Louis Kuo Tsing Jen, 20
The Curiosity-Driven Builder: Bridging AI Innovation, Quantitative Finance, and Global Community
“Through hackathons, I found not only a passion for building, but also a community that has deeply shaped who I am today.” For Louis, technology has always been about turning ideas into something real. His journey has been driven by curiosity, grounded by purpose, and fueled by experiential growth.
Growing up in French Guiana, far removed from traditional startup hubs or tech ecosystems, Louis first discovered coding through entrepreneurship during high school. Wanting to help local small businesses improve their online visibility, he taught himself how to build professional websites from scratch. What began as a practical business effort quickly turned into a genuine passion for software engineering. “I realized that coding combined two things I really liked: problem-solving and creativity. I loved being able to take an idea, build it, and watch it become something tangible.”
When Louis arrived at university, hackathons initially felt intimidating. Pushing past that hesitation, he signed up for HackRU Fall 2025. His team built MemoMusic, an AI-powered educational application using Google Gemini and ElevenLabs to transform study topics into musical mnemonics and interactive exercises, winning Best Use of ElevenLabs. That experience fundamentally changed how he viewed competitive tech environments. “The hacker community was not just for people who already had everything figured out. It was also for people who were willing to show up, experiment, collaborate, and learn by building.” That initial win launched a prolific competitive run across the hackathon circuit. At HackPSU 2025, his team built TinyTeach - a multimodal educational platform that turns learning topics into age-tailored illustrated stories, winning the Best Use of Gemini track. Over the following months, Louis earned six major hackathon wins across the United States and Europe, culminating at Paris Builds where his team placed first in their track and second overall.
Louis continued to prove that relentless curiosity turns unfamiliar environments into launching pads. Increasingly interested in the intersection of mathematics, software, and financial markets, he and his team joined and won the inaugural Trade The Knight algorithmic trading competition after developing a statistical arbitrage strategy and real-time monitoring system. Driven to explore those complex systems further, he joined AlphabetIM in Paris as a Quantitative Developer Intern, working on market-data infrastructure and research tools for prediction markets and derivatives.
As his technical experience grew, Louis turned his energy toward creating opportunities for others. In early 2026, he founded and led Paris Innov’Hack - an in-person AI hackathon in Paris that brought together over 150 participants. Additionally, he joined Iterate’s operations team, helping execute high-profile events including the Mistral AI Worldwide Hackathon in New York and the AI Club x Iterate NYC Hackathon at Columbia Business School. Stepping into operations and working in leadership roles transformed his perspective on the community, turning a personal passion for tech into a commitment to community. “The hacker community did much more than teach me how to code or build projects. It helped me find my place, my people, and a clearer vision for the kind of life I want to build. I realized that I do not just want to work in technology. I want to create, lead, and contribute to communities that help others do the same.”
Louis is now at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) studying Mathematics and Computer Science. Through every step of his journey - from teaching himself web development in French Guiana to exploring quantitative finance - Louis remains anchored by a simple motto: "Keep building, keep learning, and turn curiosity into something real."
Quick Facts
Louis Kuo Tsing Jen, 20
The Curiosity-Driven Builder: Bridging AI Innovation, Quantitative Finance, and Global Community
“Through hackathons, I found not only a passion for building, but also a community that has deeply shaped who I am today.” For Louis, technology has always been about turning ideas into something real. His journey has been driven by curiosity, grounded by purpose, and fueled by experiential growth.
Growing up in French Guiana, far removed from traditional startup hubs or tech ecosystems, Louis first discovered coding through entrepreneurship during high school. Wanting to help local small businesses improve their online visibility, he taught himself how to build professional websites from scratch. What began as a practical business effort quickly turned into a genuine passion for software engineering. “I realized that coding combined two things I really liked: problem-solving and creativity. I loved being able to take an idea, build it, and watch it become something tangible.”
When Louis arrived at university, hackathons initially felt intimidating. Pushing past that hesitation, he signed up for HackRU Fall 2025. His team built MemoMusic, an AI-powered educational application using Google Gemini and ElevenLabs to transform study topics into musical mnemonics and interactive exercises, winning Best Use of ElevenLabs. That experience fundamentally changed how he viewed competitive tech environments. “The hacker community was not just for people who already had everything figured out. It was also for people who were willing to show up, experiment, collaborate, and learn by building.” That initial win launched a prolific competitive run across the hackathon circuit. At HackPSU 2025, his team built TinyTeach - a multimodal educational platform that turns learning topics into age-tailored illustrated stories, winning the Best Use of Gemini track. Over the following months, Louis earned six major hackathon wins across the United States and Europe, culminating at Paris Builds where his team placed first in their track and second overall.
Louis continued to prove that relentless curiosity turns unfamiliar environments into launching pads. Increasingly interested in the intersection of mathematics, software, and financial markets, he and his team joined and won the inaugural Trade The Knight algorithmic trading competition after developing a statistical arbitrage strategy and real-time monitoring system. Driven to explore those complex systems further, he joined AlphabetIM in Paris as a Quantitative Developer Intern, working on market-data infrastructure and research tools for prediction markets and derivatives.
As his technical experience grew, Louis turned his energy toward creating opportunities for others. In early 2026, he founded and led Paris Innov’Hack - an in-person AI hackathon in Paris that brought together over 150 participants. Additionally, he joined Iterate’s operations team, helping execute high-profile events including the Mistral AI Worldwide Hackathon in New York and the AI Club x Iterate NYC Hackathon at Columbia Business School. Stepping into operations and working in leadership roles transformed his perspective on the community, turning a personal passion for tech into a commitment to community. “The hacker community did much more than teach me how to code or build projects. It helped me find my place, my people, and a clearer vision for the kind of life I want to build. I realized that I do not just want to work in technology. I want to create, lead, and contribute to communities that help others do the same.”
Louis is now at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) studying Mathematics and Computer Science. Through every step of his journey - from teaching himself web development in French Guiana to exploring quantitative finance - Louis remains anchored by a simple motto: "Keep building, keep learning, and turn curiosity into something real."
