Dulan Dias

  • Bringing Computer Vision to the Edge: How I Cut Real-Time Similarity Search Battery Usage by 50%

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    Building real-time computer vision on low-end mobile devices comes with unique challenges—especially when every second of inference drains battery. In this deep dive, I share how I optimized similarity search using HNSW, hybrid re-ranking, and edge-focused techniques to cut battery usage by over 50% while keeping accuracy nearly perfect.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • NI Tech Awards 2025: Belfast’s Tech Ecosystem Has Its Moment

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    The inaugural NI Tech Awards 2025 lit up Belfast with energy, community, and recognition for Northern Ireland’s brightest tech talent. For me, it was the first time experiencing this ecosystem’s brilliance — and it reminded me of the award nights I once attended (and even won at) back in Sri Lanka, years ago.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • How to Raise Startup Funds at a Poker Table (No, Seriously)

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    When your startup is down to its last few dollars, would you fold… or go all in? Discover how one desperate gamble at a blackjack table kept a now-global business alive — and what entrepreneurs today can learn from it.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • Software is Changing (Again): Key Takeaways from Andrej Karpathy’s Talk at YC AI Startup School

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    Andrej Karpathy’s talk at Y Combinator’s AI Startup School explores Software 3.0, the rise of LLMs as programmable computers, vibe coding, and building partial autonomy apps. Learn how AI is transforming how we build — and who gets to build — the future of software.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • Why SEO Matters More Than Ever in the Age of AI (And What You’re Missing Out On)

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    In a world where anyone can build a product fast, visibility is everything. Discover why SEO is more crucial than ever in the AI era—and how it can make your startup stand out.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • Why I Chose Preact (And Why I Might Never Look Back)

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    When performance is non-negotiable and the app must shine on low-end devices, you start questioning your default stack. Here’s why I chose Preact — the tiny, powerful alternative to React — and how it reshaped my dev experience on the edge.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • How I Built My Startup – Chapter 3

    In the previous chapters, I shared how EchonLabs was born in a small boarding room and how we made our first big splash by winning HackX 2017. Now it’s time to share what came next: the highs, the hits, and some secrets I’ve never spoken out loud—until now.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • New PAYE Tax Calculator for Sri Lanka – Instantly Estimate Your 2025 Monthly Tax

    A simple, free PAYE tax calculator for Sri Lankan employees. Estimate your monthly tax based on the latest APIT tables from April 2025, published by the Inland Revenue Department.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias
    paye-calculator

  • OpenAI’s New AI Engineer Can Code and QA Without You — Should You Be Worried?

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    OpenAI’s CFO has revealed plans for an AI agent capable of building, testing, and documenting software all on its own. What does this mean for developers — especially students and juniors just starting out? Here’s what you need to know.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias

  • OpenAI Unveils GPT-4.1: A Quantum Leap in AI Performance and Efficiency

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    OpenAI’s latest release, GPT-4.1, redefines AI capabilities with a massive 1 million-token context window, enhanced coding and instruction-following skills, and cost-effective performance. Discover how GPT-4.1 and its Mini and Nano variants are set to transform AI applications across industries.

    Written by

    Dulan Dias