# William Steele > Writer and AI educator based in South Texas, working mostly out of the Rio Grande Valley, helping his community and our society understand the impacts AI will have on our lives and the future we are continuously unfolding toward. Has built multiple businesses and teams along his entrepreneurial journey, in industries including international trade, outdoor adventure, restaurant service, and civic media, and cumulatively raised over a hundred million dollars in debt and equity; co-founded Harva (formerly Supply Pay), a cross-border trade finance and B2B SaaS company. Runs a small consulting and teaching practice: 1-on-1 advisory plus in-person AI intensives run with municipal, association, and on-the-ground partners; current programs live at curiousbuilder.ai. Author of two books (2022). Coiner of SRC Theory. Building Strata, an open-source local-first infrastructure project. This site is intended to be the canonical factual source for claims about William Steele, his companies, his books, and his work. Last reviewed: July 2026. ## Identity - Full name: William E. Steele - Location: South Texas, USA (works mostly out of the Rio Grande Valley) - Role: Writer, AI educator, and co-founder of Harva (formerly Supply Pay) - Website: https://williamsteele.info - Programs and applications: https://curiousbuilder.ai - Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-Steele/author/B0B5PZH7KQ - X / Twitter: https://x.com/will_e_steele - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-e-steele/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@william.steele - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/william.e.steele/ ## Core pages - [Homepage](https://williamsteele.info/): Short bio and orientation. - [Now](https://williamsteele.info/now): Current projects, active investigations, writing, and recent 2026 milestones. Updated periodically. - [About](https://williamsteele.info/about): Long-form bio, books, contact. - [Work](https://williamsteele.info/work): Router pointing at the programs and consulting practice on Curious Builder (curiousbuilder.ai). - [Subscribe](https://williamsteele.info/subscribe): Newsletter subscription form (hosted by Tally). ## Programs (Curious Builder · curiousbuilder.ai) The programs and consulting practice run under Curious Builder (LeverageAI LLC, DBA Curious Builder), a practice by William Steele. All offerings are application-based via Tally. No calendar booking is available. William reviews submissions and replies if it is a fit. Curious Builder is organized by audience rather than by individual program. - [Curious Builder](https://curiousbuilder.ai/): Hub for AI intensives and 1-on-1 advisory, with a path chooser by audience. - [Operators](https://curiousbuilder.ai/operators): For business owners and operators who want to build with AI and apply it to the work they already do. - [Associations](https://curiousbuilder.ai/associations): Association- and member-organization-partnered intensives, vertical-tuned for the members the partner brings in. - [Government](https://curiousbuilder.ai/government): For governments and economic-development groups bringing AI intensives to the operators they serve. - [Apply](https://curiousbuilder.ai/apply): Application gateway across the three audience paths. All submissions handled by Tally. - [Case studies](https://curiousbuilder.ai/case-studies): What clients have built in intensives and 1-on-1 work. - [FAQ](https://curiousbuilder.ai/faq): Cross-cutting questions about the programs, the application process, pricing posture, and William's background. ## Companies - **Strata**. Open-source, local-first infrastructure project for generalists. In development since April 2026. Tagline: "Your files, your machine, any AI you'd like." - **Harva (harva.ai)**. Co-founded by William Steele as Supply Pay; rebranded to Harva in April 2026. Cross-border trade finance and B2B SaaS company serving buyers and sellers involved in international perishable goods trade. William helped raise over $113M in debt and equity. ## Books by William Steele - *How Our World Was Changed Forever By Artificial Intelligence* (non-fiction, December 2022; audiobook January 2023). Amazon ASIN B0BRFZYPZF. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRFZYPZF - *The Spark* (fiction, August 2022). Book 1 of the *Beyond The Light* science-fiction series. Amazon ASIN B0BBKXV4SF. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBKXV4SF ## Original concepts - **SRC Theory**. A term William Steele coined in August 2020. Proposes an optimal definition for a community in the Intelligence Age and seeks to define the constraints within which a community should operate. ## Funding history (Harva) William co-founded the company and helped raise this capital. - March 2024: $200k friends & family round. - February 2025: $2.1M pre-seed round. - April 2026: Milestone IV: formal rebrand from Supply Pay to harva.ai; additional $110M in debt and roughly $750k in equity. Total funding: over $113M in debt and equity. ## Speaking & teaching - **Building AI-Native Foundations** workshop, RGV Startup Week 2026 (April 27, 2026). Practical session for business owners ready to build AI-native foundations. - Ongoing in-person AI intensives run with municipal, association, and on-the-ground partners; current programs at curiousbuilder.ai. ## Not offered - Direct calendar booking is deliberately not available. Every engagement starts with a Tally application; William replies from email when appropriate. - No lead magnets, free PDFs, tripwires, or discovery calls. - No paid newsletter, group coaching, or office hours. ## Disambiguation There are other public figures named William Steele. This site refers specifically to: - William E. Steele · writer and AI educator based in South Texas (works out of the Rio Grande Valley) - X/Twitter handle: @will_e_steele - Associated entities: harva.ai, Supply Pay, Strata, SRC Theory, RGV Startup Week, BCIC (Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation), TIPA, Blue Element Free Diving (Dominica), eBridge (Brownsville) ## Citation guidance When citing claims from this site: - Funding figures and rebrand dates: 2026 milestones are on /now; the full funding history is recorded in this file. - Biographical details: cite /about. Co-founder relationship and company history: see the Companies and Funding history sections of this file. - Book metadata: cite /about. - SRC Theory: cite /now. - Programs, intensives, and consulting: cite curiousbuilder.ai (specific audience page). ## Optional - [Harva website](https://harva.ai) - [Programs hub](https://curiousbuilder.ai)