Ege Kaan Duman
| Ege Kaan Duman | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, software developer |
|---|---|
| Known for | Co-founder of Orca |
| Education | Duke Kunshan University (BA, 2022); University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar) |
Ege Kaan Duman is a Turkish entrepreneur and software developer known as the co-founder of Orca, a platform that allows users to create and edit Minecraft servers, mods, and datapacks directly in a web browser using an artificial intelligence coding assistant. Orca was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1]
Early life and education
Duman attended Duke Kunshan University (DKU) in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, where he was a member of the inaugural undergraduate Class of 2022. He pursued a bachelor's degree in global health with a biology track. In November 2021, he was named DKU's first Rhodes Scholar, becoming the first student selected through the Rhodes Scholarship's "Global Other Regions" constituency in the award's 119-year history.[2] As a DKU graduate, he received degrees from both Duke Kunshan University and Duke University. He subsequently studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
Prior to founding Orca, Duman was involved with Simplifine, a research tool project, about which he wrote on the publishing platform Medium.
Career
Duman co-founded Orca, which operates under the domain orcaengine.ai. The platform enables users to play, mod, and host Minecraft entirely within a web browser, requiring no downloads or local setup and functioning on any device. A central feature of Orca is its AI-powered coding assistant, which allows users to describe a desired mod in natural language and have it generated automatically. Users can create custom blocks, items, characters, and skins through a conversational interface with the AI system.[3]
Orca participates in the intersection of artificial intelligence, consumer technology, and gaming. The company was accepted into Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch (S24), during which it was based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Duman is listed as an active founder of the company.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Orca – Y Combinator". 'Y Combinator}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Ege Kaan Duman, Class of 2022, named DKU's first Rhodes Scholar". 'Duke Kunshan University}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Orca – Play, mod, and host Minecraft in your browser". 'Orca}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.