Xen Hojem.
Founder · CTO · Builder

Technology leadership, proven in production.

I am Xen Hojem. I have spent twenty years building software platforms and running the teams that ship them. SynrgiseLearn, which I founded, serves 1.8 million users. At Ampli I built the custody layer that lets AI agents manage capital. I set the strategy, design the architecture and still write code.

Start a conversationSee the work
Geometric fractal portrait of Xen Hojem
1.8M+Users on SynrgiseLearn, the platform I built and founded
489+Containers I run in production
6Clouds and data centres they run on
100+Enterprise clients serviced
Expertise

Where I do my best work.

My areas of expertise are technology strategy, platforms at scale, financial infrastructure and agentic systems. I support this with a deep capability in full stack development and end to end infrastructure setup, management and security.

Technology strategy and governance

I have set technology strategy as a founder at four companies. I decide what we build, what we buy and what it costs.

  • Owned technology strategy at SynrgiseLearn, Ampli, Liberty Finance and Firoza Finance
  • Reworked Ampli's vendor plan when its signing provider was acquired
  • Reported to boards, investors and enterprise clients
  • Set the strategy, design the architecture and still write code
Roadmaps · Operating model · Vendor risk · Budget

Platforms at scale

I built SynrgiseLearn as a multi-tenant platform and grew it to 1.8 million users. A small team runs it.

  • SynrgiseLearn serves 1.8M+ users across 100+ enterprise clients
  • YES4Youth, a national platform, serves 500,000+ youth
  • I run 500+ containers across multiple clouds and data centres, with CI/CD, strong security posture and disaster recovery
Multi-tenant SaaS · APIs · GCP · Azure · AWS · Huawei Cloud · Vultr

Financial infrastructure and digital assets

I have built custody, lending and trading systems that hold client funds.

  • Built self-custodial wallets and smart accounts at Ampli, with spending policy enforced on chain
  • Architected Firoza Finance, a Shariah-compliant lending market, through a $2M pilot and contract audits
  • Shipped wallet SDKs that other firms embed in their own products
Custody · MPC · Smart accounts · Lending · Payments

Applied AI and agentic systems

I ship AI products with the controls a risk team asks for.

  • At Ampli the platform checks each agent action against policy before it signs
  • Spending caps, allow lists and drawdown limits sit in code
  • Kre8AI requires human approval and keeps an audit trail
Agent runtime · Policy engine · Human in the loop

Risk, security and compliance

I build for regulated markets. SynrgiseLearn holds ISO 27001 certification.

  • Wrote and implemented Ampli's security posture against SOC 2 and ISO 27001
  • Designed 2-of-3 MPC signing so that no single party can move funds
  • Reported a flaw in a widely used smart account kernel through a formal disclosure
  • SynrgiseLearn holds ISO 27001 certification
SOC 2 · ISO 27001 · POPIA · Audits · Key management

Teams and commercial leadership

I hire senior engineers, keep teams small and take part in the sale.

  • Led Liberty Finance from launch to an orderly wind-down
  • Built Jetweb to 50 people and sold it to start Synrgise
  • Led enterprise bids, pricing and fundraising materials for Synrgise and Ampli
Hiring · Enterprise sales · Pricing · Investor relations
Skillset

Skills in depth.

Deep means I lead the work and can do it myself. Strong means I have shipped it in production.

Leadership and strategy

Running a technology function.

  • Technology strategy and roadmapsAmpli, Synrgise, Liberty FinanceDeep
  • Operating model and team designSmall senior teams at four companiesDeep
  • Build, buy and partner decisionsVendor selection and continuity planning at AmpliDeep
  • Budgets, pricing and unit economicsSaaS, AI and wallet pricing modelsDeep
  • Board, investor and client reportingTeam Lead at Liberty Finance, pre-seed materials at AmpliStrong
  • Enterprise bids and RFIsPlatform consolidation bid for a national insurerDeep

Architecture

Designing systems.

  • Multi-tenant SaaS architectureSynrgiseLearn, StudiosTV OSDeep
  • API platforms and SDK designAmpli SDKs, StudiosTV REST APIDeep
  • Event-driven services and workersQueues, agent runners, background jobsDeep
  • Data modelling at volumePostgreSQL, MySQL, SingleStore, MongoDBDeep
  • Mobile and cross-platform appsReact Native, white-label mobile appsStrong
  • Standards and interoperabilitySCORM, xAPI, cmi5, ERC-7579Deep

Financial infrastructure

Systems that move money.

  • Wallets and smart accountsAmpli embedded walletsDeep
  • On-chain policy and transaction controlCaps, allow lists, drawdown limitsDeep
  • Smart contract engineeringSolidity, audited lending contractsDeep
  • Lending and trading protocol designLiberty Finance, Firoza FinanceDeep
  • Islamic finance structuresMudarabah profit-sharing in codeStrong
  • Payments and subscription billingEnterprise SaaS billingStrong

AI and agentic systems

AI in production.

  • Multi-agent pipeline designKre8AI authoring pipelineDeep
  • Agent guardrails and policy enforcementAmpli agent runtimeDeep
  • Retrieval-grounded generationCourse generation with source citationsDeep
  • Human-in-the-loop product designApproval gates and audit trailsDeep
  • Voice and conversational AIVoice coaching on StudiosTV OSStrong
  • AI cost models and pricingPer-run and credit-based pricingStrong

Security and compliance

Audits, regulators and controls.

  • SOC 2 and ISO 27001 control frameworksAmpli security posture, SynrgiseLearn ISO 27001 certificationDeep
  • Key management and MPC custody2-of-3 signing model at AmpliDeep
  • Smart contract audits and disclosureFiroza audits, kernel vulnerability disclosureDeep
  • Data protection and POPIASynrgise enterprise clientsDeep
  • Accreditation regimesSAQA, QCTO, Services SETADeep
  • Tenant isolation and access controlData isolated per client by designDeep

Cloud and operations

Keeping it running.

  • Multi-cloud infrastructureGCP, Azure, AWS, Huawei Cloud, Vultr, own racks at XneeloDeep
  • Containers and orchestration489+ containers in productionDeep
  • CI/CD pipelinesAutomated build and deployDeep
  • Managed databases and recoveryDedicated database services, disaster recoveryDeep
  • Network and access securityPrivate networks, bastion accessStrong
  • Cost and capacity managementI answer for the cloud bill as founderDeep

Engineering

Code I write myself.

  • TypeScript and Node.jsAmpli, StudiosTV OSDeep
  • React and React NativeProduct frontends and SDKsDeep
  • PHP and LaravelSynrgiseLearnDeep
  • SolidityAmpli, Firoza, Liberty FinanceDeep
  • SQL and NoSQL databasesPostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDBDeep
  • GraphQL and RESTPublic and partner APIsDeep

Domains

Industries I know from the inside.

  • Fintech and digital assetsAmpli, Liberty Finance, FirozaDeep
  • Enterprise learning and talentBuilding SynrgiseLearn since 2017Deep
  • Public-impact platformsYES4Youth national programmeStrong
  • Health and fitness platformsStudiosTV OSStrong
  • Digital agency deliveryJetweb, 50+ peopleDeep
  • African enterprise marketsClients and programmes across the continentDeep
Experience

The work so far.

2017 to now

Founder and CTO

Synrgise · SynrgiseLearn

  • Built SynrgiseLearn from the first commit. It serves 1.8M+ users and 100+ B2B clients, including Toyota and Oceana.
  • Delivered the first eLearning platform the Services SETA approved and accredited.
  • Took the platform through ISO 27001 certification.
  • Launched Kre8AI and SynrgiseSensei, two AI products that require human approval.
  • Lead enterprise bids and work inside POPIA, SAQA, QCTO and B-BBEE rules.
Current

Founding CTO

Ampli · ampli.net

  • Designed and built the platform that lets AI agents manage capital, from smart accounts to the agent runtime.
  • Own the security model. 2-of-3 MPC signing, policy enforced on chain, controls aligned to SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
  • Ship SDKs for React, React Native and Node. Run infrastructure on three clouds.
  • Lead engineering, vendor risk and technical diligence with investors.
2023 to 2026

Co-founder and Team Lead

Liberty Finance · Firoza Finance

  • Led a Shariah-aligned DeFi company across strategy, product, partnerships and investor relations.
  • Architected Firoza Finance, an on-chain Islamic lending market. Ran a $2M pilot across three pools on audited smart contracts.
  • Shipped Ask LibFi, a chat interface for trading, lending and staking.
  • Wound the company down in good order as managing trustee.
2010 to now

Fractional CTO

Equipoise Tech

  • Solution architect for YES4Youth, South Africa's national youth employment platform, with 500,000+ users.
  • Built the multi-tenant backend for StudiosTV OS, a white-label fitness platform. Sold it to the client and kept a revenue share.
  • Advise founders, boards and programme owners on technology.
2011 to 2016

Managing Director

Jetweb

  • Founded a software agency and grew it to 50+ people. Ran revenue, budgets, clients and delivery.
  • Sold the agency to start Synrgise.
2007 to 2011

Software Manager

Leadtrain

  • Ran software delivery for corporate and government clients, from sale to support.
BCom, Management Information Systems · Damelin · 2003 · 2nd yearEnglish · Afrikaans · Spanish
Platforms

Platforms I designed and delivered.

Ampli

2-of-3 MPC

Custody for AI. Embedded wallets, smart accounts and agents that manage capital under policy.

Founding CTO. I built the architecture, security model, SDKs and agent runtime.
ampli.net →

Synrgise

1.8M+ users

A SAQA-accredited enterprise learning and talent platform, used across Africa.

Founder and CTO. I wrote the first commit and still own the architecture.
synrgise.com →

Firoza Finance

$2M pilot

An on-chain Islamic lending market built on Mudarabah profit sharing.

Solution architect. I built the smart contracts, backend and frontend, and took them through audit.
Press coverage →

YES4Youth

500K+ users

The national platform that connects young South Africans to a first year of work.

Solution architect for the employment and learning platform.
yes4youth.co.za →

Ask LibFi

DeFi by chat

Trade, borrow and stake in plain language. Each request passes a compliance screen first.

Co-founder and Team Lead of Liberty Finance, which built it.
ask.libfi.ai →

StudiosTV OS

30+ languages

A white-label fitness backend with AI plans, live classes and voice coaching.

Contract CTO. I built the multi-tenant API and AI services, then sold the platform to the client.
studiostv.net →
Ask your AI

Ask your AI about me.

I wrote a briefing on my work, skills and record for AI assistants. Open it in the one you use and ask anything, including how I might fit with what you are building.

Ask ClaudeAsk ChatGPTAsk Grok

Using another assistant? and paste it in, or read it here.

Collaborate

Let's build something.

I like working with people who build hard things in AI, finance and enterprise software. Bring an idea, a project or a question. I read every message and I reply.

  1. Tell me what you are working on, or what you want to explore.
  2. Add the area and how far along it is.
  3. Tell me who you are and where to reach you.

Early ideas are welcome. What you share stays with me.

New conversation
IdeaContextYou

What do you have in mind?

Type