Hiranya Jayakody

This story’s wild, let me tell you about Hiranya Jayakody, this dude is the real deal in space tech. He’s a co-founder and CTO of HEO Robotics, a sick Sydney startup that’s all about satellite-to-satellite imagery and analytics. Think about it, monitoring space debris, checking on satellite health, all that space junk without breaking a sweat. That’s his jam. Founded back in 2016, HEO’s been crushing it, bouncing through some big names like UNSW’s Founders 10x Accelerator and Y Combinator’s S21 batch. Yeah, the same YC that’s churned out some of the biggest startups today.

Hiranya’s got a serious brain, he’s got a Ph.D. in Mechatronics Engineering from UNSW, and he’s also got his bachelor’s from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. This guy’s been deep in research, computer vision, machine learning, control systems for space robots and drones, the whole nine yards. Basically, he’s been tinkering with the tech that makes space robotics smarter, more reliable, more autonomous.

Before jumping into HEO, he was doing research at UNSW, focusing on space robotics and agriculture. That says a lot, he’s always been interested in applying modern tech to solve big problems, whether it’s in farming or orbit. And that passion? It’s what drove him to start HEO. He saw a real need in space, debris, satellite health, stuff that nobody’s really cracked yet, but it’s critical if we wanna keep pushing our space activities forward.

What’s cool is, his process proves he’s about more than just tech for tech’s sake. He’s all about solving real problems, pushing boundaries, and having an effect. Starting HEO wasn’t just about building a company, it was about shaping the future of space monitoring, making space safer and more sustainable. That’s why he matters, dude’s not just riding the startup wave, he’s actually changing how we watch and manage space stuff.

TL;DR, Hiranya Jayakody is this genius space tech guy who’s turned his research into real-world tools for space safety. From Sri Lanka to Australia, from Ph.D. labs to YC, he’s been on a mission to make space smarter and safer. No Cap, he’s one to watch.