Vanakkam! I'm Arun, a software engineer from Chennai. I build AI and web tools for people and organizations that mainstream tech ignores—conservationists, nonprofits, small publishers, and independent teams who can't afford (or won't use) commercial alternatives.

I grew up in rural Tamil Nadu, where my grandfather taught me that real wealth isn't measured in rupees or valuations—it's in how you serve others. That wisdom shaped everything I do.

These days, I chase a different kind of growth. I drink ~12 cups of filter kaapi a day (South Indian filter coffee is non-negotiable for a Tamilian), which basically means I'm permanently caffeinated and thinking about the next project to build. I founded Code 4 Cause and help accelerate founders building tech for social impact through Lvl1 Accelerator.

My book, "Becoming the Seed: A Journey of Growth and Entrepreneurship," explores what it means to grow as a founder beyond metrics and milestones—it's about spiritual entrepreneurship, failure, learning, and building something that actually matters.

Your sponsorship directly funds this mission: infrastructure, time to respond thoughtfully to users, and the ability to say 'no' to commercial pressures. Open source should serve everyone, not just the privileged.

What your sponsorship supports

• Birdecho — Companion app for bird identification (BirdNET-Pi, BirdNET-Go) for citizen scientists and conservation programs.
• SpeciesNet Studio — Self-hosted review UI for wildlife classifier predictions; used by camera-trap researchers globally.
• CCTVQL — Natural-language queries over Frigate and ONVIF footage for conservation groups and schools.
• OpenMem — Local-first AI memory layer for Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini; built for journalists, lawyers, and clinicians whose work shouldn't live in someone else's cloud.
• AI Auto News Poster — WordPress plugin that drafts posts from RSS feeds; for local news sites and niche publications.
• OdooPilot — AI messaging bridge for Odoo Community; enables small teams and nonprofits to automate without expensive enterprise licenses.