Stealth Startup Spy #320
Ex-Meta Superintelligence researcher launches stealth AI startup, Bardeen cofounder builds agents that watch team workflows, & Ex-Google aerial mapping head unveils real-estate intelligence platform
🚀 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 👇
We run a live feed inside Gravity that tracks founders entering stealth and companies quietly exiting it.
What you’re reading here is about 1% of the stealth activity we pick up. The full tracker updates in real time as things change and new activity emerges.
If you want earlier access to everything, book some time with us to stay ahead.
In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
Former Global Head of Aerial Imagery & 3D Mapping at Google is building a real-estate intelligence platform aggregating neighborhood-level data to help buyers make smarter property decisions
Ex-Meta Superintelligence Labs scientist launches a stealth startup
Bardeen co-founder is building AI agents that observe how teams operate across tools, reconstructing workflows to identify automation opportunities
Serial founder and former Palantir consultant who later led product at Axon is launching another company in stealth
After selling Athena to Grindr and later leading product there, this operator is now building an AI-native performance management platform that evaluates employees using real work signals instead of traditional reviews
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
Toby Mather - Co-Founder at Rig
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Co-founder & CEO at Lingumi (acquired by Novakid), ex-Chief Product Officer / Product Director at Novakid, Entrepreneur First (EF5), University of Oxford
Connect on: LinkedIn
Rig builds an AI-native data automation platform that learns a company’s data warehouse and enables teams to run complex operational workflows directly on top of internal data.
HQ: United Kingdom
Industry: Data Infrastructure and Analytics | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 Months
Artem H. - Founder & CEO at WIQ
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Co-founder at Bardeen, ex-Senior Director of Product & Engineering at Mesosphere, ex-Engineering Director (Distributed Computing) at Qualys, ex-Software Developer & Senior Fellow (Software Group) at CERN
WIQ builds AI agents that observe how work actually happens across tools and teams, reconstructing execution flows to identify automation opportunities and measure the impact of deployed AI.
HQ: United States
Industry: Information Services | Team Size: 5
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 7 Months
AJ Wolf - Co-Founder & CEO at Brava
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Founder & CEO at Athena (acquired by Grindr), ex-Senior Product Manager (New Verticals) at Grindr, ex-BCG, ex-Goldman Sachs, Duke University
Brava builds an AI-native performance management platform that captures real examples of employee work to enable continuous feedback, fairer evaluations, and faster talent development.
HQ: New York, New York, United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 7 Months
Darren Rodricks - Founder at Herd
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Product Manager at TikTok, ex-Product Manager at Applied Materials, ex-Product Manager at Resiligence, Santa Clara University
Connect on: LinkedIn
Herd builds an AI-powered collaborative travel planning app that helps groups coordinate trips, vote on plans, manage bookings, and split shared expenses in one place.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 Months
Danila Rudenka - Co-Founder & CEO at iHuus
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Global Head of Aerial Imagery & 3D Mapping at Google, ex-Global Head of Google Cloud Support, ex-CTO & Partner at Eraneos
iHuus builds a real estate intelligence platform that aggregates neighborhood-level data to help buyers make more informed home purchasing decisions.
HQ: Switzerland
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Jason Wu - Co-Founder & CTO at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Staff Applied Research Scientist & Tech Lead Manager at Meta, ex-Software Engineer at Google, ex-Applied Research Scientist at Sanas, Cornell alum
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
Josiah Parappally - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Staff Software Engineer at Ramp, ex-Senior Software Engineer at Ramp, ex-Infrastructure Engineering Intern at Facebook, ex-Software Engineering Intern at Apple
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
Ben Lang - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: SOF veteran, Ex-Founder & CEO at Native, ex-Founder & CEO at Viceroy, ex-Founder & CEO at Guildsmith, ex-Principal Product Manager at Axon, ex-Consultant at Palantir Technologies
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 Months
Christin Victoria Seltmann - Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Founder & CEO at Lybbie, ex-Founder & CEO at IVERY Group, ex-Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, Harvard Business School
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Hakan Gunturkun - CTO, Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Co-Founder & Head of AI at Arcade, ex-Head of AI/ML at Heretic, ex-ML Data Scientist at 23andMe
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development
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.
WIQ's approach of watching how people actually work before automating anything is the part most AI startups skip entirely.
They just throw an LLM at a process and hope it sticks.
Observation first, automation second. That's the correct order.