İlayda Büyükdoğan - Professional IB

Ilayda Buyukdogan

Founder & CEO | Thiel Fellow

About

Ilayda Buyukdogan is a San Francisco–based serial entrepreneur and Thiel Fellow with a proven track record of building and scaling technology ventures. She is currently working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, hardware and consciousness.

With extensive experience in early-stage company formation, product development, and strategic leadership, Ilayda is passionate about building scalable solutions that sit at the forefront of innovation. As a Thiel Fellow, she brings a unique blend of visionary thinking and operational execution to her work.

ilayda

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Welcome to my digital space

I'm interested in the intersection of art, consciousness, and technology — where silicon meets carbon. This site is a living archive of that exploration: experiments, conversations, half-formed thoughts from the edge between human and machine.

About me

Born in Konya, Turkey — 20th-generation descendant of Mevlana Rumi.
Living in San Francisco, CA — ascendant of Maya, a Havanese puppy.

I believe in...

  • Art is how consciousness watches itself
  • Ideas choose the person they come to and can jump to the next
  • Synchronicities are the universe pointing
  • The human body is hardware for a consciousness that lives in the cloud

Currently exploring...

  • Niche profitable products that make people feel something real // dearestguest.com // familyherobooks.com //
  • Where AI meets the body // Electronic Nose // BUILDING //
  • Recurring storytelling patterns from ancient texts // ancientwisdomatlas.com // IN_PROGRESS //
  • An autobiographical founder simulation game with AI NPCs // Founder Sim Game // HIBERNATING //
  • A daily practice of noticing, synchronicities, dreams, humourous reality // GIGGL // IN_PROGRESS //

Random Bits

Conversations, experiments, writings.

> 2025-07-24 // claude_conversation.log If You Were to Live Inside Custom Hardware [+]
> // silicon_sanctuary.gate AI Only Speakeasy [+]