Deep tech · EdTech founder · Based in Indonesia
Building deep‑tech,
and reimagining education.
I am Alfian Firmansyah. I work on deep tech at a 
‑backed startup,
and I am the founder of an edtech company expanding access to quality education in Indonesia.
Mostly I like hard problems that actually matter.
- Deep tech @ YC‑backed startup
- EdTech founder
- Indonesia × Saudi Arabia
Featured In
Featured write-ups
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Things I’ve Engineered
Products and platforms I have designed, built, and shipped to production. They serve millions of requests and real users across speech AI, learning, and events.
Levers (YC S22)
Y Combinator (S22) voice AI for B2B collections. I work on the deep-tech core: self-hosted speech recognition and real-time voice agents.
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Terang AI
The edtech company I founded, using practical AI to widen access to quality education across Indonesia.
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Accredited Association LMS
A continuous professional development platform for the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI), where architects train and earn accredited KUM credits online.
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Terang Events
An Indonesian platform for educational events: discover competitions and seminars, submit work, track reviews, and earn certificates in one place.
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Kinderlib
An AI-powered reading library for children of all abilities, with accessible, multilingual books for neurodivergent kids including autism and ADHD.
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Submit-Manuscript.Org
A cloud conference management system for academic conferences: submissions, peer review, decisions, and proceedings in one place.
View project →All posts
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Featured2026 Mindset, Mental, Model
Wake up. Check phone. 2026. I am 27. Noo, Damn it. I remember when Fiersa Besari once wrote: "Nyatakan perasaan, hentikan penyesalan, maafkan kesalahan, tertawakan kenangan, kejar impian. Hidup terlalu singkat untuk dipakai meratap."
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FeaturedIndonesia Sebenarnya Butuh Apa? (Opinotes #2)
Hai Semuanya, Akhir-akhir ini, kejadian demi kejadian yang ada di Indonesia membuat jiwa gue tergerak, khususnya bagaimana cara pandang gue, untuk bisa menilai apa yang terjadi dari hasil observasi secara menyeluruh dan empiris (gaya banget)
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FeaturedA Novel Methodology for Hunting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in Software Supply Chains Using Fine-Tuned LLMs
In cyberspace, where applications dictate our every move, protecting them is not just a concern but it is a critical survival imperative. Between 2021 and 2023, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market grew to $195
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FeaturedHow I Hacked 2024: Principles to Grow
Squid Game 2 - Mingle0:00/66.1304311× New Year's resolutions are meaningless unless we maintain our goals with strict discipline. This post won't be another cliché "4 N3W Y34R R3S0LUT1ONS"
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FeaturedOpinotes #1 - Modern Personal Branding is weirder than I thought it would be
It has been couple months I have not written something here. Recently, I faced very tough months, it was a rendering period, but now it is getting better. I am not sure if my muscle memory
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Global CyberSecurity Indexes
SEA: Without further ado, this is the global cybersecurity index in APAC: And for Global: If you want to access my spreadsheet, you can request here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-IUcqMxzKOuPGGuV-1tdFJvw01oW9jwoQCTH01r4Ep0/edit?
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FeaturedWhen a Way of Problem-Solving Becomes a Joke
Random Prolog I have always been that person who loves to talk – whether it is sharing stories, discussing ideas, being self-deprecating, criticising government regulations, or just chatting about everyday life. Recently, I realised that branding
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FeaturedThe Magic Behind Visiting Websites
There were several seasons in our lives when we were struggling to visit some websites. I have the same stuff to deal with. Sometimes I find a specific website that cannot be opened, and I have
Impact in education
Education is the throughline of my work. Through Terang AI, I build tools that make learning more accessible, more inclusive, and properly credentialed.
Terang AI in 2025: A Year of Real Impact
A look back at 2025: free AI learning for 374+ students in the frontier regions of Indonesia, a 100% scholarship passing rate, an international award, and our first enterprise partnerships.
374+ learners reached in frontier regions
Free AI-powered exam prep and interview simulation delivered to more than 374 scholarship aspirants from the 3T (frontier) regions of Indonesia, worth over Rp 68 million in free educational services.
100% passing rate, 7 LPDP awardees
Across partner cohorts with Beasiswa Timur x PPI Wageningen and Forum Akademia NTT, learners reached a 100% TBS passing rate and produced seven LPDP scholarship awardees.
Accredited training for Indonesian architects
Built the learning and certification platform used by the Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia (IAI) to train and certify practising architects nationwide.
Inclusive reading with Kinderlib
Kinderlib brings accessible, multilingual reading to neurodivergent children, including kids with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.
Event Documentation
Capturing moments of collaboration and learning across Indonesia.
BBAF
BBAF Organiser Session
Awards & recognition
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2025
BRICS Industrial Innovation Contest 2025: Excellence Award
International Excellence Award for Terang AI: Democratizing Access to an AI-Driven Learning Ecosystem, presented in Jakarta.
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2025
Two registered AI-platform copyrights (DJKI)
Registered inventor of two copyrighted AI platforms for personalised learning and interview simulation, certified by DJKI, the Indonesian Ministry of Law.
About
I work at the intersection of deep technology and entrepreneurship. These days I build deep tech at a Y Combinator‑backed startup, and I am the founder of an edtech company focused on widening access to quality education in Indonesia. I am based in Indonesia, building with a team in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
I write here about building companies, applied deep tech, and the occasional lesson learned the hard way. Subscribe to get new write-ups in your inbox.