Stealth Startup Spy #114
Co-founder of Rubrik ($554M raised) pioneers an AI platform democratizing data insights, Former Fortanix exec crafts InfoSec AI startup, & AI UGC Testimonials platform goes live
Stealth Startup Spy is a data-driven newsletter for investors, journalists and tech enthusiasts interested in uncovering the next big move for key talent, real-time stealth company launches and technology advancements not in plain sight. We leverage the technology built at Gravity to track billions of data points to help you identify tomorrow's opportunities that are currently hiding in the shadows. These signals include tracking the inflows and outflows of talent who work at “Stealth Startups”, bios and profile changes to “building something new” and monitoring press releases to shine a light on the hidden world of stealth startups.
In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
The CTO of Alibaba.com leaves to become CEO of a stealth ecommerce + AI startup
An AI-powered UGC Testimonials platform emerges from stealth with backing from Bain Capital Ventures
The ex-Chairman of Global Equity Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs is starting a new venture in stealth mode
Co-Founder and former Chief Architect at Rubrik ($554M raised) debuts AI platform to democratize data insights
Former executive at data security platform Fortanix is crafting an enterprise AI startup tailored for InfoSec leaders
And more…
Now let’s shine the spotlight… 💡💡💡
🕵️♂️Founders Coming Out of Stealth
Real-time updates from founders who debut what they’ve been working on under stealth mode
Justin Kelsey - Founder & CEO at SwitchFrame.ai
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Founder & CEO at Vaxa Digital (acquired by JUICE Labs); Founder of Chilly Tubs; AVP of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Bank of America (launched fintech accelerator); Digital Strategy Consultant at Accenture
Connect on: LinkedIn | Instagram
SwitchFrame.ai helps companies collect, automatically edit, and deploy authentic yet perfectly crafted video testimonials (UGC) from real customers, leveraging an AI teleprompter
HQ: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet / Marketing Tech | Team Size: 3
Latest Funding: $300k Angel round in 2023; currently raising $1.5mm Pre-Seed
Key Investors: Bain Capital Ventures, Gray Ventures
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 18 months
Soham Mazumdar - Co-Founder & CEO at WisdomAI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Co-Founder and Chief Architect at Rubrik ($554M raised), ex-Software Enginer at Facebook, Co-Founder and ex-CTO at Tagtile (acquired by Facebook), ex-Software Engineer at Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
Wisdom AI aims to democratize data insights, empowering everyone in an organization to use data to make better decisions.
HQ: San Mateo, California, United States
Industry: Data Infrastructure and Analytics | Team Size: 15
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 months
Jake Zhu - Co-Founder at Braid
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Product and Engineering Officer at Dama Financial, ex-Co-Founder at Nest Financial, ex-VP of Data at NetSpend, ex-Manager, Marketing Analytics at Chase, ex-Customer Information Analytics at HSBC North America
Connect on: LinkedIn
Braid is a B2B software solution designed to enable banks of all sizes to unlock new opportunities for deposit growth and fee income beyond their local branches.
HQ: Santa Clara, California, United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 6
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 15 months
Alex Smola - Co-Founder & CEO at Boson AI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Doctorate Degree, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Distinguished Scientist at Amazon Web Services, ex-Director at Amazon, ex-Machine Learning Professor at Carnegie Mellon, ex-CEO at Marianas Labs (acquired by 1-Page), ex-Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
Boson AI is building large language model tools for everyone to use
HQ: Santa Clara, California, United States
Industry: Research Services | Team Size: 8
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 23 months
Ankit Somani - Co-Founder at Conifer
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Co-Founder at Tadpoll (acquired), ex-Chief Product Officer at HireVue, Co-Founder at AllyOn(acquired by HireVue), ex-Product Management - GSuite at Google, ex-Data Center Architect at Oracle
Connect on: LinkedIn
Conifer is building an Electric Engine that makes electric mobility fun and affordable.
HQ: Sunnyvale, California, United States
Industry: Electrical Equipment Manufacturing | Team Size: 15
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 24 months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Yoni Michael - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Infrastructure Engineering at Tecton, ex-Director, Infrastructure Engineering at Salesforce, ex-Co-Founder at Coolan (Acquired by Salesforce), ex-Software Engineer at Practice Fusion
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 10 months
John Stephen Daly - Working on something new
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Former Chairman of Global Equity Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs, Co-Founder 25madison
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: New York, New York, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 34 months
John Wyss - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Vice President Of Products at Fortanix, ex-Sr. VP Product at Swimlane, ex-Vice President of Product & UX at Chef Software, ex-Senior Director Product Management at Cisco, ex-Director of Product Strategy at ServiceNow
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Seattle, Washington, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 months
Yang Zhou - CEO & Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-CTO at Alibaba.com (Global B2B E-commerce Branch of Alibaba Group), ex-VP of Big Data and AI at VIPKid, ex-Head of Data Science at LinkedIn, ex-Research Scientist at Microsoft
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 months
Giulia Gagliardi - Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Marketing Officer at Casavo, ex-Head of Marketing (Italy) at FREE NOW, ex-Global Junior Product Manager at Ferrero, ex-Johnson & Johnson
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Stay Stealthy,
Drake
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