How Tesfa.ai Was Born- From a Hackathon to a Movement
When Tesfa.ai started, it wasn’t from a boardroom or a startup incubator — it started with a community. Back then, we called it NERD Ethiopia — a small, passionate group of young builders who believed that we could create world-class technology right here at home.
We organized a hackathon with one mission. To build a real product in just one day. Among the many projects that emerged, one aligned with what we were building at NERD — a code review agent powered by AI. At the time, I was experimenting with using Inngest to spin up a full cloud environment for automated code review. That was the spark that set everything in motion.
Through that hackathon, I met people who would become the foundation of Tesfa. We started as six — myself, Haymi, Efrata, and Alexo among them. All have a place as the founding team. But Haymi, she wasn’t just helping — she cared deeply about what we were building. She believed.
That kind of dedication is rare. You can’t buy it with money. True talent isn’t bought — it’s inspired by vision.
Working with Haymi reminded me that Ethiopia’s real strength lies in its youth — curious, ambitious, and unshakably hopeful. She represents a generation that isn’t waiting for permission to build; they just need direction and purpose.
The hackathon taught me that it’s not about the crowd, the guest speakers, or the photoshoots. It’s about a small, elite team of builders — often quiet, often overlooked — who show up consistently and work toward a shared dream.
Consistency beats hype. Every time.
That’s why I stayed connected to everyone who joined.
They weren’t just participants — they were the start of a movement.
Today, at Tesfa.ai, we’re building technology that can’t be ignored — the kind that meets Silicon Valley standards, right here in Africa. We’re not here to chase money or validation. We’re here to build legacy — to prove that world-class AI, robotics, and AGI research can come from our soil.
We’re recruiting the SEAL team of AI — not the loudest, not the most famous, but the most driven. If you’re hungry, if you’re excited, if you want to learn and build things that matter — we want you.
You won’t be paid a salary.
You’ll be paid in equity, trust, and legacy.
Our mission:
To build to finetune, build and serve AI models — LLMs, VLMs, and SLMs— that push the boundaries of what’s possible. We’ve already been validated by companies seeking top-tier talent, and we know what we have in our hands is rare.
We’re not looking for people chasing comfort — we’re looking for those chasing greatness.
Haymanot is a testament to that spirit — she’s now stepping into the role of CTO, not because of a Stanford degree or Silicon Valley validation, but because she’s proven herself through grit, curiosity, and unwavering belief.
If her story inspires you —If you want to build something the world will remember —Join our next hackathon.
Take our assessment.
Be part of the team that refuses to be ignored. Let’s build Tesfa together.
✊ Tesfa isn’t a startup — it’s a promise.
A promise that the next generation of world-class AI will be built by those who dare to dream without limits.