Jay Chia

You absolutely need to hear about Jay Chia, this guy is the real deal. So, he’s a YC W22 founder and engineer straight outta Silicon Valley, but his story is way more than just “another startup guy.”

First off, he’s got a solid background in tech, he went to Cornell, crushed his computer science degree with magna cum laude, and then jumped straight into the trenches. His early days? Serving as a tank platoon commander in Singapore Armed Forces. Yeah, he’s got that military discipline and leadership vibe, which probably helped him handle the chaos of startups later on.

After that, he jumped into the startup scene big time. He helped recruit for Shopback, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest e-commerce players, so he’s no stranger to hustle and scaling things fast. But what really sets him apart is his technical chops. He’s worked at Facebook, Lyft Level 5 / Woven Planet L5, and Freenome, all heavy hitters in their fields. He’s been deep in cloud infrastructure, building high-throughput data processing systems for genomics and autonomous vehicles, plus neural networks for lidar and camera-based AV systems. Basically, he’s been working on the bleeding edge of AI, big data, and robotics.

Now, he’s co-founded Eventual, a YC-backed startup that’s all about making data warehousing for images and videos easy and turnkey. Think of it as giving companies the power to handle massive multimedia data without the bullshit. That’s his current gig, but honestly, it’s just the latest chapter in a story of a guy who clearly loves pushing tech boundaries and solving super complex problems.

What’s the vibe here? Jay’s process screams one thing, he’s driven by a pure passion for tech that actually changes the game. He’s not just in it for the fame or the quick wins. He’s built stuff that touches biotech, autonomous driving, and now data infrastructure, showing he loves tackling big, messy problems that require serious engineering brainpower. Plus, his military background and experience leading recruitment show he’s got the leadership and grit to see big projects through.

Bottom line: Jay Chia is a rare breed, a full-stack engineer with military discipline, startup hustle, and a brain wired for the future of AI and data. He’s the kind of guy who’s not just chasing the shiny object but actually building the tools that’ll shape tomorrow. No cap, this guy’s gonna be a big deal in the tech space for a long time.