Barak Oshri

Bestie, here’s what’s good with Barak Oshri. This guy’s the real deal in the AI world. He’s a YC W23 alum, which already says a lot – YC doesn’t just hand out spots, right? The dude’s been deep in the trenches of machine learning for over seven years. Like, he’s not just some startup kid jumping in – he’s been grinding at Stanford AI Lab, messing around with some of the smartest minds in the game, and then moving on to Sisu Data, where he probably got even more hands-on with data and analytics.

So, what’s he doing now? Co-founding Helicone, an open-source observability platform for generative AI apps. Basically, this is the tool that helps companies keep tabs on their large language models – monitoring their costs, latency, and performance across multiple providers, not just OpenAI. Think about it – as AI gets more complex and widespread, you need tools that can keep everything in check. Barak saw that gap and jumped right into it. Helicone is based in SF and just crushed it at YC W23.

What’s super interesting about him is that his whole process screams passion for building stuff that actually matters. He’s not just chasing the hype – he’s creating the tools that make AI more manageable and expandable for everyone. His background in research and hands-on engineering shows he’s got the chops, but what really stands out is his motivation: he wants to make AI better, more transparent, and accessible. That’s a big deal, especially with how wild generative AI is getting.

Honestly, his story is about someone who saw a problem, dug into the tech, and then built something that’s gonna be a backbone for a lot of AI apps in the future. He’s evidence that if you combine serious research chops with startup hustle, you can really shake things up. No Cap, Barak’s the kind of founder who’s gonna keep pushing the limits of what AI can do, and he’s just getting started.