Marc Papazian

Yo, so have you heard about Marc Papazian? The guy’s the real deal in the startup world right now. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Propolis, this insanely cool AI-powered QA platform that’s basically crushing the traditional testing game. They jumped into YC’s Batch X25 in spring 2025, and honestly, they’re just getting started.

Here’s the story – Marc’s got a pretty wild background. Before Propolis, he was deep in the trenches at an AI startup doing product stuff, and he also led deployments at Palantir. That’s no joke. At Palantir, he was running the show for their operational data backbone during the federal pandemic response. Think about that – high-stakes, essential, real-world impact. The guy’s been in the thick of it, coordinating complex systems that can’t fail. That kind of experience? It’s gold when you’re building something original.

But what’s super interesting is how his past ties into what he’s doing now. Marc isn’t just a tech guy – he’s also into beekeeping and winemaking. Yeah, for real. That might seem random, but I think it actually speaks volumes. Both beekeeping and winemaking are all about systems, precision, patience. You gotta understand the nuances, trust the process, and get it just right. That’s exactly what he’s doing with Propolis – building a system that automates QA with AI swarms of autonomous browser agents. It’s like he’s taking his love for systems thinking and applying it to software testing, making it faster, more reliable, and way less bullshit.

So, why did he start Propolis? Well, he and his co-founder Matt White saw the pain points in traditional QA – all those flaky tests, endless bugs, and wasted engineering hours. They wanted to flip the script, let developers focus on building cool shit instead of fixing QA messes. And they totally crushed it. Their platform tests like real users but way smarter and faster. No cap, they’re trying to eliminate QA as we know it.

What does this all say about him? I’d say Marc’s driven by a deep desire to build systems that actually work – whether that’s a beehive, a winery, or a SaaS platform. He’s not interested in bullshit solutions; he wants the real deal. His process from essential deployments to founding a modern AI company shows he’s got the guts to jump into chaos, figure it out, and come out on top. It’s about making things better, faster, smarter – and doing it with some serious systems thinking.

Bottom line? Marc Papazian is one of those founders who’s not just riding the wave but actually shaping the future of software testing with AI. He’s got the experience, the vision, and the grit. This guy’s gonna be someone you wanna keep your eye on – no doubt.