Stealth Startup Spy #319 - by Drake Dukes
Stealth Startup Spy #319
Ex-DeepMind and xAI researcher launches stealth AI startup, Ex-Harness SVP builds AI agents for incident response, & Former Cisco AI security chief launches stealth startup
Mar 05, 2026
🚀 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:
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A former DeepMind and xAI research scientist launches stealth AI startup
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Ex-Harness SVP launches AI agents to automate incident investigation for engineering teams
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After leading AI security at Cisco and previously serving as CTO of Robust Intelligence (acquired by Cisco), this longtime security architect is quietly building a new stealth company
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Ex-Texas Instruments engineer builds AI intelligence layer for chip design
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Fusion energy researcher and Kyoto Fusioneering co-founder launches stealth startup
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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
Bragadeesh Suresh Babu - Founder & CEO at Tattvam AI
FounderDNA: Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Member of Technical Staff at Fractile, ex-Algorithms & High-Performance Engineer at CoMind, ex-CPU Modeling Engineer at Imagination Technologies, ex-Systems & Algorithm Engineer at Texas Instruments
Tattvam AI is building the AI intelligence layer for semiconductor chip design, enabling engineers to model, optimize, and accelerate complex hardware development workflows.
HQ: United Kingdom
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Jason Jepson - Chief Executive Officer at Material Transformation
FounderDNA: Serial Founder
Prior Experience: Co-Founder at Income Engine, ex-Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Strategy Officer at EDEN, ex-Chief Marketing Officer at Own.App
Material Transformation is a waste-to-value company transforming mixed, real-world, waste streams into usable assets at the point of need.
HQ: United States
Industry: Energy Technology | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Sid Choudhury - Co-Founder & CEO at Autoheal AI
FounderDNA: Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-SVP & GM at Harness, ex-SVP of Product at Yugabyte, ex-VP of Product at OpsClarity, ex-Senior Director of Product Management at AppDynamics, ex-Director of Product Management at Salesforce
Autoheal AI builds AI agents that automate incident investigation and response across observability, infrastructure, and code, helping engineering teams resolve production issues faster.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 9 Months
Sasha Krecinic - Co-Founder at SkipUp
FounderDNA: Serial Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Investor at Headline, ex-VP of Strategic Initiatives and VP of Sales & Marketing at HappyCo, ex-Management Consultant at EY
Connect on:LinkedIn
SkipUp builds AI scheduling agents that operate inside email to automatically coordinate meetings, resolve conflicts, and book across Google and Outlook calendars.
HQ: United States
Industry: Technology, Information and Internet | Team Size: 3
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 6 Months
Richard Zhou - Co-Founder at Aemon
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Founder in Residence at Afore Capital, ex-Software Engineer (Perception) at MIT-PITT-RW, ex-Mapping & Localization Engineer at WATonomous, ex-Software Developer at RBC
Aemon (YC W26) is building software infrastructure for AI-driven systems.
HQ: United States
Industry: Software Development | Team Size: 4
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 Months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Hongyuan Mei - Co-Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Member of Technical Staff at xAI, ex-Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, ex-Research Assistant Professor at Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC), ex-Research Intern at Microsoft and Bloomberg
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
Art Ignatev - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-CEO & Board Member at Rarible, ex-Founder at Flipp (Acq. by Rarible), ex-Founder at Surreal, ex-Co-Founder at Linkdrop
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
James Lim - Founder at Stealth AI Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder
Prior Experience: Ex-Chief Executive Officer, Asia-Pacific at Helpling, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, ex-Country Manager at KKday, ex-EiR at Rocket Internet SE
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 5 Months
Richard Pearson - Co-Founder & CEO at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Ex-Co-Founder & Chief Innovator at Kyoto Fusioneering, Assistant Professor (Visiting) at Eindhoven University of Technology, Editor-in-Chief - Journal of Fusion Energy at Springer Publishing, ex-Visiting Researcher at University of Bristol and Kyoto University
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United Kingdom
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 8 Months
Hyrum Anderson - Co-Founder at Stealth
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Ex-Sr. Director, AI & Security at Cisco, ex-Co-Founder, Governing Board at CAMLIS, ex-Chief Technology Officer at Robust Intelligence (now part of Cisco), ex-Sr. Principal Architect at Microsoft, ex-Technical Lead, Security Protections at Elastic, ex-Chief Scientist at Endgame
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 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.