Stealth Startup Spy #231
Ex-SpaceX team (50+ yrs experience) secures $30M for hardware control platform, Google alums join YC to launch AI-powered mortgage assistant, & Ex-GEICO, GitHub, Microsoft exec starts stealth venture
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In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
Former SpaceX Engineering Manager raises $30M to build a full-stack control platform for hardware
Ex-Hugging Face Research Lead launches enterprise AI deployment platform
Ex-TikTok Head of Data Science embarks on stealth venture
YouTube Product Manager and Google Engineer leave their roles to join Y Combinator and build an AI mortgage assistant
Former engineering exec at GEICO, GitHub and Microsoft starts stealth venture
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
Scott Morton - Founder & CEO at Revel
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Software Engineering Manager at SpaceX, ex-Research Assistant at Center for Distributed Robotics
Connect on: LinkedIn
Revel is building a full-stack hardware control platform that helps engineers develop control software up to 10x faster.
HQ: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 8
Key Team Members:
Alexander Mikulin (Ex-Flight Software Engineer at SpaceX)
Grayson Gordon (Ex-NASA and SpaceX engineer)
Duncan McDonald (Cornell University CS Grad and ex-SpaceX intern)
Max Carrera-Newport (ex-Relativity Space Engineer)
Latest Funding: $23.1M Series A Round on 4/18/2025 | Total Funding: $30M
Key Investors: Thrive Capital, Felicis Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Dylan Field, Earthrise Ventures, Commodity Capital
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
Joshua Hinckley - Co-Founder & CEO at Bioqore
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Postdoctoral Scholar at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cornell University PhD in Materials Chemistry
Connect on: LinkedIn
Bioqore is building an AI Copilot for food manufacturing R&D.
HQ: Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Industry: Biotechnology Research | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
Nazneen Rajani - Co-Founder & CEO at Collinear AI
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Research Lead at Hugging Face, ex-Research Scientist at Salesforce, PhD in Computer Science from UT Austin
Connect on: LinkedIn
Collinear helps enterprises deploy and scale AI safely, reliably, and fast.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 9
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 year 4 months
Daniel Tebes - Founder & CEO at Rhizome AI
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-VP of Product at Harness, ex-Lead Product Manager at Affirm, ex-Lead Product Manager at Granular, Masters of Science in International Agricultural Development at University of California, Davis
Connect on: LinkedIn
Rhizome AI is a vertical AI and embedded fintech company creating credit infrastructure for agriculture.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Financial Services
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 months
Arjun Lalwani - Co-Founder & CEO at Approval AI
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Product Manager at YouTube, ex-Product Manager at Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
Approval AI (YC X25) is an AI-powered mortgage assistant that helps buyers understand their options, apply once, and negotiate with lenders like a pro.
HQ: United States
Industry: Financial Services | Team Size: 2
Co-Founder: Helly Shah (Ex-Software Engineer at Google)
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 month
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Ivy Liu - Founder & CEO at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Former FAANG, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Engineering and Product at GEICO, ex-VP of Engineering at GitHub, ex-VP of Engineering (Azure Data & AI) at Microsoft, ex-Engineering Lead at Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Shuo F. - Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Data Science at TikTok, ex-Strategy and Analytics at Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 9 months
Jonah Leshin - Co-Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Doctorate Degree, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Data Science at Datavant, Co-founder of Highland Math (acquired by Datavant), Math PhD from Brown University
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Greater Boston, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Lawrence Ibarria - Founder & CEO at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Co-Founder and COO/CTO at Verdant Robotics, ex-Associate Director, Simulation at Cruise, ex-Senior Software Manager - Automotive at NVIDIA, Georgia Tech MS and PhD in Computer Science
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Brandon Veiseh - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup (YC X25)
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Principal Product Manager - AI at NetSPI, ex-Lead Product Manager at ProjectDiscovery.io, ex-Technical Product Manager at Topsort
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 month
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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.
Hello Drake,
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Warmly,
The Silent Treasury
A vault where wisdom echoes in stillness, and eternity breathes.