Hermes Agents in 30 Minutes: The OpenClaw Killer

Hosted by Aki Wijesundara and Manu Jayawardana

What you'll learn

Watch Hermes run a multi-step task end to end

The full loop from one instruction to tool calls to a finished result.

See why self-hosted agents change the economics

Own your model, your data, and your costs instead of renting all three.

Wire an agent up to your own tools

Connect Hermes to the systems your team already runs on.

Walk away with a setup path for this week

A clear route to standing your own agent up without a platform team.

Why this topic matters

Most agent frameworks lock you into someone else's cloud, someone else's model, and someone else's pricing. Hermes flips that: a lightweight agent you can self-host and point at any model and any toolset you like. This session shows what that looks like in practice, why it matters for cost and control, and how a small team can run one without heavy infrastructure behind them. If you have ever fel

You'll learn from

Aki Wijesundara

AI Advisor | Educator | Google AI Accelerator Alum

Aki Wijesundara is an AI leader with a PhD in Machine Learning and extensive experience mentoring startups at Google’s AI Accelerator. With a career spanning both research and applied AI, Aki has taught 5,000+ students worldwide how to design and deploy production-ready AI systems.

He has worked across cutting-edge areas of applied AI, from LangChain and RAG pipelines to observability and large-scale deployment. As a researcher and educator, Aki bridges the gap between theory and practice, making complex systems approachable and actionable for engineers, founders, and product leaders.

Aki is also a frequent speaker and advisor to organizations adopting AI, helping them transition from experimentation to production at scale.

Manu Jayawardana

AI Founder | Co-Founder & CEO at Krybe | Co-Founder of Snapdrum

Manu Jayawardana is a serial entrepreneur with multiple AI startup successes.

He is also the Co-Founder of Snapdrum, an AI consultancy helping companies integrate and automate their businesses using AI. Through Snapdrum, Manu has worked with top startups and enterprises across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, advising on automation, product development, and AI strategy.

Currently, Manu is the Co-Founder & CEO of Krybe, an AI voice agent startup in London transforming how businesses automate customer interactions. His experience spans fundraising, scaling products, and leading teams to deliver production-grade AI solutions adopted globally.

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