Stealth Startup Spy #195
Sundar Pichai's Chief of Staff is now CEO of a stealth startup, Ex-Snap colleagues launch an AI influencer platform, & Ex-LinkedIn execs debut a crowdfunding-like platform for college athletes
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In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
Former Chief of Staff for Sundar Pichai is now CEO of a stealth startup
Former Palo Alto Networks exec embarks on stealth venture
Senior executives from LinkedIn, Headspace, and Guild launch a platform akin to crowdfunding—but focused on recruiting college athletes
Snap Inc. colleagues join forces to launch an AI-powered platform for automating influencer marketing
Former Chief Product Officer at Jellysmack is developing a new project in stealth mode
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
Donnie Flood - Co-Founder & COO at Fanstake
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Technology Officer at Homebound, ex-CTO at Guild Education, ex-Director of Software Engineering at LinkedIn, ex-Co-Founder / CTO at Bizo (acquired by LinkedIn for $175 million)
Connect on: LinkedIn
Fanstake is a first-of-its kind platform that empowers fans to help their favorite college teams land the best players in the country
HQ: · HybridDenver, Colorado, United States
Industry: Entertainment Providers | Team Size: 11
Co-founders: Greg Glass (Ex-Global Head of B2B Activation at LinkedIn), Alex Boisvert (Ex-SVP Data and Platform at Headspace, ex-CTO at Ginger)
Latest Funding: $3M Pre-Seed Round on 11/17/2024
Key Investors: Susa Ventures, Will Ventures
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 10 months
Rami Saad - Co-Founder at Halo AI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Director, Revenue and Product Partnerships at Snap Inc. , ex-Managing Director, Digital at Starcom
Connect on: LinkedIn
Halo offers an AI-powered solution to streamline content creation, boost creativity, and help brands connect more effectively with their audiences.
HQ: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Industry: Advertising Services | Team Size: 5
Co-Founders: Vito Strokov (ex-Global Director of Engineering, Ads & Monetization at Snap Inc. & ex-Head of Engineering at Meta) , Justin Krup (ex-Software Engineer at Snap Inc.), Alex Gadalin (ex-Sr. Manager at Snap Inc.)
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 months
Sanskar Jethi - Co-Founder at The Personal AI Company
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Software Engineer - ML Productivity at Bloomberg
Connect on: LinkedIn
The Personal AI Company is creating the layer of hyper-personalization over AGI that will define how humans and AI collaborate.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Saran S - Co-Founder at Swish
FounderDNA: Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Software Engineer at Polygon Labs, ex-Software Engineer at Pillow
Connect on: LinkedIn
Swish is a rapid food delivery platform that redefines convenience and speed.
HQ: India
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 36
Latest Funding: $2M Seed Round on 11/17/2024 from Accel and 7 other investors
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
Bobby Kwan - Co-founder & CEO at Biosync
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Nucleate 2024 Cohort participant, Biochemistry PhD alum of The Johns Hopkins University
Connect on: LinkedIn
Biosync is a digital health platform that leverages multiomic diagnostic tests featuring unprecedented biomarkers and AI/ML analysis.
HQ: Palo Alto, California, United States
Industry: Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 10 months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Paul Manwell - CEO at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Senior Director, Product at Google, ex-Chief of Staff for Sundar Pichai
Connect on: LinkedIn
Co-founder: Aaron Brown (Ex-Senior Director of Product Management at Google, featured in SSS#40)
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 year 2 months
Damien Lewke - Founder & CEO at Stealth
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Director of Product Management at Arctic Wolf, ex-Senior System Engineer at Palo Alto Networks, ex-Solutions Architect at CrowdStrike
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 12 months
Nick Anastasiades - Co-Founder & CEO at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Growth Officer at Nyla, ex-VP of Growth, Hospitality at REEF, ex-Co-Founder / CEO at 2ndKitchen (acquired by REEF)
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 months
Joseph Lin - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-VP of Product Management, National Security at Palo Alto Networks, ex-VP and GM, National Security Division (Public Sector) at Expanse, ex-US Navy Reserve officer, UPenn alum
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Guillaume de la Serre - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Product Officer at Jellysmack, ex-Chief Product Officer & GM Europe at Bandsintown Group, ex-Founder & CEO at ListenOnRepeat (acquired)
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: France
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Stay Stealthy,
Drake
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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 shine a light on the hidden world of stealth startups.