Stealth Startup Spy #286
Ex-OpenAI Technical Director pioneers space-based semiconductor manufacturing, MIT alum and serial founder builds the full-stack platform for AI agents, & Ex-Splunk GTM exec returns to stealth
🚀 We just launched a new newsletter — Company Launch Tracker.
We’re tracking company launches as they happen and surfacing the most interesting new founders and startups (yes, all outside of this stealth activity too). If you want to stay ahead of the curve, this is where you’ll find them first.
Right now we’ve got 5 subscribers: my wife, my mom, and that high school buddy who won’t stop pitching me his app. Be smart like them and get in early 👇
In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
MIT alum and serial founder (Volume, DigitalTangibe, Serica (YCS15)) builds full-stack AI agent infrastructure platform
Seasoned product exec from Carta, Salesforce, and Apple enters stealth
Former VC and EY exec launches private airport marketplace with deeptech co-founders
Former GTM executive who led Splunk and Cisco’s expansion - and previously sold his startup to Splunk - returns to stealth
Ex-OpenAI Technical Director pioneers space-based semiconductor manufacturing
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
Taariq Lewis - Founder & CEO at SerenAI
🔎Featured Founder under stealth mode in StealthStartupSpy#133
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Top 10 University, Masters Degree, Y Combinator Alum, HustleFund Alum
Prior Experience: Ex-Founder & CEO at Volume, Ex-CEO - DigitalTangibe, Ex CEO - Serica (YCS15), Ex-Goldman Sachs, Ex-Chase Bank, MIT Sloan School Alum, Columbia Univ Alum
SerenAI - The complete platform for building, deploying, and scaling AI agents at the edge. AI-Native Data Layer + Agentic Infrastructure + Agentic Security + Developer Services + Edge Deployment in ONE platform. Purpose-built for scaling agentic workloads.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United Statess
Industry: AI Infrastructure | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Adam Schuit - Co-Founder and CEO at Skyway Private
FounderDNA: Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Principal at noa VC, Former Board Experience, ex-Real Estate Advisory at EY, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
Co-founder: Clifford Cruz (Ex-Military Defense & Quantum Cryptography Expert), Derrick Lewis (SVP of Cybersecurity at Liberty Mutual, Harvard Business School Alum)
Skyway Private is powering the next era of private aviation by building the world’s first marketplace for private airports — connecting operators with FBOs and ground services, just as OpenTable transformed how restaurants manage reservations.
HQ: New York, New York United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 5
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Brandon Sugarman - Co-Founder at Abacus
🔎Featured Founder under stealth mode in StealthStartupSpy#214
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Senior Technical PM at DocuSign, ex-Technical PM at Google, ex-Goldman Sachs
Abacus uses cutting-edge AI to accurately extract data from complex tax documents including K-1s, K-3s, 55+ state forms, and more - giving CPA firms superpowers.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 7
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 9 months
Nithik Yekollu - Co-Founder at Bellman
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Member of Technical Staff at Mercor, ex-Software Engineer at Google, ex-Researcher at Berkeley RISE Lab
Connect on: LinkedIn
Bellman (YC F25) is an AI-native customer interview platform that designs interviews, sources thousands of participants, and conducts AI-powered research at an unprecedented scale.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Research Services | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Ashley Pilipiszyn - Co-Founder & CEO at BESXAR
🔎Featured Founder under stealth mode in StealthStartupSpy#104
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Co-Founder & CEO at Titan Space Technologies, ex-Technical Director, Office of the CTO at OpenAI, ex-Project Lead, Grid Resilience & Intelligence Platform (GRIP) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Besxar builds reusable orbital “Fabships” that use the ultra-high vacuum of space to manufacture ultra-pure semiconductor materials, enabling unprecedented chip performance and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing resilience.
HQ: United States
Industry: Manufacturing | Team Size: 5
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 years 10 months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Kiran Jagadeesh - Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Product - Media Generation & mMultimodal Products (Generative AI) at Meta, ex-Senior Product Manager - Self-driving car team at Uber, ex-Head of product - Marketplace at Premise Data, ex-Head of Product - Consumer Mobile at Udacity
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 months
Patrick Coughlin - Co-Founder & CEO at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-SVP, Splunk GTM at Cisco, ex-SVP, GTM at Splunk, ex-Co-Founder, CEO at TruSTAR (acquired by Splunk)
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Los Angeles, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Anton Kravchenko - Founder & CEO at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Senior Director of Product Management at Carta, ex-Director of Product Management at Salesforce, ex-Senior Product Manager at MuleSoft, ex-Product Specialist at Apple
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 7 months
Danton Rodriguez - Co-Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Senior Product Manager at Paxos, ex-Senior Product Manager at Datadog, ex-Senior Product Manager at LightStep, ex-Lead Software Engineer at The Beans, ex-Senior Product Manager, Marketing Platforms at Coupang
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Greater Seattle Area, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 month
Akash Anickode - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Software Engineer at Meta, ex-Software Engineer Intern at Amazon, ex-Software Engineer Intern at Roblox, UPenn alum
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 months
🚨Here’s the deal🚨This email has gotten too big. Exciting, but with more people following it, the edge diminishes. I’ve thought long and hard about what to do to preserve the value in the signals. I’m not sure about the final direction yet, but in the meantime I’ve been sending an email 48 hours earlier to a select group of paid subscribers. The feedback has been pretty positive so I’m going to open up the list for another 100 spots. To get signals early, Apply here!
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.