I’m Ruben.

Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind.

I build what comes next,

Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind.

now.

Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind.

間

Out there.
In the space between.

What shaped me

Netherlands, Curaçao, Hong Kong, U.S.A.

Born into noise. The world as my home.
Sensitive, fast-thinking, often misunderstood.

Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience

Studied the mind to understand the world.
Immersed in brain, cognition and consciousness.

Built Phenomenons

Designed strategies. Directed visions. Shipped culture.
Learned to execute. Awards followed.
It came at a cost.

Found Zen

Retreated from noise. Sat in silence.
Stayed long enough to awaken again.

Artificial Intelligence

Back to the mind—this time built from code.
Same questions. Different substrate.

My son was born

My soul took form.
Everything reorganized.

Encountered Ma

The space between.
Not just a concept, an awakening.

Built Sunrise AI

Bent the ugliest system into elegance.
Still believe in it. Still haunted by the resistance.

→ heysunrise.ai

Built Mā AI

Third wave of health.
What I was born to build.

→ usema.ai

San Francisco & Mill Valley

♥

Things I’ve built

About me

I’m a conviction-driven founder, systems designer, pattern observer, and culture builder. An autodidact polyglot with degrees in cognitive neuroscience and consumer psychology.

I spent the last decade meditating on the human condition and it’s convergence with technology. Now I’m building it into a system for human transcendence.

I lost myself in Amsterdam.
I found myself in San Francisco.

It’s with quite gratitude that I now build Mā—every day, for the rest of my life.

Contact

If this resonates, reach out.

ruben@rubengsmit.com ruben@usema.ai

No noise.

Thanks.

If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.

- Bukowski

I’m Ruben. Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind. I build what comes next, Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind. now. Outlier. Zen-trained. Beginner’s mind.