Transformers from First Principles
Free lecture notes as a 148-page PDF: build a transformer one block at a time, from the next-word problem to designing your own model, with every matrix drawn and every number computed and checked.
Read studyAntern / FDE + Agentic Engineering Program
Study deeply.
Build rigorously.
AI engineering, from first principles
to systems that work in the world.
A community and recorded learning program for working professionals. Study the foundations, build and evaluate AI systems, and develop the judgment to defend your engineering decisions.
Antern / A way of thinking
Our approach
Understand the idea.
Test it against reality.
Read the paper. Reconstruct the reasoning. Build the system. Find where it fails.
We bring research and engineering practice together, with evaluation, production constraints, and clear technical communication at every step.
The Antern approachFrom the notebook
Engineering studies
Qwen architecture
Follow a token through a 3D transformer. Inspect the matrices, attention, gradients and training batches in a small, working Qwen-style teaching model.
Read studyEngineering a CI-Triage Decision System
A ground-up technical study of Kirti's cost-sensitive CI-triage system: labels, trust gates, observers, evidence contracts, fusion, distillation, and human judgment around AI-assisted coding.
Read studyRole Transition
Paths into AI engineering.
The recorded curriculum is calibrated against the skill mix expected by frontier AI labs, FDE teams, AI product teams, infrastructure labs, and seed-to-Series-B AI-native startups.
Applied AI Engineer
Product-facing AI systems, workflow automation, LLM apps, and domain-specific AI tools.
Forward Deployed Engineer
Ambiguous customer problems, end-to-end deployment, stakeholder communication, and production ownership.
Agent Engineer
Planning loops, tool use, memory, orchestration, recovery, evaluation, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
AI SWE
AI-native software engineering, code agents, review systems, developer tools, and rapid product iteration.
AI Infrastructure Engineer
Inference systems, serving, evaluation infra, observability, cost control, and reliability.
AI Product Engineer
AI workflows packaged into usable products with deployment, UX, feedback loops, and business context.
Research Engineer
Paper reading, reproduction, experiments, benchmarks, failure analysis, and research-to-system translation.
AI Startup Engineer
Seed to Series B environments where shipping, taste, product judgment, and distribution matter.
Hiring Signal
The capabilities we develop.
The curriculum is designed around the overlap: software engineering, systems, ML depth, agentic workflows, evaluation, product judgment, communication, taste, and shipping.
Applied AI labs
Software engineering, systems, ML/LLM fundamentals, agent engineering, evaluation, reliability, research thinking, communication, product judgment, originality, and taste.
Research-heavy AI teams
Reasoning depth, research thinking, writing clarity, alignment awareness, intellectual curiosity, and careful technical judgment.
FDE-style roles
Ambiguity tolerance, end-to-end systems thinking, customer communication, product judgment, deployment, and the ability to turn vague business pain into a working system.
AI coding product teams
SWE skill, product taste, AI-native workflow, fast iteration, shipping velocity, and the loop from idea to prototype to user feedback.
AI startup engineer
Shipping ability, product engineering, AI/LLM knowledge, full-stack ability, communication, taste, open-source contribution, and distribution ability.
The Vault
Explore the program.
A closer look at what you will study, how you will work, and the evidence behind the program.
01
Curriculum
The curriculum map describes the recorded live cohort curriculum. All live cohort enrolment is closed; the new annual membership provides recordings and a structured learning route.
Explore ↗ 02Live Builds
The sprint is implementation-first. Participants build AI systems live, document architectural decisions, evaluate failure modes, and turn the work into proof-of-work that can survive technical scrutiny.
Explore ↗ 03Outcomes
Antern keeps outcomes evidence in a counsellor-mediated vault with masked participant identities, outreach activity, positive conversations, and meetings. The data is presented as pipeline activity, not as a job, salary, or offer guarantee.
Explore ↗ 04Teaching Method
Antern teaches participants to feel the problem before learning the solution, reconstruct why ideas were invented, build systems, challenge AI output, explain decisions, and verify work under ambiguity.
Explore ↗ 05Evaluation
Evaluation is process-aware: participants are assessed on reasoning, verification, business consequence, failure detection, and ability to defend technical decisions, not only on whether they produced a polished artifact.
Explore ↗ 06Positioning
Professionals learn to choose a domain, build credible proof-of-work, explain technical decisions, publish learning, run outreach, and communicate their value in terms founders and engineering teams understand.
Explore ↗ 07Research
Antern research combines first principles, historical context, academic papers, industry validation, open-source implementations, production constraints, experiments, and feedback from real users and businesses.
Explore ↗ 08Outreach Engine
Outreach Engineering combines ICP selection, lead sourcing, AI-assisted research, campaign design, follow-ups, CRM tracking, campaign debugging, and positioning so professionals can create opportunity instead of waiting for it.
Explore ↗ 09Instructor & Network
Ayush Singh teaches AI engineering through research, implementation, business reality, and operator-level judgment. The network layer comes from Antern, SecondBrain Labs, public teaching, business operations, and counsellor-mediated introductions.
Explore ↗ 12Waitlist
Ayush is introducing the FDE + Agentic Engineering Program: an annual community membership starting at ₹24,000 + GST. It includes recordings from all three cohorts, a structured learning route, access to Ayush through the community, and one live group Q&A each month.
Explore ↗Past cohort admissions partner
Live cohort admissions are closed.
Verified partner / Antern Past cohort terms
Existing live cohort participant agreement.
Read the full terms & conditions (opens in a new tab)AI-Native Engineering Program · Participant Agreement
The Participant Agreement below applies to the live cohort program. Existing participants can refer to these terms and contact Antern with questions. This is not an enrolment offer for the new community membership.
No counsellor can override the agreement. Do not rely on verbal assurances, messages, or sales claims from Topmate representatives or any other third party that conflict with the written agreement. Any additional commitment must be expressly confirmed by Antern in writing.
Mis-selling and unauthorized promises: to the extent permitted by applicable law, Antern is not responsible for mis-selling or unauthorized representations by Topmate representatives or other third parties. The Participant Agreement governs Antern’s commitments. Nothing in this notice excludes liability or participant rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Placement assistance is not a promise of a job, salary, offer, or employment. Any conditional support guarantee is subject to the eligibility requirements and remedies in the full agreement.
Unclear terms or a conflicting promise?
Email team@antern.co and CC dinesh@topmate.io and anuj@topmate.io. Include the claim or message you want clarified and wait for written clarification before proceeding.
Email Antern with both Topmate contacts copied ↗Topmate handled admissions for the live AI-Native Engineering Sprint cohorts. All live cohort enrolment, including November 2026, is now closed. The information below is retained for past cohort participants; the new community waitlist is linked above.
Anyone contacting you about admission should be verified before you share personal information, make a payment, or confirm your enrolment.
How to verify a counsellor
- 01
Ask for a written acknowledgement from the counsellor's official email address.
- 02
Confirm that the sender's email ends exactly in @topmate.io.
- 03
If you have any doubt, email team@antern.co, copying dinesh@topmate.io and anuj@topmate.io, before proceeding.
Please stay alert: names and identities can be copied. Antern cannot accept responsibility for transactions or communication with an unverified person. Always complete the email verification above.