Unlocking Tech is a senior AI product engineering team based in Lisbon, Portugal, working nearshore for companies across Europe and North America. We design, build and ship the AI systems and software that take repetitive work off a team — and we own the outcome, with a metric attached, rather than billing bodies by the hour.
What we do: custom AI development, AI agents and workflow automation, system and data integration, AI strategy and roadmapping, and ongoing support and scale. We build production-grade AI specifically — not prototypes. That means evaluations, guardrails, observability and a cost ceiling from day one, because the gap between a demo that looks right and a system that is reliable on real data is where most AI projects fail.
How we engage: staff augmentation (our senior engineers join your team and work to your process), a dedicated team we assemble and manage against your roadmap, or an end-to-end build we deliver. Every engineer is principal- or staff-level — no juniors. You keep the code, the repositories, the architecture decisions and the IP; nothing walks out the door when an engagement ends.
Why nearshore Portugal: Lisbon sits in the WET/GMT timezone, so our working day overlaps a full European workday and the US East Coast morning — real-time collaboration, not overnight handoffs. Add fluent English, EU membership and GDPR by default, and rates below the US, UK and Nordics, and you get the proximity of nearshore without the offshore handoff lag.
Start a project or book a technical assessment at unlockingtech.com.
Unlocking Tech provided front- and backend development for an AI platform. The team built the API, integrated third-party data providers, worked on the database schema and data modeling, and used React.
Unlocking Tech finished many features, and the system's performance was good. The team delivered on time, and the client communicated with them via in-person and virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps. The client was also impressed by the team's reaction time and friendliness.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the CTO of an AI platform.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Unlocking Tech?
We needed help creating our platform from scratch.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Unlocking Tech has developed our platform's frontend and backend. Regarding the backend, the team has built the API and integrated third-party data providers under my supervision. Unlocking Tech has also worked with me on the database schema and data modeling. As for the frontend, the team has used React.
What is the team composition?
We've worked with 2–5 teammates from Unlocking Tech.
How did you come to work with Unlocking Tech?
We found Unlocking Tech through an online search. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget, and their company values aligned with ours.
How much have you invested with them?
We've spent around $50,000 to $199,999.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Unlocking Tech in January 2026, and our engagement ended in June 2026.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Unlocking Tech has finished many features, and the system's performance is good.
How did Unlocking Tech perform from a project management standpoint?
Unlocking Tech has delivered on time. We communicate via in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and emails or messaging apps.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I'm impressed by Miguel's (CEO) reaction time and friendliness.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don't think there's anything Unlocking Tech can improve on; everything has gone well.
RATINGS
5.0
Quality
5.0
Service & Deliverables
Schedule
5.0
On time / deadlines
Cost
5.0
Value / within estimates
Willing to Refer
5.0
NPS
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1 Reviews
Our Story
The team behind Unlocking Tech is a tight group of senior engineers, AI specialists, and technical architects based in Lisbon, Portugal. Since 2022, we've embedded ourselves inside the problems of founders and tech leaders across Europe and beyond — building AI systems, custom platforms, and nearshore engineering teams that actually ship. We're not a large agency with layers of account managers. Every engagement runs with senior people who own the technical decisions and are accountable for the
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