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My interests

If I could sum up my interests in a single phrase, it would be "creating virtual worlds". I'm always interested in immersive virtual reality, human-like AI, game design, advanced graphics and simulation techinques, procedural content generation, and all related fields.

In service of the above, I also dig all things related to the developer experience. To create elaborate virtual worlds, we need sophisticated tools. The things I think developers need most in the coming decade are automatic parallelization, unified CPU/GPU interfaces, elegant data queries outside of traditional database contexts, and creative new modalities for editor and productivity software.

I concern myself with the interplay between technology, society, and economy. Decentralization of energy generation, computation, financial instruments, and social media are very important to my vision of a better future.

Last, I will sometimes obsess over solutions to daily inconveniences. Usually with some kind of arts, crafts, or home improvement.

My list of interesting companies

First Tier

  • AMD (Chip design)
    • Currently trying to improve the appeal of their GPU's compared to NVIDIA, and so are doing a lot of open source work with GPU software stacks. I think this is valuable work.
  • Intel (Chip design and manufacturing)
    • Same as AMD above.
  • VRChat (VR Social Media)
    • The premier social media for a burgeoning VR platform. I would like to work there just to get deeper insights into the state of VR for the average user.
  • Fluid Reality (VR Haptics)
    • A compelling technology for fingertip haptics. Would love to be on the cutting edge of this development. The company does not seem to be very organized.
  • Bigscreen (VR Headsets and Software)
    • Leanest VR headset on the market. Compelling vision for the future of VR.
  • Steam (Games and VR)
    • Refreshing corporate structure. They manufacture good VR headsets, and have many opportunties for software infrastructure for games and VR, which I would like to influence.
  • HigherOrderCO (Automatic parallelization language)
    • A really compelling infrastructure for automatic parallelization of code with few limitations. Would love to contribute.
  • Modular/Mojo (Language targetting CPU/GPU)
    • Elegant language with modern features and which also targets both CPU and GPU.
  • Neuralink (Brain-computer interface)
    • The most advanced brain computer interface being developed. BCI is the eventual end-game of VR.
  • Synchron (Brain-computer interface)
    • A less invasive BCI than Neuralink, with less potential data transfer capabilities but further in clinical trials.
  • Science Corporation (Among others, brain-computer interfaces)
    • They have an open software developer position related to brain computer interfaces. Would love to get involved.
  • Blender (3D graphics software)
    • Unlikely that they have open positions, but an open source graphics software position would be awesome!
  • Imagination Technologies (GPU design)
    • They design some of the only RISC-V focused GPU's. Would like to contribute to their ecosystem.
  • Qualcomm (Chip design)
    • They produce many of the chips in Meta's VR headsets, and other mobile solutions. They will probably have outsized impact on mobile computing.
  • Clockwork Labs (In-memory game-oriented database)
    • I think database-oriented design needs more attention. Seems like a compelling system for games, would like to gain experience.
  • SimulaVR (VR OS and headset)
    • The only real VR OS effort aside from Meta.
  • Broadcom (Chip design)
    • A common single-board-computer GPU designer. I think the experience would be valuable as adjacent to mobile use cases.
  • Weta FX (VFX)
    • Reputable VFX engineers, researchers, and artists.

Second Tier

  • Zed Industries (Zed editor)
    • Ground-up editor, with good first principles. Unfortunately not very experimental with design.
  • NVIDIA (GPU design)
    • High performance chips and interesting software stacks for applying the hardware to problems. Unfortunately, I don't see a drive to innovate at the current NVIDIA.
  • Epic Games (Game engine)
    • Advanced graphics stack and many content-generation oriented features, but I think the software stack has some noteable issues and tech-debt.
  • Apple (Integrated hardware and software)
    • Interesting attempt with Apple Vision Pro. Unfortunately, I believe they are moving away from innovation with the Vision Pro after it flopped.
  • Meta (Social media and VR)
    • I'm interested in the research labs with VR, but unfortunately they seem to redirecting resources away from VR towards AI these days, which I don't think will create them a lot of value in the long run.
  • Lightmatter (Photonic computing)
    • There are few companies exploring photonic computing, even though I think the underlying physics of photonic computing seem very promising to me. Would like to be a part.
  • Bluesky (Decentralized social media)
    • I think decentralized social media is important for future societal health. I would love to contribute to one of the leading efforts.
  • CREAL (XR display techonology)
    • Adjustable-depth display projected onto glasses, which allows for mixed-reality. Interesting if it can be developed further.
  • Minatec (Neuromorphic computing)
    • Internships available, techonological research group. Interested in the neuromorphic computing offer.
  • Samsara Vision (Vision prosthesis)
    • Vision will probably be one of the hardest problems to tackle in BCI technology. I would like to explore existing visual prothesis technologies to see what the state-of-the-art is.
  • Unity (Game engine)
    • Although ad-focused monetizations schemes have been disruptive to the community, I think Unity is improving in several key aspects by developing more advanced graphics pipelines and ECS-inspired systems.
  • SideFX (VFX/simulation software)
    • One of the primier content generation software producers. Would like to gain experience there.
  • Larian Studios (Game development)
    • A slow-paced but quality focused game development studio focusing on rich RPG experiences.
  • Cascadeur (Animation software)
    • An intuitive animation editor which utilizes intelligent models to assist the process.
  • Pimax (VR headset designer)
    • A high-quality and experimental headset designer. I feel like I would be rewarded for exploring there.
  • Immersed VR (VR headset designer)
    • Designing a sleek headset that supposedly is releasing soon.
  • Espressif (Single-board computers)
    • Another reputable and friendly company, with excellent Rust support for their chips.
  • Palantir (Mixed reality opportunity)
    • A prestigious company/founder working on mixed reality. Good experience.
  • Extropic (Probabalistic computing chip)
    • Needs some more research, but seems cool.

Third Tier

  • Brilliant (Online courses)
  • Natron Energy (Sodium batteries)
  • TerraPower: Natrium (Nuclear power)
  • Anthropic (LLM's)
  • Mythic (Compute-in-memory chips)
  • Aspinity (AI-oriented chips)
  • Allen Institute for AI (Ethical AI development)
  • Lyten (Batteries and other industries)
  • QuantumScape (Anode-less batteries)
  • Solid Power (Silicon batteries)
  • Amprius (Silicon batteries)
  • Jackery (Solar panels)
  • Ironlev (Maglev trains using existing rail infrastructure)
  • Helion (Fusion power)
  • TAE Technologies (Fusion power)
  • Salgenx (Salt-water modular batteries)
  • ESS Inc (Long lasting grid batteries)
  • Octopus Energy (Smart electric grid)
  • Kraftwerk (Hydrogen-based power storage)
  • South Australia VPP (decentralized power generation)
  • Sunrun (Solar power)
  • California Forever (Urban development)
  • Energy Dome (Compressed CO2 power storage)
  • US. EcoGen (Green energy projects)
  • Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Fusion power)
  • Boston Dynamics (Robotic agents)
  • Shadow Robot (Robotic graspers)
  • Proton (Privacy-focused productivity software)
  • Culdesac (Car-free urban development in Tempe, AZ)
  • Mirmex Motor (Copper-free motor windings)
  • Warp Terminal (Terminal modernization)
  • Vassar Robotics (Humanoid robot components)
  • Oxide Computer Company (On-premises server solutions)
  • Stripe (Fintech)
  • IBM (Circuit design)
  • Roblox (Online social and community-developed game platform)
  • System76 (Linux PC manufacturer/designer)
  • Framework (Modular linux laptop designer)
  • Pine64 (Open-source mobile hardware)
  • Raspberry Pi (Single-board computers)
  • Avalanche Power (Electro-static fusion power)

Fourth Tier

  • Hybrid Air Vehicles (Blimps)
  • LTA Research (Blimps)
  • Flying Whales (Blimps)
  • Bouyant Aircraft Systems (Blimps)
  • Hydrostor (Compressed air energy storage)
  • Notpla (Biodegradable packaging)
  • Sway (Biodegradable packaging)
  • Loliware (Biodegradable packaging)
  • Tomtex (Nonplastic synthetic leather)
  • Varialift (Blimps)
  • Oceanbird (Sail-powered shipping)
  • Phase Change Solutions (Applied chemistry)
  • QE Platinum (Insulation)
  • NASA (Space research)
  • Halcium (Rooftop wind power)
  • Icewind (Small-scale wind power)
  • RidgeBlade (Rooftop wind power)
  • Harmony Turbines (Small-scale wind power)
  • Ventum Dynamics (Rooftop wind power)
  • Harvest Thermal (HVAC systems)
  • Threedy (VR CAD software)
  • Lucid Motors (Electric cars)
  • Locus Robotics (Warehouse robotics)

Job Boards

  • xrjobsboard.com
  • QED Lab job channel

TODO

  • Strategies for each company/interest group
  • Network
  • Resume
  • Portfolio
  • Blog

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