AI Tycoon

A browser-based incremental/idle game where you manage an AI company from a garage startup to building AGI. Navigate the real tensions of the AI industry: scaling compute, training frontier models, balancing safety vs capability, hiring talent, and competing with rival labs.

Target: 4-8 hour single playthrough | Platform: Desktop browser | Price: Free

Quick Start

# Prerequisites: Node.js 18+, pnpm 10+
pnpm install
pnpm dev

The web app starts at http://localhost:5173 (or the next available port). The backend server starts alongside it for cloud saves and leaderboards.

Tech Stack

Layer	Choice
Frontend	React 19 + TypeScript, Vite
State	Zustand (slice pattern, localStorage persistence)
Styling	Tailwind CSS (custom dark theme)
Charts	Recharts
Backend	Hono (Node.js)
Database	PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM
Monorepo	Turborepo + pnpm workspaces

Project Structure

ai-tycoon/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/              # React frontend (Vite)
│   └── server/           # Hono API backend
└── packages/
    ├── shared/           # Types, constants, formatters
    └── game-engine/      # Pure TS simulation (no DOM dependencies)

The game engine is fully decoupled from React. It runs identically for real-time ticks, offline catch-up, and testing.

Game Overview

Four Eras

1. Startup (~30 min) — First datacenter, first model, first customers
2. Scale-up (~2 hr) — Growth, multiple datacenters, specializations
3. Big Tech (~4 hr) — Global operations, regulation, IPO
4. AGI (~8 hr) — Endgame push, AI agents, custom chips

Core Loop

Buy GPUs → Allocate compute → Train models → Deploy → Earn revenue → Expand

Key Systems

• Infrastructure — Datacenters across 7 global regions with different costs, latency, and risks
• Research — Tech tree with generation upgrades and specialization branches
• Models — Train, tune, and deploy models with capability scores across reasoning, coding, creative, multimodal, and agents
• Market — Consumer subscriptions and B2B API with token-based pricing
• Talent — Four departments (Research, Engineering, Ops, Sales) with hiring and morale
• Competitors — AI rival labs with distinct personalities that react to your moves
• Events — 40+ events across industry, regulatory, PR, internal, market, and geopolitical categories
• Safety — Tradeoff between capability benchmarks and safety; low safety risks PR disasters
• Funding — VC rounds from Seed to IPO with dilution mechanics
• Achievements — 15 milestones tracking progression

Scripts

pnpm dev          # Start all apps in development mode
pnpm build        # Production build
pnpm typecheck    # Type-check all packages
pnpm lint         # Lint all packages
pnpm clean        # Clean build artifacts

Backend Setup

The backend requires PostgreSQL for cloud saves and leaderboards. Set the connection string in apps/server/.env:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/ai_tycoon

Run migrations:

cd apps/server
pnpm db:push

The game works fully offline without the backend — saves persist to localStorage.

Documentation

• Architecture Guide — Technical deep dive into the engine, state management, and simulation systems
• How to Play — Player guide with mechanics, strategies, and tips

License

All rights reserved.