I'm U-Zyn Chua

I am a software engineer. I build, research and write about technology, artificial intelligence and the open web.

I am an angel investor and mentor to various great startups, especially from the Southeast Asian region. I also teach AI engineering to Master of Technology students at the National University of Singapore.

Prior to this, for over a decade, I have been architecting and building technology solutions for businesses and governments, focusing on creating practical systems that solve real problems without over-complicating things. I have also launched several successful projects and companies in the tech and finance space.

I am the architect of Sand Dollar, the world’s first retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), for The Central Bank of The Bahamas. It launched in 2019 and later expanded nationwide.

In 2016, I became Singapore’s first Smart Nation Fellow, contributing to open technology projects with GovTech. In 2018, I was honored to be named on the Tatler Gen.T list for innovative talents in Asia.

I have a strong interest in open source software and the open web. In 2006, I launched Ping.sg – a popular local blog aggregator that allowed blog readers to easily follow and discover blogs in Singapore before the dawn of big social media platforms.

After more than a decade of "big tech" social media, I envision once again for the web to be more open, decentralized, and user-centric.

Let's connect. Drop me a mail at chua@uzyn.com.

Connect with me over my LinkedIn.