticity keeps all of it grounded.
Be genuine. Understand first. Care about people. Stand for something. Build towards something better.
How we're set up.
Small and responsive. The people who understand your business are the same people who build it, and the same people you call when something changes.
Not a vendor. We don't resell a platform, so we have no reason to recommend one you don't need.
Not a consultancy. We don't hand over a deck and leave. We design, build and run what we recommend.
The people you meet are the people who build it. There is no delivery team behind the door.
Hivemind Labs Pty Ltd, Australian owned, working from Melbourne and Newcastle.
We do the research, not just the work.
Alongside client work we publish our own research and the practices we have learned running agentic AI systems. The most recent is on memory: a compact record of dated facts beats handing an agent its whole history, on every model we tested.
