Stealth Startup Spy #334 - by Drake Dukes
Stealth Startup Spy #334
MIT & Tsinghua researcher builds AI subsurface model for mining, Ex-DataSift CEO and ex-Kustomer COO (acquired for $1B+) enters stealth, & CMU PhD from Toyota/Meta/Apple enters stealth
Apr 27, 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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Ex-CEO of DataSift (acquired) and ex-COO at Kustomer (acquired for $1B+) enters stealth
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Founding AI Engineer at Persona AI (acquired by Luma AI) is building AI scientists for semiconductor materials discovery
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CMU PhD and Toyota Research Institute / Meta / Apple research scientist enters stealth
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MIT and Tsinghua researcher is building a generative AI subsurface world model for mining
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Former EyecareLive co-founder (acquired) and telehealth president at Visibly is building an AI operations platform for founders
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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
Advaith Sridhar - Co-Founder at Matforge
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Prior Exit, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Research Engineer at Luma AI, TA for CMU’s flagship ML course, Founding AI Engineer at Persona AI (acquired by Luma AI), Project Lead at AI4Bharat, Product Manager at Flipkart
Matforge builds AI scientists designed to accelerate materials discovery for the semiconductor industry.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Materials Science, Deep Tech | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
Rajesh Ramchandani - CEO and Co-Founder at Gateway AI
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Prior Exit, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Co-Founder & CEO at EyecareLive (acquired by Visibly), Head of Product Management at Cisco, CEO at Ilumina Health, President of Telehealth at Visibly, Co-Founder & VP of Products at Cumulogic
Gateway AI builds a platform that helps founders run companies with AI as their core operations engine, combining human and AI agents to drive efficiency, productivity, and exponential growth.
HQ: United States
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, HealthTech | Team Size: 15
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Year 3 Months
Chance Jiajie L. - CEO & Founder at Mohan
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University, Technical Founder
Prior Experience: Research Affiliate at MIT, Research Assistant at MIT Media Lab, Research SDE at Microsoft Research Asia, CEO & Founder at SoCity, Research Assistant at Tsinghua University
Mohan is building a generative AI-powered subsurface world model for resource definition, helping mining teams locate ore bodies with fewer drill holes, faster timelines, and less capital.
HQ: United States
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Mining Tech, Deep Tech
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 Months
Lingxiu Z. - Co-Founder at Liminal Machines
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Adjunct Faculty at UC Berkeley, R&D at Opal Electronics, Robotics AI R&D at GREYSHED, Research Robotics & EEG Manager at Vassar College, Design Consultant at Colgate-Palmolive
Liminal Machines builds an AI planning tool that goes beyond wireframes, helping teams think through requirements, edge cases, and technical considerations that traditional design tools miss.
HQ: United States
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Developer Tools, B2B SaaS | Team Size: 4
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Year 2 Months
Rob Truxler - CTO & Co-Founder at Waveform Intelligence
🔎 Featured Founder under stealth mode in StealthStartSpy#261
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Masters Degree
Prior Experience: Director of Engineering at Wayfair, Director of Engineering at TripAdvisor, Android Tech Lead at TripAdvisor, MA at Boston University
Waveform Intelligence builds an always-on AI partner for merchant teams, helping them manage catalogs, track performance changes, and act faster on assortment, pricing, and inventory decisions.
HQ: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Retail Tech, B2B SaaS
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 Months
🕵️♂️Key Talent Going Under Stealth
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
Rob Bailey - CEO & Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: COO & Co-Founder at CrewAI, CEO at DataSift (acquired by Meltwater), COO & GTM at Kustomer (acquired by Facebook for $1B+), CEO at MState (2 Unicorns), MBA at MIT Sloan
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
Shun Iwase - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: PhD at Carnegie Mellon University, Research Scientist at Toyota Research Institute, Research Scientist Intern at Meta, Research Scientist Intern at Apple
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 Months
Andrew Berberick - CEO & Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: MS at Stanford University, CTO/CPO at Ryder System, Mechanical Engineering Intern at Google, Co-Founder at Baton, EIR at 8VC
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 4 Months
Irawadee T. - Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Research Lead at Stanford HAI, ML Researcher at Superfluid Dx, Research at Stanford SAIL
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
Alexis Roos - Founder at Stealth Startup
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Sr Manager Applied Science at Amazon, Director ML & Data Science at Salesforce Einstein.ai, Sr Manager Machine Learning at Twitter
Connect on:LinkedIn
HQ: United States
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.