Stealth Startup Spy #86
AI fintech emerges from stealth with $60M seed funding, A platform that allows creators to sell ad slots goes live, & A VR Tech Lead at Meta leaves to start a company in the field of XR
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 track billions of data points to help you identify tomorrow's opportunities that are currently hiding in the shadows. These signals include tracking the inflows and outflows of talent who work at “Stealth Startups”, bios and profile changes to “building something new” and monitoring press releases to shine a light on the hidden world of stealth startups.
In this issue of the Stealth Startup Spy, here is what we will uncover:
Former president at Cameo (a celebrity talent marketplace) and a former engineer at Spotify debuts platform that allows creators to sell advertising slots
Experienced engineer from Rivian and Amazon takes on new venture
AI fintech startup emerges from stealth with $60M seed funding led by a16z and Oak HC/FT
Uber/Samsung alum is building in stealth mode
VR Tech Lead at Meta leaves to become CEO of a stealth startup in the XR industry
Serial founder with multi-million exit to Razor Group unveils new fintech startup
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
Arthur Leopold - CEO & Co-Founder at Agentio
FounderDNA: Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-President at Cameo ($165.7M raised), ex-Sprinklr, ex-LinkedIn
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter
Agentio is the first ad platform allowing creators to sell advertising slots directly to brands.
HQ: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Industry: Advertising Services | Team Size: 8
Latest Funding: $4.25M Seed Round on 11/1/2023
Key Investors: Craft Ventures, AlleyCorp, Antler, Protagonist and Permanent Capital
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 9 months
Eyal Shinar - CEO & Co-Founder at Black Ore
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Co-Founder and ex-CEO at Fundbox (a $1 billion fintech unicorn), ex-VP at Battery Ventures
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter
Black Ore is revolutionizing financial services with AI through their flagship platform, Tax Autopilot, which provides end-to-end 1040 tax prep automation for CPAs & tax firms.
HQ: Austin, Texas, United States
Industry: Software Development
Latest Funding: $60M Seed Round on 11/7/2023
Key Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Oak HC/FT, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Trust Ventures, LionBird, SciFiVC, SV Angel
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 23 months
Thanasis Mandaltsos - CEO & Co-Founder at Magic ID
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: ex-Product Innovation Lead at iov42, ex-Digitial Identity Project Lead at Onfido,
Connect on: LinkedIn
Magic ID is a digital identity verification platform connecting businesses and individuals who want to trust each other without having the need to know one another.
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 6
Latest Funding: $380K Pre-Seed Round on 11/20/2023
Key Investors: SFC Capital, Presto Ventures
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 12 months
David Morisi - CEO & Co-Founder at Rools
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Financial Officer at Colonies ($200M raised), Ex-Director, Planning and Operations at Groupe Casino, ex-Senior Associate at Morgan Stanley
Connect on: LinkedIn
Rools is the compliance coach for the regulated industries.
HQ: Paris, France
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 7 months
Gianluca Cocco - Co-Founder & CEO at Qomodo
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Co-Founder & ex-CBO at factory14 (multi-million exit to Razor Group), ex-Managing Director foodora Italy at Delivery Hero, ex-Amazon
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter
Qomodo is developing an “all-in-one” product that offers merchants comprehensive payment solutions.
HQ: Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 27
Latest Funding: $36.9M Pre-Seed Round on 11/6/2023
Key Investors: Fasanara Capital, Exor Ventures, Proximity Capital, Ithaca Investment, Lumen Ventures, The Techshop, Primo Ventures, Notion Capital, Octopus Ventures, Plug&Play
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Sangho Eum - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Ex-Sr. Decision Scientist at Uber, ex-Samsung
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
Mor Raphael Shabtai - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Co-Founder & ex-COO at Xperiti (acquired by Ipsos), ex-Investment Analyst at RG Family Office, Co-Founder at Cervello ($19M raised)
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter
HQ: New York, New York, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 months
Jay Huang - CEO & Founder at Stealth Mode
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Engineering Manager, VR Camera, Reality Labs at Meta, ex-Senior Software Enginner at Dolby Laboratories
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Franciso Bay Area, United States
Building a startup within the field of Extended Reality.
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 10 months
Umair Mohammed - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Founder at Wigzo Technologies (acquired), Founder at Pyxel Online, ex-Citibank India
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter
HQ: Delhi, India
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 months
Mike Tong - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Ex-Sr. Data Engineer at Rivian, ex-Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Amazon, ex-Lead Data Scientist at Booz Allen
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: Denver, Colorado, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 months
Stay Stealthy,
Drake
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