Stealth Startup Spy #289
Ex-Scale AI Head of Robotics is now CEO of a stealth robotics startup, US Marine develops AI software for defense manufacturing, & Ex-Meta/Airbnb sales lead launches AI workspace for revenue teams
🚀 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:
Ex-USMC Innovation Director and Shield AI CTO launches AI-native enterprise software tackling critical defense manufacturing challenges
Former Scale AI Head of Robotics launches a stealth AI/robotics company
Ex-Meta & Airbnb sales leader builds AI workspace for revenue teams
Former Headspace Chief Architect and LinkedIn engineer enters stealth
TikTok-style SAT prep platform that makes studying addictive goes live
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
Jim Carlson - Founder & CTO at Ironflow AI
🔎Featured Founder under stealth mode in StealthStartupSpy#246
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Director, Innovation Laboratory at Marine Innovation Unit at United States Marine Corps, ex-Chief Legal and Information Officer at Shield AI, ex-Founder / CTO at DFL Technology (acquired by Reveal Technology)
Ironflow AI is building AI-native enterprise software to solve critical operational challenges in defense manufacturing.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 10
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 7 months
Alexis Pawlik - Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Pearl
FounderDNA: Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Enterprise Account Executive - Private & Public Sector at Pigment, ex-Mid-Market Sales - Southern Europe, Workplace from Facebook at Meta, ex-Account Manager at Airbnb
Co-founder: Adrien Gabizon (Ex-GTM lead at Pigment) - connect via email
Pearl is building the AI workspace for smart revenue teams.
HQ: Paris, France
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 10
Key Investors: Station F, 20VC, Kima Ventures
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 10 months
Akash Pavan - Co-Founder & CEO at Chasi AI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Founding Team - Head of New Products at Axion, ex-Robotics & Industrial Engineering at Titan Engineering & Automation Limited
Chasi AI is building commerce infrastructure for industrial businesses to reach more customers and win market share.
HQ: New York, United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Luke Winston-Almanzar - Co-Founder & CEO at Reservoir
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Business Officer and Operations Lead at Formlabs, ex-Management Consultant at Siemens, Harvard MBA
Reservoir is a smart water heater that combines advanced controls, ultra-efficient heat pumps, and real-time leak detection to slash energy costs and protect homes.
HQ: New York, New York, United States
Industry: Climate Technology Product Manufacturing | Team Size: 9
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 22 months
Daniel Odicho - Founder & CEO at PaloAI
FounderDNA: Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Founder In Residence at Afore Capital, ex-Software Engineer and Course Assistant at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, ex-Software Engineer Intern at JPMorgan Chase, ex-Qualtrics
PaloAI is building a TikTok-style SAT prep that makes studying addictive.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Education
Key Investor: Afore Capital
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Adarsh Kulkarni - Founder & CEO at Stealth Robotics Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Robotics at Scale AI, ex-Senior Software Engineer at TuSimple, ex-Autonomy and AI Applications Engineer at Ghost Robotics
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Josh Carver - Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Software Architect at Headspace, ex-Senior Engineering Manager at Ginger, ex-Staff Software Engineer at LinkedIn
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 months
Ravi Ramadas - Founder Stealth Mode Biotech
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Head of Innovation, Strategy & Operations at Sanofi, ex-VP, Head of Business and Corporate Development at Korro Bio, ex-Group Lead at Jounce Therapeutics, ex-Associate Principal Scientist at Merck
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 months
Tal Ofer Regev - Co-Founder & CPO at Stealth
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-VP of Software Engineering, Cloud Application Security at Palo Alto Networks, ex-VP Research And Development at Bridgecrew, ex-Product Manager & Architect at WalkMe™
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Israel
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Praneet Dutta - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Research Engineer at Google DeepMind, ex-Machine Learning Engineer at Google and Unity Technologies
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 months
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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.







