I'm Ryan. I build things with AI.
Currently building Star (YC S22), an AI game builder where anyone can create playable browser games from a description. Previously senior engineer at Google X (Loon), where I helped bring internet to remote parts of the world via stratospheric balloons. Before that, I studied CS at Mizzou and co-founded TigerHacks - still going strong.
I angel invest in founders I believe in, tinker with AI-driven science, and occasionally write about what I'm learning.
I love meeting builders and tinkerers. DM me on X or connect on LinkedIn.
AI fabricated scientific data. Decimal-precise measurements with realistic units and cited sources. When we came back and actually verified, better AI caught the hallucination, ran real experiments, and built a working prototype. We were feeling pretty good. Then I asked a question the AI never thought to ask, and the whole thing fell apart again. This is a story about AI getting smarter, and why that makes humans more important, not less.
I was previously a senior software engineer at Google X (Loon), and now I’m a YC founder at Stella who builds software faster than ever, thanks to AI.
100% of my code is written with AI. I accomplish 10x more, way faster. AI prototypes entire products for me, fixes bugs while I’m meeting live with customers, and heck, I even used it to build a multiplayer fish simulation in one single instruction! At this point, I don’t think I could go back to the old way of building.
My goal with this post is simple:
To inspire you and show that anyone can build with AI - no matter your background.
While many people doubt that you can intern at a top company without going to a target school like MIT or Stanford, it’s definitely possible. I go to a midwestern state school that’s not known for its Computer Science department, but I ended up interning at Facebook and Google. Hopefully, these tips will help you to do the same!