Big Red Startups

Startups founded by Cornell alumni and students
Get updates · ·
Last updated 2026-06-19 · How this list is compiled
Recent News
Notable Exits
Date Company Founders
2026-06-08 Factorial Energy IPO Siyu Huang, PhD ’12, MBA ’14, Alex Yu, PhD ’14
2026-06-04 Leapfin acquired by Airwallex Raymond Li ’03, Erik Yao ’05
2026-06-03 Kumo.AI acquired by NVIDIA Jure Leskovec, PostDoc ’09
2026-06-02 Nara Logics acquired by OmniFederal
2026-05-28 Akridata acquired by DIMAAG Sanjay Pichaiah, MBA ’07
Startup Directory
FiltersClear all
Stage
Status
Exit
Tags
YC Batch
startups
  • Human Security Acq
    Acquired by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division · 2020
    Cybersecurity from bot attacks
    Ash Kalb ’00 · New York, NY
    AdvertisingArtificial IntelligenceCyber Security
  • Laurence Seed YC W26
    Amazon ad management
    Matthew Chen ’24 · New York, NY
    AdvertisingAnalyticsSEM
  • Simon AI Series D
    Customer data platform for marketing campaigns
    Jason Davis ’03 · New York, NY
    AdvertisingAnalyticsBig Data
  • Katalys Seed
    Commerce media platform for performance marketing technology
    Ash Kalb ’00 · San Diego, CA
    AdvertisingAffiliate MarketingBusiness Intelligence
  • Swayable Seed YC W18
    Advertisment performance testing
    James Slezak, PhD ’07 · San Francisco, CA
    AdvertisingAnalyticsArtificial Intelligence
  • Yext IPO
    IPO · NYSE:YEXT · 2017
    Marketing platform for small businesses
    Brian Distelburger ’01 · New York, NY
    AdvertisingEnterprise SoftwareKnowledge Management
  • Moat Acq
    Acquired by Oracle · 2017
    Marketing measurement platform
    Aniq Rahman ’08, Jonah Goodhart ’00 · New York, NY
    AdvertisingMarketingSaaS
  • OptiMine Software Acq
    Acquired by Uptempo · 2025
    Marketing ROI measurement
    Rob Cooley ’91 · Minneapolis, MN
    AdvertisingDigital MediaMarketing
Browse by industry & stage AIBiotechHealthcareFintechSoftware & SaaSBlockchain & CryptoSeed-StageSeries AStartups in New YorkStartups in California & the Bay AreaStartups in BostonY Combinator
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Big Red Startups?
Big Red Startups is a directory of 8 startups founded by Cornell University alumni and students, listed with founders, funding stage, location, and links.
Who founded the startups listed here?
Every company was founded or co-founded by a Cornell University alum or student. Each listing names its Cornellian founders.
Which Cornell alumni startups have been acquired or gone public?
See the Cornell startup exits list at https://bigredai.org/exits, covering acquisitions and IPOs of Cornell-founded companies.
How can I add a Cornell startup?
Use the “Submit a startup” button on the directory at https://bigredai.org/startups to submit a Cornell-founded company for review.