🚀 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 👇
Subscribe to Company Launch Tracker
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:
Ex-Cohere technical lead and ex-Google DeepMind researcher builds AI for financial intelligence
Ex-Reddit senior search engineer and Apple ML engineer builds managed GPU compute for startup portfolios
Ex-Meta senior staff engineer and CMU PhD goes stealth on new AI/ML consumer venture
Duke semiconductor researcher builds a chip that replaces camera-plus-GPU with a single sensor (YC S26)
Ex-Apple and NVIDIA researcher, Chief Scientist at Deepnight (YC W24), goes stealth
And more…
Now let’s shine the spotlight… 💡💡💡
Real-time updates from founders who debut what they’ve been working on under stealth mode
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Researcher at Harvard Medical School, Graduate Student Researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital, Clinical Researcher at YEARS
Capable is building a vertically integrated, AI-enabled, deeptech platform to rapidly explore and unlock new human capabilities.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Deep Tech, Biology / Longevity (stealth) | Team Size: 3
Key Investors: Fifty Years, HOF Capital
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 Months
FounderDNA: Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Geographic Information Systems Analyst at Apple, Utility GIS Consultant at The Davey Tree Expert Company, Environmental Site Assessor at Basics Environmental, B.S. Geography/GIS from UC Berkeley
Connect on: LinkedIn
Backlot turns county lists, parcel records, and auction details into a single map-first workspace for finding tax-default property opportunities across residential, commercial, and vacant land.
HQ: Palm Desert, California, United States
Industry: PropTech, Real Estate Data Platforms
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 11 Months
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Prior Experience: Senior Search Engineer at Reddit, Machine Learning Engineer at Spell (MLOps startup - acquired by Reddit), ex-Machine Learning Engineer at Apple
Haight Street Compute provides managed GPU compute for startup portfolios, giving founders and their backers a simpler way to access infrastructure.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Cloud Infrastructure, GPU Compute | Team Size: 2
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 3 Months
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Roy Lab - semiconductor devices research at Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Senior Associate at Duke Capital Partners, AI development at Archaius Inc.
Synapse Semiconductor is building a single chip that replaces the disjoint camera-plus-GPU architecture with a compute substrate that acts as its own sensor.
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Industry: Semiconductors, Computer Vision Hardware
Key Investors: Y Combinator (S26)
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 15 Months
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Staff Software Engineer at Meta, Software Engineer at Workday, Software Engineer at Harness
Mason deploys autonomous, purpose-built AI systems inside the tech stacks of public REITs, PE firms, and institutional developers in commercial real estate.
HQ: New York, New York, United States
Industry: PropTech, AI Infrastructure | Team Size: 6
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 20 Months
Illuminating clues left behind by world class talent and influential innovators who just went into stealth mode
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Chief Scientist at Deepnight (YC W24), Research Scientist at Apple, Research Intern at NVIDIA, Research Intern at Facebook
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 1 Month
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS), AI Engineer at BMW Group, MS Electrical Engineering & Information Technology, Technical University of Munich
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
FounderDNA: Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience: Founder & CEO at Xficient (exited), Director at Optum, Senior Director - Enterprise Strategy at Aetna, a CVS Health Company
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
FounderDNA: Technical Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Senior Staff Software Engineer / Engineering Manager at Meta, Senior Director of Engineering at Electronic Arts, Principal Development Lead at Microsoft, PhD Electrical & Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Time Spent in Stealth Mode: 2 Months
FounderDNA: Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience: Technical Lead and Research Scientist at Cohere, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind
Connect on: LinkedIn
HQ: San Francisco, California, 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
Thank you for reading. If you liked it, share it with your friends, colleagues and everyone interested in staying ahead of the hidden developments in tech. Subscribe below and follow us on X / Twitter to never miss a company operating under stealth again.
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.
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