Building bicycles for the mind.
We operate as digital alchemists, transmuting the raw lead of syntax into the gold of human impact. Our lab engineers systems that expand consciousness, restore craftsmanship, and elevate the human condition.
SUBMIT PITCHDevelopment Thesis
Impact
The best code is the code that enables us to deliver value to millions across the globe, daily. From Apple and Box to Battle Camp, we've built and contributed to platforms that democratize access—to creativity, collaboration, and entertainment—at massive scale.
Creative Self
We believe in tools that make the human creator more capable. Like Wand, an Apple-nominated generative art engine, we build software that turns private thought into public form with unprecedented fidelity.
Systems
We build systems that sustain B2C apps, multiplayer games, and financial markets. Drawing from our roots building Coinbase's early securities infrastructure, we've built patented, FINRA/SEC approved alternative trading systems, with regulatory experience.
Portfolio Highlights
Wand
A venture-backed AI creative suite. Built on a custom Metal engine, it empowers artists to collaborate with diffusion models locally on iPad.
Xpert / Coinbase
Architected the nation's first SEC-approved electronic trading system for private securities, leading to a dual acquisition by Coinbase.
Apple
Direct mentorship from the original iPhone executive team. Authored official programming guides for OpenCL and vImage.
Battle Camp
Built the graphics engine for a massively multiplayer mobile RPG, scaling to over 40 million installs globally.
Simulation Engines
Developing The Bonesman, Bible History Sim, and Hamptons History Sim—games designed to educate users on societal structures.
Our History
Our founder, Jason Townes French, is an engineer and serial entrepreneur whose craft was forged in the fires of academic rigor and Silicon Valley innovation.
Educated at Brown University, Jason studied under Andy van Dam—the father of computer graphics, founder of SIGGRAPH, and the man who taught the creators of Toy Story. This deep lineage in graphics technology led Jason to Apple, where he authored the official vImage and OpenCL programming guides, laying the bedrock for modern mobile computing.
His expertise bridges the gap between low-level silicon and high-level human experience. A GDC Prize-winning game developer, his first startup was acquired by Coinbase Securities. At Hermetic Ventures, he combines this community intelligence, technical integrity, and decades of experience to build the future.
Submit Pitch
We seek technical founders obsessed with craft and humanity.