Stealth Startup Spy #351
OpenAI, Character.AI, and ReflectionAI alum enters stealth, Oxford PhD builds energy-efficient AI models for edge devices, & Tempow founder (acquired by Google) enters stealth
✋ Need a favor!
I just published a deep dive on the YC Spring 2026 batch.
👉 Here's the Linkedin post: YC Spring 2026 Batch Deep Dive
If you repost it on LinkedIn and reply to this email letting me know you did (no funny business!)...
As a thank you, I'll send you the full YC Spring 2026 dataset as a Google Sheet including every founder (+ contact details) and every company, so you can filter, sort, and explore it yourself.
Consider it our virtual handshake deal. 🤝
In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
OpenAI, Character.AI, and ReflectionAI alum enters stealth
Former Google DeepMind senior research scientist is building foundation models and generative infrastructure for dynamic, contextual software
Meta product leader and Presize founder (acquired by Meta) enters stealth
Oxford PhD in neuroscience and machine learning is building energy-efficient AI models for edge cameras, wearables, and robotics
Tempow founder (acquired by Google) enters stealth
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
Talfan Evans - Co-Founder & CEO at Cursive
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Doctorate Degree, Former FAANG, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, Dyson Research Fellow at Imperial College London, Engineering Science at University of Oxford
Cursive is building foundation models and generative infrastructure for software that is dynamic, interactive, and contextual, aiming to deliver instant, high-quality generative experiences embedded across applications.
HQ: London Area, United Kingdom
Industry: Generative AI, AI Infrastructure | Team Size: 15
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Luke T. - Founder and CEO at DeepGate
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: PhD Neuroscience/ML at University of Oxford, Software Engineer Intern at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Quantitative Researcher Intern at Citadel Securities
Connect on: LinkedIn
DeepGate is pushing the frontier of energy-efficient machine learning at the edge, building compact, capable AI models for edge CPUs and embedded accelerators across smart cameras, audio devices, wearables, and robotics & drones.
HQ: Greater Oxford Area, United Kingdom
Industry: Edge AI, Embedded Systems
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Year 7 Months
Adi J. - Founder & CEO at Athon AI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Head of Product, Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber, Director of Product Management at Motive, Founder & CEO at TeamPost
Athon AI is an all-in-one platform for behavioral health clinics that reduces therapy notes, clinical insights, and compliance work from hours to minutes.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Behavioral Health Tech, Clinical Documentation AI
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 Months
Madhu Vohra - Co-Founder/CTO at Clario
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Founder/CEO at dabbl, Sr Engineering Leader, OCI Storage at Oracle, Director of Engineering at VMware, Director of Engineering at Nutanix
Clario helps enterprises identify and address Data Rot — the redundant, obsolete, and trivial information that accumulates across file shares, collaboration platforms, cloud storage, and legacy systems — so teams can reduce risk, control costs, and build AI initiatives on a stronger data foundation.
HQ: Menlo Park, California, United States
Industry: Enterprise Data Governance, AI Infrastructure | Team Size: 12
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
Leon Yao - Founder at Whitespace
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Research Engineer at InstaDeep, Co-Founder at Test & Tutor, Research Developer at The University of Manchester
Whitespace is an AI operating system for wholesale distributors that connects to a business’s existing systems and inboxes to build a living model of its operations, then deploys self-improving agents to automate work like inventory planning, customer support, and order entry.
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Industry: Vertical AI, Supply Chain Software | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Arsalan Mosenia - CEO & Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Doctorate Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Area TL & Co-Founder at Google (Enterprise General Intelligence, also Tech Lead on Generative AI Platforms and Search), PhD at Princeton University, Adjunct Professor of AI at New York University
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Irwan B. - Cofounder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI, Founding Team at ReflectionAI, Founding Team at Character.AI, Research Scientist at Google
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Leon Szeli - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Founding CEO at Presize (acquired by Meta), Product Manager at Meta, Researcher at Stanford University
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
Vincent Nallatamby - Founder and CEO at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Prior Exit, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Founder and CEO at Tempow (acquired by Google), Product at Google Labs, Master’s degree at ESSEC Business School
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Alessandro Babini - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: CEO & Co-Founder at Humon (acquired by Whoop), MD & Partner at Global Forward Capital, Venture Partner at DN Capital
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: London Area, United Kingdom
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
🚨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.