Emerging technology think tank and software engineering firm operating across Asia and the Middle East. CTO across 5 brands and product lines simultaneously – leading a team of 6 to deliver the output of a team four times the size through frontier model orchestration, agentic automation, and bespoke AI tooling. Hands-on across modern AI development and automation stacks including Claude Code, Codex, MCP integrations, agentic workflow platforms, frontier models and custom local agents.
The work of Dan Crane
Things I’ve built.
And keep building.
Enterprise platforms, applied AI and independent products. Explore the work, the thinking behind it, and the experience that connects it.
Selected work
Working products. Considered decisions.
Upgrade the System
upgradethesystem.com
Voice-First AI Strategic Mentorship
Partnered with internationally renowned futurist Richard Hames to build a live conversational voice platform around 40 years of strategic thinking, with persona engineering, interruption handling, and context from 21 published books.
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Inside the build
- Books in Context
- 21
- Conversational Voice
- Live
- Compute Model
- Scale-to-zero
Aunty Archibald
auntyarchibald.com
Analysis-Driven Audiovisual Music Platform
An owned audiovisual home for a DJ’s catalogue. Continuous SoundCloud playback, music-led visuals and a daily archive sync bring the listening experience together.
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NeuroNurish
neuronurish.app
Low-Spoons Kitchen Console
Cloudflare-native meal planning app for neurodivergent people: energy-aware recipe generation, ingredient photo scanning, calm cooking chat, saved meals, sharing, budget checks, and Stripe-backed access tiers.
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rankautomator.com
AI SEO Research & Content Automation
End-to-end SEO pipeline from business profiling through keyword analysis to CMS-ready content. Automated what used to require an agency retainer.
Read case studyCareer highlights
Leadership and delivery across enterprise platforms, digital products and applied AI.
Presper Labs
Chief Technology Officer
Late 2024 – 2026
Eternus Group
Chief Technology Officer
2022 – 2024
Technology leadership for an integrated property management and development group building accessible homes across Australia. Established the full technology roadmap and drove digital product initiatives that bridged property technology with human-centred design – positioning the company as an innovative, socially responsible business with intelligent systems at its core.
AnRKey X / gDEX
VP of Digital Technology
2021 – 2022
Concurrent advisory work alongside the Horizon State COO role: digital product strategy and technology operations for a gaming platform combining real-time economics, team-based gameplay, and digital asset utility. Led the expansion into gDEX, taking a new platform vertical from concept through architecture to launch.
Horizon State
Head of Research & Innovation → COO
2017 – 2022
Head of Research & Innovation at the original Horizon State from August 2017 to September 2019, identifying emerging technology and helping shape its distributed-systems approach. After voluntary administration and an asset sale, the new owners asked Dan back as COO from October 2019 to June 2022 to operationalise the business, lead the product roadmap, and support the next stage of delivery.
Tatts Group
Chief Online Officer → Head of Innovation
2009 – 2016
Seven years across four escalating roles at one of Australia's largest ASX-listed enterprises. Identified the need for a centralised digital function, recommended it to the board, and built it from scratch – growing the team from 3 to 80+ people. Drove tatts.com to $1bn in annual turnover as Australia's first combined wagering and lotteries platform. Championed the company's first open innovation framework and led a world-first VR wagering prototype from concept to working build in two months.
Centrebet Group
Head of IT
2006 – 2009
Managed the full application and infrastructure stack for the racing-specific arm of Centrebet – from OS-level server builds through to front-end web development. Led a comprehensive infrastructure overhaul that upgraded operating systems, implemented monitoring and alerting, and reduced the team required from 5 to 2 while maintaining or improving uptime.
Multibet
Lead Technologist
2002 – 2006
Built the entire online presence from scratch for a new wagering brand – website front-end, back-end systems, and supporting server infrastructure. Created one of the industry's first automated odds-monitoring tools: scraping competitor prices and alerting when they deviated from market – a precursor to the algorithmic pricing that is now standard across the industry.
Octa4 (ISP)
Project Manager
1996 – 2002
The origin story. Helped establish Centrebet as one of the first online bookmakers in the world – managing web development and multilingual translations. Independently built an online gaming community that grew to 30,000+ members at its peak and stayed active for over a decade. The beginning of a career-long compulsion to build things that scale.
Product labs & experiments
Independent explorations, from private experiments to evolving products. Each has its own context and stage of development.
Private experiment
Upgrade Yourself
upgradeyourself.app
Private Personal Research Tool
An experimental private tool for organising personal wellbeing notes, wearable inputs, and research sources with privacy-first handling. It is not a health service or medical advice.
Explore the projectIndependent product
PetNourish
petnourish.app
AI-Powered Pet Nutrition
Custom homemade meal recipes for pets generated by AI – breed, age, weight, and dietary requirements all factored in. Built because my dog deserves better than a bag.
Explore the projectHave a thought about the work?
Questions, ideas, and professional connections are welcome.