/Tech1d ago

Systems engineer Yacine argues independent builders can outperform well-funded teams on AI simulation and reinforcement learning bottlenecks

Story Overview

Systems engineer Yacine pushes back on the notion that only massive organizations like DeepMind and Nvidia hold the keys to solving core bottlenecks in AI simulation speed and reinforcement learning efficiency, claiming independent builders can optimize differently and pull ahead on their own terms.

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Original post
kache@yacineMTB#487inTech

One of the things I've observed time and time again, which makes me incredibly angry, is this SLAVE mentality reasoning: "If >big highly funded group< cant do it, what makes you think you can?"

I can. I will simply do it. Yes, I know better than them. Why do you give up?

5:45 AM · Jun 9, 2026 · 46.5K Views
Developer Impact

Self-reported simulator gains stand out

Yacine describes hitting roughly 1.8 million steps per second through custom tweaks like CUDA graph capture and reduced Python overhead, far above a referenced Nvidia DeepMind benchmark, though these numbers remain unverified by outside parties.

Open Question

Indie path faces open skepticism

The thread questions whether solo or small-team approaches can truly surpass well-funded labs on infrastructure problems, leaving the practical edge of differing priorities versus scale as an unresolved point in the discussion.

Sentiment

Many users are inspired by the builder's determination and winner mindset in rejecting defeatist views on beating DeepMind and NVIDIA in AI simulation, while some express disgust at excuses for not trying.

Pos
80.0%
Neg
20.0%
5 comments with sentiment.
Cluster Engagement
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VIEWS2.6KLIKES107RETWEETS8REPLIES3
kache@yacineMTB

Many people's frame of reference, entire environment is the social structure around them rather than the actual physical properties of the world that God gave them. They will quickly give up in the face of any social signal. But if you act like this, you'll never be great

1dViews 2.6KLikes 107Bookmarks 10
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kache@yacineMTB

Anyways, here is me trivially passing the "Nvidia DeepMind" bench 90k SPS by 20x by simply texting my server while at an OB appointment with my pregnant wife. I literally pasted his tweet into codex verbatim

1dViews 1.4KLikes 40Bookmarks 10
kache@yacineMTB

All the things I do are easily done by others, especially with an AI subscription. Just like whatever they've done with mujoco is also easily done by me, if I had 4 years. Nothing is difficult. What is difficult is having the courage to be different, to believe you know better

1dViews 1.7KLikes 48Bookmarks 2
kache@yacineMTB

Consider this: the very smart people at DeepMind and Nvidia have created infrastructure that I could never have created. They are optimizing for building the infrastructure, and if they optimized for what I think should be optimized, they would surely succeed. But they haven't

1dViews 2KLikes 61Bookmarks 1
Will@willreil

There is something to this line of thinking, like how a beginner may not know the limitations so they never constrain them.

Everyone said a double backflip on a dirt bike was impossible then one guy did it and everyone is now, same for sub 2 hour marathon. every major progress that was “impossible” but eventually solved becomes common, it just takes one person to do it first

1dViews 1.7KLikes 17Bookmarks 2

@yacineMTB uhm bro, how you ever gonna accomplish this without 7 layers of product managers and miles of corporate red tape, simply impossible

1dViews 293Likes 18
Raph. H.@Rapahelz

@yacineMTB It is not money that is a scarce resource; creativity, determination, and trust (including self-trust) are the scarce resources.

1dViews 65Likes 4Bookmarks 2
Mad ML scientist@HououinTyouma

@yacineMTB they never worked in a big highly funded group and don't realize people there spend 90% of their time either filling out timesheets or feeling important

1dViews 185Likes 11
kache@yacineMTB

@0xBoesgaard None of this would be possible if it wasn't for the Nvidia / DeepMind teams working together. The people who orient the red tape so that this is possible, funneling the people in the right direction are just as responsible for making this work

1dViews 285Likes 17
Roo@cluckthesystem

@yacineMTB FLASH BACK. TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE TWEETS ON THIS PLATFORM.

1dViews 105Likes 6
Nick Dobos@NickADobos

@yacineMTB @BryanMcAnulty Crazy how often I see this losing attitude

kache@yacineMTB

One of the things I've observed time and time again, which makes me incredibly angry, is this SLAVE mentality reasoning: "If >big highly funded group< cant do it, what makes you think you can?"

I can. I will simply do it. Yes, I know better than them. Why do you give up?

1dViews 273Likes 6Bookmarks 1
Michael Thiessen@MichaelThiessen

@yacineMTB Thanks for sharing this.

I recently did something similar.

Beat a paper’s result by 2x just by prompting codex with a half baked idea.

1dViews 97Likes 1Bookmarks 1

@yacineMTB the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man

- george bernard shaw

1dViews 75Bookmarks 1
wetbrain@0xVita

@yacineMTB I think these people haven’t worked in a big company to know how inefficient, bureaucratic and mind numbing things get. You can’t just do things without 79273648 permissions.

A small group can just cut through the noise and create without a care.

1dViews 144Likes 5
Zy@ZyMazza

@yacineMTB They don't understand every great big oak was once a tiny acorn

1dViews 86Likes 4
Cruthaifios@cruthaifios

@yacineMTB People often don’t take a deeper look at incentive structures too. Just because a big org is well funded doesn’t mean their incentive structure at a high level and then at the base employee level will make them actually do it. I’m with you 100% here.

1dViews 69
MissingAFew@MissingAFew90

@yacineMTB These companies are just made up of people, some of which are lazy and probably shouldn't be there. Of course we can do what they are doing

1dViews 111Likes 3
josepha.mayo@josepha_mayo

@yacineMTB totally agreed, there are few advantages individual has over labs and if only they could stop doubting and just do it

1dViews 122Likes 2
mendez@justmrmendez

I spent half an hour explaining to a friend a technical solution that encapsulated a lot of problems (I was so hyped) and at the end he asked why hasn't big tech solved it or thought of it before me.

I took it as an offense, and said are you this simple minded that the thought of an individual solving a big problem gets questioned by default because he is an individual?

1dViews 105Likes 2
wavefnx@wavefnx

@yacineMTB amazing

1dViews 87Likes 2
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