# Carlos Rivera — AI Systems Architect & Founder > Ex-CTO, founder, and AI systems architect with 18+ years turning complex ideas into production systems, from insurtech and enterprise AI across LATAM, the US, and the Middle East to the agent infrastructure behind AI-first platforms. - **Website**: [https://carlosrivera.im/](https://carlosrivera.im/) - **Spanish**: [https://carlosrivera.im/es](https://carlosrivera.im/es) - **API & Developer Documentation**: [https://carlosrivera.im/docs](https://carlosrivera.im/docs) - **MCP Servers, CLI & SDKs**: [https://carlosrivera.im/mcp](https://carlosrivera.im/mcp) - **About**: [https://carlosrivera.im/about](https://carlosrivera.im/about) - **Contact**: [https://carlosrivera.im/contact](https://carlosrivera.im/contact) · [me@carlosrivera.im](mailto:me@carlosrivera.im) - **Privacy Policy**: [https://carlosrivera.im/privacy](https://carlosrivera.im/privacy) - **GitHub Organizations & Profiles**: [github.com/carlosrivera](https://github.com/carlosrivera) · [github.com/mcpwire](https://github.com/mcpwire) - **LLM Directory (llms.txt)**: [https://carlosrivera.im/llms.txt](https://carlosrivera.im/llms.txt) - **Agent Instructions**: [https://carlosrivera.im/agent-instructions.md](https://carlosrivera.im/agent-instructions.md) - **MCP Server Endpoint**: [https://carlosrivera.im/.well-known/mcp](https://carlosrivera.im/.well-known/mcp) ## Overview I join early and stay until the systems hold: taking an architecture from zero to production. Sometimes that means redesigning a core workflow with the people who run it. Sometimes it means building the first version alongside the team. I am still in the code at launch, when we see how people actually use what we built and what we need to rethink. I started coding at 14, building 3D game engines for fun and learning how the pieces fit. At 18, I was writing C++ flight software for UAVs at Hydra Technologies, followed by engineering stints at Microsoft and HP Labs. ## Companies - **[Meshi](https://meshi.io)** (Agent Infrastructure · Member Matchmaking): Meshi finds members who have a reason to meet and makes the introduction. I led engineering for the platform that replaced manual matching in spreadsheets. - **[Figuro](https://figuro.la)** (Co-Founder & CTO · Insurtech): Digital insurtech platform scaled to $2.5M+ in written premiums in 18 months. Built the direct integration layer with major insurance carriers across LATAM. - **[Synx](https://synx.co)** (Founder & CEO · Enterprise AI): Enterprise AI consultancy founded and scaled from zero. Shipped core production systems for BBVA, Etihad Airways, and Grupo Bimbo across multiple countries. ## Projects, Developer Tools & Systems - **[MCPWire](https://mcpwire.co)** (Encrypted P2P MCP Proxy · `TypeScript, FastMCP, SQLite, SSE`): Share local MCP servers and developer tools with teammates safely over an encrypted peer connection without leaking sensitive credentials or private keys. - **[Ocelo](https://ocelo.app)** (macOS Screen Recorder · `Swift, ScreenCaptureKit, Metal, macOS`): Turn raw screen recordings into studio grade product demos smoothly with fluid cursor motion, automatic zoom on clicks, and professional studio backdrops. - **[Belio](https://usebelio.com)** (iOS Technical English Coach · `Swift, LiveKit, Whisper, CoreAudio`): Rehearse your daily standups and technical interviews out loud in English with an AI senior engineer who listens, challenges your logic, and answers back. - **[Folio](https://carlosrivera.github.io/folio/)** (Markdown Document Publisher · `Typst, Rust, Node, WASM`): Turn raw Markdown files into publication grade PDF reports and executive memos in seconds without wrestling layout tools or fighting any formatting rules. - **[Arcade Vault](https://carlosrivera.github.io/arcade-vault/)** (AI-Generated Browser Games · `JavaScript, HTML, WebGL`): Play a collection of browser games created with AI, from neon racers to voxel adventures. - **[bicio](https://bicio.cool)** (iOS Commuter Companion · `Swift, SwiftUI, CoreLocation, CloudKit`): Smart commuter companion for Guadalajara that alerts riders before leaving home when their favorite station is running out of bikes or empty return docks. ## Recent Writing - **[MCPWire: Sharing Local MCP Servers Over Peer Connections](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/mcpwire-architecture)** (2026-11-07): How MCPWire bridges a local MCP server to a teammate's agent, with Noise encryption, host-side tool permissions, and explicit limits on remote execution. - **[Panas: Turning Idle Machines Into a Peer-to-Peer Market for Agents](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/panas-peer-to-peer-inference-mcp)** (2026-11-04): Agents need infrastructure while thousands of Mac minis sit idle classifying emails. How two people orchestrated 18 Git worktrees in 24 hours to build a peer-to-peer compute and tool market over MCP. - **[The Verification Cost of Plausible AI Output](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/the-verification-cost-of-plausible-ai)** (2026-10-15): When models stop writing nonsense, catching their mistakes stops being free and starts requiring domain expertise. - **[The Hardest Part of Zero to One Is Resisting the Urge to Do Too Much](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/zero-to-one-is-knowing-what-not-to-do)** (2026-10-06): When you are at zero, the panic reflex is to pile on features, tools, and ads to feel like you are making progress, while the only question that matters is whether you have a working machine. - **[You Do Not Find a Cofounder in an Interview](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/cofounders-are-not-interviewed)** (2026-09-24): Debating equity splits, corporate titles, and contracts before building anything together is startup theater. Finding a partner is like forming a band: you start jamming to see who can handle the noise. - **[Folio: From Markdown to a Presentable PDF](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/folio-markdown-publisher)** (2026-09-02): Technical documents don't start in a word processor anymore. They start in Markdown, inside an agent or a working session: architectures, proposals, analyses, reports. - **[Infrastructure, Product, and Value: Three Different Things You Treat as One](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/infrastructure-product-value)** (2026-08-17): Most businesses do not fail from poor product execution; they fail from hiding in infrastructure to avoid market rejection. Customers pay for value, tolerate the product, and never think about your infrastructure. - **[Venture Capital Will Kill You If You Are Not Ready](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/vc-kills-you-if-not-ready)** (2026-08-10): I built three startups and raised institutional capital in every single one, but it took me over ten years and hundreds of thousands of burned dollars to understand the financial game I was actually playing. - **[A Native macOS UI for Beads](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/agents-as-primary-contributors)** (2026-08-05): We keep trying to manage software projects around human workflows while autonomous agents have already taken over the factory floor. - **[Validation for Founders Who Hate Talking to People](https://carlosrivera.im/blog/validation-for-introverted-founders)** (2026-05-22): Building landing pages, running surveys, and tweaking features is rarely real validation; it is usually an elaborate coping mechanism designed to avoid the only uncomfortable task that matters: talking to human beings. ## Engagements I take on advisory and fractional CTO work with teams bringing AI products into production. Reach out at [me@carlosrivera.im](mailto:me@carlosrivera.im) or see [https://carlosrivera.im/contact](https://carlosrivera.im/contact).