RAY OTSUKAI've been programming since I was eleven, anchored to one idea: technology that makes daily life a little more fun. In high school I built AIbou, an AI English-conversation app that integrated GPT-3 before its public release — over 1,800 downloads, modest revenue, and a lot of feedback collected by handing posters out around Shibuya.
There are plenty of engineers with stronger fundamentals and plenty of people who understand graph theory better than I do. Fewer people, I think, take that knowledge all the way through to something a real person can use and feel value from. That last mile — designing the experience, fitting it into reality — is where I want to keep working.
What I want to build is technology that doesn't stop at being a useful function — but lands in the world as something people return to, talk about, and feel a little changed by.
I've been drawn since childhood to the moment someone's emotion shifts. Composing world-building, narrative, technology, and operations into a single coherent experience has stayed at the core of what I do — in apps and AI, I care more about how naturally people slip into the world than how clever the system is underneath.
Theme parks are the ultimate form of experience design — space, story, technology, and operations all locking together to produce something memorable. That philosophy of integrating complex elements into a felt, lived experience is what I want to keep working toward.
Native-level English learning app
Built in high school. A chat-based English partner for the situations Japanese learners actually face — booking a hospital appointment, ordering at a café. Connected to OpenAI before the public GPT-3 launch with a permission letter from the team. To gather a beta, I got a permit from the Shibuya police and spent weekends handing out posters around the station.
Designing and building a SaaS platform and in-house operations tools.
Supported operations and accompanied a Senior Managing Executive Officer.
Cross-functional work spanning logistics, hospitality, and HR.
Cut perceived response time with a 'thinking' audio + visual indicator.
Designed and prototyped a new digital service as part of a research project.
Presented prototype and concept directly to the Vice-Minister for Digital.
Supported a web3-focused consulting venture across blockchain engagements.
St. John's College
BA in Computer Science · will graduate in 2027
Currently on leave during the Cambridge years.
Shibuya, Tokyo.