Meet the Founder

Rod Higgins

Founder and Creator of Simplex

A visionary software engineer with over 30 years of experience in ICT, Rod has been coding since 1993 and building enterprise solutions since before the cloud era began. His career spans the evolution of software development from client-server architectures through web applications to today's AI-powered distributed systems.

As the creator of the Simplex programming language, Rod is pioneering a new approach to AI-native software development. His vision of Cognitive Hive AI (CHAI) architecture represents a fundamental rethinking of how AI systems should be built—distributed, fault-tolerant, and cost-effective. Rather than relying on expensive API calls to monolithic LLMs, CHAI orchestrates swarms of specialised small language models that collaborate to solve complex problems.

Prior to focusing on AI platforms, Rod led Senuamedia through successful engagements with Australian federal, state, and local governments, delivering complex digital transformation projects that touched millions of citizens. His experience building systems at scale informs the pragmatic, production-focused design of Simplex and its ecosystem.

Rod's technical philosophy centres on building systems that are not just functional, but resilient, maintainable, and economically sustainable. This drives decisions throughout Simplex's design—from the actor model for fault tolerance to the content-addressed code system for efficient distribution.

Credentials

• Master of Information Technology — Charles Sturt University
• Master of Business Administration (in progress) — Charles Sturt University
• 30+ years software engineering experience (since 1993)
• Creator of the Simplex programming language
• Architect of Cognitive Hive AI (CHAI) architecture
• GovCMS contributor and certified Drupal developer
• Former lead of 30+ person engineering team
• Multiple government security clearances (historical)