Mode Maison Labs
This is not a photo and this place does not exist. This is an entirely generative "world" and incorporates real-world, physically-based products. Mode Maison Labs

This is not a photo and this place does not exist. This is an entirely generative "world" and incorporates real-world, physically-based products. Image Courtesy of Mode Maison Labs

In the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence, one young firm stands out for its unique approach to bridging the gap between digital and physical retail experiences. Mode Maison Labs, co-founded by Steven Gay and Jakub Cech, is an AI research lab pioneering the next wave of generative commerce. Combining physics-based spatial intelligence and material science, the lab's innovations are poised to redefine how brands and consumers interact in digital spaces.

"Generative AI has already revolutionized industries like entertainment and design," Gay says. "But commerce has always presented a unique challenge: replicating the tangible, physical experience of interacting with a product. That's what we're solving at Mode Maison, and the stakes and implications are tremendous."

At the core of Mode Maison's offering is the àlaMode multimodal foundation model, a groundbreaking AI system that integrates physics-based intelligence and spatial awareness. Unlike traditional AI models that rely on static datasets, àlaMode employs proprietary datasets and Mode Maison's Total Material Appearance Capture (TMAC) technology to create lifelike 3D product simulations. These aren't just visually accurate; they mimic real-world physics, offering consumers a fully immersive and interactive shopping experience.

Tackling Commerce's Unmet Needs

Generative AI has transformed industries, but it has yet to solve a critical problem for commerce: the lack of spatial awareness. Traditional generative models fall short of replicating real-world physics, leaving brands struggling to create immersive, realistic digital experiences that meet consumer expectations. Mode Maison's unique combination of physics-driven AI and proprietary TMAC technology directly addresses this gap. By digitizing materials and creating ultra-realistic renderings, the company enables retailers to bridge the digital-physical divide.

"We're not just building tools; we're solving foundational problems in AI," Gay explains. "Spatial intelligence is critical for commerce because it's the difference between 'generating pretty images' and incorporating our 3-dimensional, physical world and—in the case of commerce—the products within. That's where àlaMode comes in."

A Proven Track Record with Industry Leaders

Mode Maison's impact is already being felt in the industry. In its third year of collaboration with Rooms To Go, one of the largest furniture retailers in the U.S., the lab has revolutionized how digital assets are created and deployed. Using TMAC technology, Rooms To Go has significantly reduced costs and time-to-market for high-quality product visuals while increasing the precision of its marketing and advertising channels.

Dan Meyer, Vice President of Advertising at Rooms to Go, praises the partnership, "Mode Maison's technology has complemented our 3D team's output, allowing us to scale to new levels. In addition, the realistic nature of their digital twins provides us the flexibility needed to deliver on our commitment to create cutting-edge, beautiful content for our customers in the most efficient way."

By producing hyper-fidelity digital twin assets, Mode Maison has not only streamlined Rooms To Go's digital asset production pipeline but also laid the groundwork for a future where generative AI redefines consumer experiences.

Ondra Karlik Joins the Team

The recent addition of Ondra Karlik as Head of Neural Rendering marks a pivotal moment for Mode Maison. Renowned for his previous work founding and creating Corona Renderer, Karlik has spent decades advancing high-fidelity digital rendering. His expertise is now fueling Mode Maison's neural rendering efforts, further enhancing the realism and interactivity of àlaMode's outputs.

"My career in rendering has always been about pushing digital realism forward," Karlik says. "Mode Maison's vision to bring spatial accuracy to digital retail is incredibly exciting. With àlaMode, we're setting a new standard in immersive digital product experiences that are deeply personal and grounded in real physics."

Karlik's work will integrate Mode Maison's proprietary spatial data with advanced rendering techniques to deliver product simulations that behave like their real-world counterparts. His addition is expected to solidify the lab's position as a leader in generative commerce.

Key Innovations: àlaMode and TMAC

Mode Maison's technology is anchored by its àlaMode model, a physically-based multimodal generative AI model that incorporates real-world material simulation, physical product and spatial awareness to provide brands, retailers, manufacturers, designers, and others, the foundation for an entirely generative model of commerce. By combining physically-based intelligence, real-time personalization, and tools for generative commerce, àlaMode creates hyper-realistic, interactive experiences. Retailers can build immersive, sustainable digital worlds that adapt dynamically to consumer interactions, while simultaneously reducing costs by up to 80%. TMAC—an ecosystem blending hardware and software—enables these capabilities by digitizing materials with unparalleled fidelity, providing the foundation for outputs that are both visually stunning and physically accurate.

A Differentiated Approach

While competitors like World Labs AI and Blackshark AI also explore spatial intelligence in AI, Mode Maison stands apart through its proprietary physics-based datasets and a sharp focus on commerce applications. With a team of interdisciplinary experts from Microsoft Research, Ralph Lauren, Toshiba's Cambridge Research Laboratory, and leading academic institutions, the lab is uniquely equipped to tackle the challenges of generative commerce.

"Our competitors are doing impressive work, but we're solving problems they're not even addressing yet," Gay says. "By combining storytelling expertise with deep technology, we're creating experiences that resonate deeply with consumers."

Expanding Accessibility Through embedMode

Mode Maison's embedMode technology takes the power of àlaMode and makes it universally accessible. Much like embedding a YouTube video onto a website, embedMode allows brands, retailers, manufacturers, and anyone else, to seamlessly integrate àlaMode's generative AI into any site or platform where an image or video might otherwise appear. By harnessing personalized user data, embedMode generates stunning, immersive content in real time, seamlessly incorporating real products into highly relevant and incredibly beautiful, dynamic immersive experiences—crafted for each and every person based on their distinct preferences, behaviors, and profiles.

"The future of commerce is entirely generative—a world where brands don't just sell products, but craft immersive stories and dreamlike worlds that customers step into. In these experiences, the customer isn't just a participant; they're the protagonist, shaping their own contextually relevant environments, scenarios, and even the products within them. It's commerce where creativity meets co-creation, with the customer always at the heart of the story."

Sustainability as a Core Value

Mode Maison's innovations aren't just about enhancing retail experiences; they're also about reducing environmental impact. By eliminating the need for physical samples and traditional photography, the lab's AI-driven tools help brands achieve significant cost savings while promoting sustainability.

"Sustainability isn't just a buzzword for us," Gay insists. "It's a core principle. We're enabling brands to do more with less while minimizing their footprint."

Looking Ahead

With its groundbreaking technology, proven industry impact, and a growing team of world-class experts, Mode Maison is poised to lead the next evolution of AI in retail. As Gay puts it: "The future of retail isn't just about technology. It's about creating meaningful, tangible connections between brands and consumers. And that's exactly what we're building."

Mode Maison's journey is only beginning, but its impact is already reshaping the landscape of digital commerce. By addressing the unmet needs of today's AI and pushing the boundaries of what's possible, the lab is setting a new standard for consumer engagement in the digital age.

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