Aethero & Ground

Aethero — Autonomous space data processing; Ground — AI-driven revenue growth for consumer brands

Jan 14, 2025

Welcome to another edition of Open Scout—your 3-min weekly digest of standout early-stage startups, venture deals, industry news, and job opportunities—all in one place.

Before we begin... a big thank you to this week's sponsor

Compliance for Startups: SOC 2 Checklist

As a startup founder, finding product-market fit is your top priority.

But landing bigger customers requires SOC 2 or ISO 27001 compliance—a time-consuming process that pulls you away from building and shipping.

That’s where Vanta comes in.

Join over 9,000 companies, including hundreds of Y Combinator-backed startups like Supabase, Newfront, and Fern who streamline compliance with Vanta’s automation and trusted network of security experts.

Start with our SOC 2 compliance checklist, which breaks down the process into clear steps—so you can spend less time on compliance and more time growing your business.

Download the checklist

If you're interested in sponsoring this newsletter, please reach out here.

Startup Spotlight

Aethero

What? - Aethero develops radiation-hardened edge computers for on-orbit data processing and eventually even autonomous decision-making.

Why? -

Current Limitations:
- Satellites generate enormous amounts of raw data, but limited onboard compute power means this data is sent to Earth for processing—slow and costly.
- Existing space computers use outdated field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that cannot handle computationally intensive tasks like machine learning or computer vision in orbit.
Key Problems Aethero Solves:
- Faster Data Delivery: Reducing the need to transmit large data volumes to Earth by pre-processing it onboard.
- Real-Time Autonomy: Enabling satellites to make critical, real-time decisions without relying on mission control.
Industry Impact:
- In-Space Data Centers: Efficiently handling data onboard reduces operational costs for satellite operators.
- Autonomous Capabilities: Supporting advanced docking, maneuvering, and mission flexibility through machine vision.
- Enhanced Defense: Improving situational awareness and enabling satellites to autonomously manage threats or perform complex maneuvers.

Pre-processing data is the current focus, but the future lies in satellites that can think and act on their own.

The startup's first-generation space computer, AetherNxN, is powered by the Nvidia Orin processor, the leading GPU edge processor on the market. Designed for a 7–10 year lifespan in low Earth orbit, it’s compact enough to fit on CubeSats while delivering 20x more processing power than current alternatives.

Founded: 2023 in San Francisco, US

Founders: Edward Ge, CEO — ex-Co-founder @ Stratodyne (YC W22); Amit Pinnamaneni, CTO — ex-Co-founder @ Stratodyne (YC W22)

Raised $$ / Backed By (Public Source): Pre-seed - $1.7M; Backed by Neo, 1517 Fund

Request intro

Ground

What? - Ground is an AI-powered platform that helps consumer brands increase revenue through advanced data-driven insights. Key technologies include:

Greet AI+: Simulates a sales associate by analyzing 500+ variables in real-time to predict purchase intent and optimize customer engagement.
ReBeat AI: Forecasts customer behavior, helping brands identify win-back opportunities and boost repeat purchases for sustainable growth. It personalizes incentives to maximize the chance of turning customers into loyal, repeat buyers.
Performance Marketing Solutions: Identifies high-value audiences and automates campaign optimizations to improve return on ad spend (RoAS) without increasing costs.

Client Success Stories

Violette_FR: Achieved a 6x increase in repeat revenue.
German Karbiski: Reported a 74% increase in first-time customer sales.
TileCloud: Added $46,000 in first-time sales.

Target Audience

Ground primarily serves consumer brands across various categories, including products, experiences, and services. Its solutions are designed for businesses looking to enhance their e-commerce capabilities and drive sustainable growth.

Founded: 2021 in New York, US

Founders: Kat Garcia, Co-CEO — ex-Growth Architect @ BCG Digital Ventures, Head of Growth @ American Express (Founding Team - Business Checking); António Andrade, CTO — ex-Software Engineer @ Zendesk, ; Shahriar Kabir, Co-CEO — Investor @ Transpose Platform, Co-founder @ Pulse Industrial

Raised $$ / Backed By (Public Source): Pre-seed / Seed; Backed by RNR Capital, Cogitent Ventures, PHD Capital.

Open Roles: Customer Success Manager, Backend Engineer, Account Executive, Growth Architect - NYC

Request intro

Which early-stage startup should we feature next? Send us a reply. (Criteria: Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A startups)

Money Moves

Buk (Santiago, Chile): HR tech for Latin America raised $50M in Series B. Headline led; joined by Workday, Greenoaks, and Base10.
Flagright (Singapore): AML compliance and risk management AI platform raised $4.3M seed. Frontline led; joined by Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Moonfire Ventures, and others.
Whatnot (Los Angeles, CA): Live shopping platform raised $264M in Series E. Greycroft, DST Global, and Avra led; joined by Lightspeed, Durable Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, BOND, and Y Combinator.
Druid Software (Wicklow, Ireland): Cellular network software raised $20M. J2 Ventures and HICO led; joined by Arthur Patterson and John Georges.
Jones (NYC, NY): AI-powered insurance verification raised $15M in Series B. NewSpring Capital led; joined by Hetz Ventures, Camber Creek, Khosla Ventures, and others.
Inari (Cambridge, MA): Seed developer raised $144M. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority led; joined by Hanwha Impact, NGS Super, and State of Michigan Retirement System.
Biosphere (Oakland, CA): Bioreactor developer raised $8.8M seed. Lowercarbon Capital and VXI Capital led; joined by Founders Fund, GS Futures, Caffeinated Capital, and B37 Ventures.
Karman Industries (Long Beach, CA): Electric industrial thermal energy tech raised $7.5M. Wonder Ventures, 8090 Industries, Riot, and Space.VC participated.
Fazeshift (San Francisco, CA): Accounts receivable AI agent raised $4M seed. Gradient led; joined by Y Combinator, Wayfinder, Pioneer Fund, and angel investors.
RyboDyn (San Diego, CA): Dark genome-targeted immunotherapies raised $4M pre-seed. Genedant Capital and SeaX Ventures led; joined by SOSV and Swell VC.
XOCEAN (Dublin, Ireland): Ocean data provider for offshore energy raised €115M ($118.7M). S2G, Climate Investment, Morgan Stanley’s 1GT fund, and CC Industries participated.
Ouro Medicines (San Francisco, CA): Immune reset therapeutics raised $120M in Series A. TPG Life Sciences Innovations, NEA, and Norwest Ventures led; joined by Monograph Capital, GSK, Boyu/Zoo Capital, LongRiver Investments, and others.
Air (NYC, NY): Creative operations platform raised $35M in Series B. Avenir Growth led; joined by XFund, Good Friends, and others.
Gridware (San Francisco, CA): Electrical grid safety tech raised $26.4M in Series A. Sequoia Capital led; joined by Fifty Years, Lowercarbon, True Ventures, and Convective Capital.
PrettyDamnQuick (Tel Aviv, Israel): Checkout optimization platform raised $25M in Series A. Peakspan Capital led; joined by TLV Partners and Moneta.
Nema Health (New Haven, CT): Virtual PTSD care provider raised $14.5M in Series A. Deerfield Management led; joined by CVS Health Ventures, Optum Ventures, .406 Ventures, and GreyMatter.
Innovaccer (San Francisco, CA): Healthcare data AI platform raised $275M in Series F. B Capital Group, Banner Health, and Danaher Ventures participated.
Labviva (Boston, MA): AI procurement for life sciences raised $25M in Series B. 53 Stations led; joined by Biospring Partners, B Capital Group, and Glasswing Ventures.
Ndustrial (Raleigh, NC): Energy intensity optimization AI platform raised $19.5M in Series B. ABB and GS Energy led; joined by Southwire, Clean Energy Ventures, and ENGIE New Ventures.

On The Side

Sam Altman Reflects on OpenAI's Journey — From ChatGPT's launch to scaling challenges and AGI ambitions, Sam Altman shares insights on OpenAI's progress, lessons learned, and the road to superintelligence.
The rise and fall of "fact-checking"
TikTok Ban Looms — The Supreme Court is likely to uphold a law banning TikTok in the US. A decision is expected soon, coinciding with President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
Anthropic’s $2B Fundraise — Anthropic is raising $2B at a $60B valuation, 3x its February 2024 valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners is leading the round.
Federal Reserve’s Credibility at Risk — Despite rate cuts, bond markets are pushing back. The 10-year Treasury yield has risen to 4.77%, signaling market skepticism of the Fed’s policies.
AI Companies Paying for Content — OpenAI and Google are paying $1–$4 per minute for unused video footage, creating new revenue opportunities for creators through platforms like Troveo.
Lifestyle Beats Medication — A new study shows lifestyle changes reduce Type 2 diabetes risk by 40%, outperforming medications like metformin. Policy changes could amplify these benefits.
OpenAI Enters Robotics — OpenAI is hiring for robotics hardware roles as it expands into general-purpose robotics, signaling its largest push into hardware development yet.