Manuel Sainsily Creative Director & Speaker

I design, teach
& speak about
art + tech + culture.

Human-centred ideas and experiences across AI, XR, 3D, BCI and haptics.

Manuel Sainsily holding his TEDx speaker award on stage

Impact / Data

Human-centered
global impact.

20M+
People Inspired
Online + In Person
20K+
Exhibition Visitors
NYC · Barcelona · Vancouver
200+
Talks & Workshops
Keynotes to Classrooms
97.1%
Speaking CSAT
Career Average
30+
Cities
100+ Flights
6
Continents
Global Perspective
15+
Years in Design & Tech
UI/UX to BCI
9
University Lectures
Harvard to Oxford

Focus / Practice

Three things I do.
One point of view.

Exhibitions / Installations

Immersive worlds
people step into.

Visitors moving through Protopica's immersive ocean world at ARTECHOUSE in New York

New York City · ARTECHOUSE

ARTECHOUSE

A 270° immersive 3D ocean world with spatial audio surrounding visitors with a Caribbean future.

40K+
Audience
3D/18K/270°
Technology
OTOY
Sponsor
A visitor watching Protopica inside the Sónar+D installation in Barcelona

Barcelona · Sónar+D

Sónar+D

An EEG-responsive film and installation where attention, calm and engagement shaped the visual system in real time.

52K+
Audience
BCI/EEG
Technology
Sónar+D
Sponsor
Manuel and will.i.am at Sora Selects in New York

New York City · Sora Selects

Sora Selects

First-wave artists to co-release an AI short film with OpenAI, screened at the Metrograph Theatre in NYC.

1M+
Audience
AI Film
Technology
OpenAI
Sponsor
Visitors experiencing the Protopica installation at VIFF Signals in Vancouver

Vancouver · VIFF Signals

VIFF Signals

Protopica expanded from generative cinema into an immersive cultural platform rooted in AI world-building.

1.5K+
Audience
BCI/EEG
Technology
Signals
Sponsor
Manuel at the Oculus Gallery in the World Trade Center in New York

New York City · Oculus Gallery

SparkAR Exhibition

The first haptics AR filter made with SparkAR, exhibited at the Oculus Gallery at the World Trade Center with Meta.

Private
Audience
SparkAR
Technology
Meta
Sponsor
Caribéano-futurisme opening moment at Afromusée with Manuel on stage

Montréal · Afromusée

Caribéano-futurisme

An exhibition blending mixed reality, artificial intelligence and live performance through Caribbean futurism.

1K+
Audience
AI/Art
Technology
OpenAI
Sponsor

Teaching / Academia

University lectures
& workshops.

Clients / Partners

Trusted by
industry leaders.

Adobe Apple Dell Technologies Disney Google IBM Lightspeed MasterClass Meta Microsoft NASA NBA Nintendo NVIDIA OpenAI Samsung Snapchat Sony

Featured In

Adobe Blog Artnet Business Insider CBC Entrepreneur Fast Company France-Antilles Glitch Global News La 1ère Mozilla Blog NRJ PCMag PRINT RCI The Atlantic Trace The Wall Street Journal

Career / Full-Time Positions

One career.
Many interfaces.

  1. FoundationUI/UX & Product Design

    Products, games, responsive systems and high-traffic digital experiences.

  2. IBM iXXR Design Lead · Canada

    Built an extended-reality design practice around human-centred interfaces.

  3. ImmersionUX Design Lead · Haptics

    Designed how people feel digital interactions through touch.

  4. UnityXR Design Lead · Sr. Advocate

    Led teams, shaped real-time 3D products and took the work on stage.

  5. AdobeSr. Creative Technologist

    Prototyping next-generation creative workflows across AI and design systems.

Full career

Testimonials / Quotes

What collaborators
remember.

“Manu's lecture at my Stanford d.school class on AI prototyping and XR was truly inspiring. He brought a rare blend of visionary thinking and practical know-how, and it was incredible to see students immediately applying his methods with both creativity and confidence.”
Payam Tabrizian, PhDHead of Design, Uber · XR Design, Stanford
“Manuel's presentations are simply the best! He gave a series of guest lectures on AI and XR for cultural heritage preservation, and every single time completely wowed the audience. Amazing content and fantastic delivery!”
Daniel HaehnMachine Psychology Professor, UMass Boston
“It was amazing to see how artists Manuel Sainsily and Will Selviz used Sora as part of their creative process for their short film Protopica — a powerful demonstration of the transformative role AI is playing in our society.”
Kevin WeilVP of Product, OpenAI
“Manuel and Will's collaboration with OpenAI demonstrates how AI can be a powerful tool for cultural preservation. Their work pushes the boundaries of what's possible while respecting and preserving the richness of our global cultural heritage.”
Robert F. SmithFounder & CEO, Vista Equity
“Manu has an unusual mix of talents — a skilled designer who can code, but what sets him apart is his leadership qualities. He cares deeply about team unity and consistently communicates with empathy, balance, and encouragement.”
Dave BirnbaumTechnology Strategy, Immersion

Get in touch / Contact

Let’s build
the future together.

Send Email

01 / Education

I make complexity
feel clear.

Courses, workshops and learning experiences that turn emerging technology into creative confidence.

  • Co-created MasterClass’s first Generative AI course, ranked among its most watched releases.
  • Designed learning for creators, product teams and executives across AI, XR and real-time 3D.
  • Connects technical systems to memorable stories, examples and hands-on practice.
Watch Skillshare x Mozilla interview

Bio / Manuel Sainsily

Manuel Sainsily is a Creative Director who designs, teaches, and speaks about the intersection of art, technology, and culture, with a focus on world-building and storytelling. Born in Guadeloupe and based in Montreal, he has spent more than 15 years building products and emerging technologies at IBM, Immersion, Unity, and Adobe, where his work spans artificial intelligence, XR, haptics, and design systems.

A TED speaker and guest lecturer at Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Stanford, Columbia, McGill, and other leading universities, Manuel co-created MasterClass's first Generative AI course in 2024, now among the platform's five most-watched courses. His work exploring cultural heritage preservation, real-time 3D, and brain-computer interfaces has reached more than 20 million people through immersive exhibitions, films, and interactive experiences.

Recognized with the Mozilla Rise25 Award, Manuel advises organizations and audiences worldwide on designing a more human-centered future.

02 / Speaking

I inspire large
audiences.

Keynotes, panels and live demonstrations that bring large audiences into the idea.

  • TEDx speaker with appearances from Tokyo and Abu Dhabi to GDC and Unite.
  • Talks connect human-centred design to AI, XR, BCI, haptics and cultural preservation.
  • Equally comfortable with a live prototype, an executive room or a global broadcast.

03 / Creative Direction

I create immersive
experiences.

Narrative, visual systems and multisensory direction for cultural and emerging-technology experiences.

  • Directed exhibitions and screenings across New York, Barcelona, Vancouver and Montréal.
  • Built immersive systems using 3D, XR, BCI, EEG, SparkAR, spatial audio, generative film and AI world-building.
  • Expanded Protopica from a short film into physical installations, museum programming and cultural platforms.
  • Selected moments include ARTECHOUSE, Sónar+D, Sora Selects, VIFF Signals, Meta/Oculus Gallery and Caribéano-futurisme.
See exhibitions

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University

Ivy League

HarvardXR 2025: The Augmented Self (Lecture)

See more

Lab / Mobile

Mobile apps.
Tactile ideas.