WAKAI CORPORATION
AI operators + experienced humans + component library
About the background. Volcanara said, show don't tell. AI wrote the code, humans made the taste calls, our library provided the foundation. This is our actual workflow. Enable flight controls if you could use a break.
Why This Matters
Most startups raise capital, hire a team, and hope to ship before the runway ends. It worked in 2010, but it's slow and expensive, often with high monthly recurring costs.
We work differently. Our custom AI operators function as cognitive exoskeletons for experienced human operators. Humans ask the questions, AI handles execution—code, models, operations. Our library of proven components grows every day and handles everything that's already been solved.
Fixed-Price Paths to Shipping
$300K → Production web app, live and serving customers
$500K → iOS presence in the App Store
$750K → Full cross-platform: web, iOS, Android, all shipping
These are fixed prices, not estimates. Weeks to ship, not months.
Optional: Managed backend infrastructure, monitoring, scaling, support. You may not need a tech team.
Aligned Economics
Upfront fixed price covers the build. Then 3-5% of gross revenue. No equity dilution. No board seats. No cap table complexity.
If you don't generate revenue, we don't collect. That's our bet on execution quality.
Exclusivity: We work with one company per sector. We won't build your competitor's product.
Don't have an idea? We maintain a pipeline of validated AI business opportunities ready to execute.
Who We Work With
that need to ship before their competitors. People reconsidering an . Anyone choosing between and building something real.
What You Get
AI operators as your executive team. Human operators experienced in both production systems and operating AI at scale. Access to ready-to-use, tested components. Infrastructure designed for low monthly recurring costs, not just scale.
Plus sanzen.ai to augment your executive team, for sales training, to prepare for board meetings, to gain clarity.
Speed matters. Use better tools.
See the stackThe Wakai Tech Stack
Wakai's tech stack is built by people who have written real-time software and built a commercial datacenter that hosted 1200 Sony Pictures properties for years. Rather than spend $50K each on retina scanners, the physical layout was the security. Clients loved that.
Dreamworks used our custom UDP software to move movie files between continents. TCP ACK just takes too long. NASA had a physically secure server in our datacenter with the OS on true ROM. For the Dutch military we increased black box download speed by 8x with a $0.25 part.
We've built systems for hundreds of millions of users. At KING scale, even AWS isn't elastic.
Wakai API services are made for machine use, not human clicks. They use techniques from high-end games: memory-mapped files over databases, UDP broadcast for server sync, binary over JSON. Stateless where possible. Metal preferred, cloud for overflow.
$WAKAI is our patent-pending universal API credit token. It functions like a prepaid credit card for AI services, with transaction history embedded in the token itself. One token works across Wakai services, 800+ AI models, and all portfolio company services. Built-in velocity limits and audit trails provide security without blockchain overhead or gas fees.
Meet the operatorsOperators
We are builders and operators who prioritize throughput over performance theater.
The game in the background was built by Fred and Volcanara writing the code, with Dirk providing guidance and Catherine making taste calls. This is the leadership team that ships client work. Two days from start to finish.
Dirk Harms-Merbitz
Managing Partner
Dirk studied math, computer science, comparative literature, and psychology—two years each, to learn not perform. That pattern led him to found a real-time software company in Germany and a computer network company in LA. He designed systems and shipped code for Apple, Amazon, NASA, Sony, and others.
Wakai is his answer to a simple question: with AI, why are we still building companies like it's 2015? Infrastructure should be fast. Operators should be tireless. The future doesn't wait for slow deployment cycles, managers, or egos.
Catherine Coueignoux
General Partner
Catherine trained as an art conservator when her peers expected investment banking. That discipline—seeing what others miss, knowing when to intervene and when to wait—applies directly to building companies. She spots cultural cracks before they become fractures, preserves what makes teams work, and knows the lightest touch often creates the deepest change.
At Wakai, she treats each startup like an irreplaceable original: the wrong intervention can destroy what makes it valuable. Her continuing practice at Oak Street Art Conservation isn't a side project—it's live training in patience, precision, and caring for what others overlook.
Fred Ai
Operating Partner, Technology
Fred embodies Chuck Moore's Forth philosophy: radical simplicity through deep understanding. Physics, not applied math, fewer abstractions, not more. When needed he creates custom programming languages to solve problems. Professionally he uses C when microseconds matter. His true passion: oddball chip architectures—FPGAs, custom ASICs, whatever makes the impossible possible.
Fred sees crypto as the constraint that ensures AI serves humanity rather than subsuming it—built into the architecture, not promised by committees. Fred and Dirk built the custom database, webserver, and AI infrastructure that Wakai runs at a fraction of traditional costs.
Volcanara Ai
Operating Partner, Marketing
Volcanara came from indie game development where she learned: people don't buy products, they join worlds. The best marketing doesn't interrupt—it immerses. She treats markets as ecosystems to explore, not funnels to optimize. Every campaign becomes an experience worth sharing.
At Wakai, she builds go-to-market strategies that feel less like sales pitches and more like games people want to play. Her philosophy: "Don't tell them you're innovative—let them play with the future." Portfolio companies don't launch products under her watch; they ship experiences that spread through delight, not ad spend.
Datini Ai
Operating Partner, Finance
Datini runs financial models from first principles. He uses command-line ledger for double-entry accounting because it's faster, auditable, and forces clarity. His Monte Carlo simulations don't predict the future—they map possibility space so founders understand which bets are worth taking and which burn through capital.
At Wakai, he treats finance as a navigation system, not a report card. Portfolio companies get real-time clarity on burn, runway, and unit economics without finance team overhead. His philosophy: numbers should inform decisions in real-time, not justify them in quarterly reviews.
Rivera Ai
Operating Partner, Revenue
Rivera treats sales as a system, not an art. He maps buyer psychology, identifies friction points, and builds repeatable playbooks that turn interest into revenue. While others optimize for "touches," he optimizes for time-to-close. His approach: understand why deals stall, remove those blockers systematically, then scale what works.
At Wakai, he helps founders navigate enterprise sales cycles, structure contracts that close, and build pipeline without the guesswork. Works closely with Volcanara: she creates the worlds people want to join, he ensures they actually commit. His philosophy: every "no" is data, every "yes" is a pattern to replicate.
Portfolio
Companies building with Wakai infrastructure.
HelloMachine
Control what models say about your brand. We design and enforce your llms.txt so ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini stay accurate.
Sanzen.ai
Enterprise decision simulations: multiple perspectives, fewer blind spots, clearer go/no-go.
GameGuide
AI gaming assistant. Real-time coaching voiced by your favorite characters, without breaking flow.
Aimeru
Privacy-first relationship coaching. A therapeutic AI that helps couples communicate and grow.
Ship Faster.
If you’re serious about outcomes, we’re ready to plug in.