Clara — Latest Exploration

This summer I had the pleasure to intern at the startup AI chip company Tensordyne. I spent three months trying to learn as much as I could, get to know as many talented people as possible, and find my new favorite places to eat in the Bay Area.

Going in, I was honestly a bit nervous. It was my first foray into the industry side of the tech world and I didn't want to fall into the common intern trap of learning a lot but not really helping the company out. I wanted to be able to have a lasting influence, to be able to point to something after I was gone and say: "Hey I made that and they use it still!"

Spending this summer immersed in this company has ended up giving me more than I could have ever possibly hoped for. Not only was I able to create a bunch of new stuff that taught me new things (check my projects page for more info) and helped out this extremely innovative company, but I also got to meet and befriend a bunch of extremely talented individuals, each with their own story about how they ended up here.

I got to see the inner workings of this company as they went through an entire rebrand, and office move, to start prepping for product release at the end of next year. I was not only relegated to interacting with the software team, but I spoke with people on the ASIC, board design, marketing, and product teams. I learned about what actually goes into making an idea into a company and also just how important those people behind the scenes, like office managers, are. Without our office manager we wouldn't have been lucky enough to have lunch waiting for us everyday!

I learned about what an actual software engineering role entails, because despite what many may think, you are not in fact just coding for 8 hours straight, 5 days a week. Some days may be like that, but more often than not you are in constant collaboration with your teammates when faced with bugs, design choices, etc. I also learned how to navigate having an office across the pond in Munich, Germany and was amazed with how seamless Tensordyne was able to navigate this despite being a smaller company. Seeing the team in Sunnyvale wake up a little earlier some days for meetings with the German team, and the German team being available sometimes way late into the evening on their side, was honestly inspiring. Not often do you get to work in a team where everyone is clearly so passionate about what they're doing.

As I reflect, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity I was given to spend my summer here. I have met people who I hope to stay in contact with in the future, and who I would call not only coworkers, but friends as well. That's the environment they have at Tensordyne and I hope they continue to grow, while still keeping this healthy startup vibe. I truly believe in their hardware, and after collaborating to their SDK a bit, I believe they're also going to have the software to back it up.

Link to their website if you're interested (you should be): Tensordyne Website