Zafin — AI & Product Engineering Leadership
Leading AI and product engineering across large-scale banking software, with work spanning platform modernization, enterprise AI adoption, and AI workflows.
View in archiveApplied AI / Robotics / Product Engineering
Branavan Selvasingham
I build real systems with AI, software, and hardware — from enterprise workflows to robotics and spatial computing.
VP, Head of AI & Product Engineering at Zafin.
My background spans enterprise AI, startup building, robotics, and spatial computing. I care about systems that hold up outside the demo.
Selected Work
A few projects that capture the kind of work I do.
SO-101 Robot Experiments
Hands-on exploration of embodied AI, robot control loops, and tool-using systems in the physical world.
View in archiveMany Lives
A simulation and agent orchestration prototype for managing multiple semi-autonomous actors in a shared world.
Explores persistence, escalation, coordination, and policy-shaped behavior beyond isolated prompt-response loops.
View in archiveVisionOS / Shape of μ
Spatial computing experiments and 3D graphing work using SwiftUI and RealityKit.
View in archiveIBM Achievement
Built large-scale systems used by millions and received formal technical recognition at IBM.
Includes 2022 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award work.
View in archiveTalks
Talks, panels, and appearances on banking, AI, and product engineering.
Includes Microsoft and Money20/20 sessions.
View in archiveNimbus POS
A bootstrapped restaurant POS platform that reached paying customers, exceeded operating costs, and exited through client/data acquisition.
Built and operated from 2015 to 2018.
View in archiveCurrent focus
Right now I'm working on:
- Product engineering with AI tools
- AI workflows with review and checks
- Turning new capabilities into systems that hold up in production
- Robotics and embodied interaction
- AI product ideas
Notes
- The model is only one part of the system. The workflow around it usually matters more.
- Useful AI systems need structure: tools, permissions, checks, visibility, and fallback paths.
- The hard part is rarely the demo. It's building something reliable enough that people keep using it.
- New capabilities matter when they turn into something real.
Writing / notes
I’m more active on X. This site is where I keep selected work and occasional writeups.
Archive / Deeper Project History
Archive / More Projects
Broader project history, embedded demos, and exploratory builds.
Active Personal Projects (2024 +)
SO-101 Robot (LeRobot)
Robotics experiments with the SO-101, including first movement tests and video.
I was testing how well current models can directly control the #LeRobot SO-101 using tool calls, with only one camera mounted on the gripper for world perception and a goal loop (e.g., "pick up pawn" in this case).
— Branavan Selvasingham (@0_branavan_1) December 21, 2025
Takeaway: These models are rapidly approaching embodied AI… pic.twitter.com/AuYLGOFQgn
A hello world of sorts with #LeRobot SO-101. Kinda late to the party because I burned out a motor as soon as I got it earlier 😅. Took some time to get the replacement and get back into it.
— Branavan Selvasingham (@0_branavan_1) September 21, 2025
Really cool tech. Interested to see how much it can do. pic.twitter.com/qwZ5vX5YB1
Many Lives
Simulation and agent orchestration prototype for coordinating multiple semi-autonomous actors in a shared world.
Many Lives is a simulation and agent orchestration prototype built around a shared world with multiple semi-autonomous actors. The goal is to move beyond single-agent chat interactions and explore how agents persist over time, accumulate context, surface competing pressures, and continue acting inside a living system.
The project focuses on orchestration through attention, escalation, memory, and policy rather than direct turn-by-turn control. It sits at the intersection of simulation design, agent architecture, and human oversight for systems that need to remain legible while multiple threads stay active at once.
Vision OS App
A simple VisionOS project: a 3D graph visualizer called "Shape of μ".
Graph visualizer: "Shape of μ"
Currently: VP, Head of AI and Product Engineering @ Zafin
A podcast with Microsoft's Head of Banking Strategy
A conversation with Tyler Pichach, Microsoft's Head of Banking Strategy, about AI in financial services and enterprise software.
Money 20/20 Presentation (2023)
Presented at Money20/20 on Microsoft’s AI stage, sharing an early roadmap that we later built out and executed.
Accomplishments at IBM (non-client sensitive) (2018 - 2023)
Production AI Solutions
Built AI systems used by more than 20 million people.
Outstanding Technical Achievement Award
Received IBM’s 2022 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for work on a conversational AI orchestration system.
Past Corporate Research Projects (non-client sensitive) (2018 - 2023)
Conversational AI Kiosk
Built a kiosk with animated facial expressions for a more responsive user experience.
Auditable Network of Containers
Published IP on transactions between non-trusting parties using auditable networks.
Boston Dynamics Spot Simulation
Built simulation environments for Boston Dynamics Spot experiments.
Smart Locker
Designed and built a smart locker system for secure storage experiments.
Psychological Health Assessment
Built tools for assessing psychological health through conversational interfaces and structured questioning.
Vision-Based Robot Arm Motion
Built vision-based motion control experiments for robot arms.
Nimbus POS: My First Startup Journey (2015 - 2018)
What is Nimbus POS?
Nimbus POS was a SaaS platform for small cafes to manage orders, inventory, and customer interactions.
Key Features
Inventory management
Simple order flow with minimal clicks
Support for Canadian tax laws
Loyalty programs and analytics
Achievements
Bootstrapped to paying customers, reached monthly recurring revenue above operating costs, and exited through data and client acquisition by Nōwn POS.
Past Personal Projects (2015 - 2018)
Home Hub (Touch, Voice, Display)
Built a home hub that combined touch, voice, and display in one system.
Understanding the tiny bits (img)
Sound Test with touch-based volume controls (vid)
Custom PCBs made from Shenzhen (img)
Display test on assembled custom PCB (vid)
Another display test on assembled custom PCB (vid)
Full system custom PCB with assembled components (img)
First system PCB batch order from Shenzhen (img)
Robotic Conference and Vision
Built a system that combined robotic vision and conferencing for remote interaction experiments.
Dynamic Retail E-Paper Labels
Designed e-paper labels for retail stores with real-time updates.
Smart Surface Projection
Built a projection system for interactive display experiments.
Video Transcript Analysis
Built a web app (thegreatmind.org) for analyzing video transcripts and extracting useful structure from them.
Education
MBA
Schulich School of Business, York University
Focused on finance and entrepreneurship.
Mech Eng
University of Waterloo
Focused on robotics and aerodynamics. 4th year research on ornithopter / drone.