Who founded HumanLayer?

HumanLayer was founded by Dexter Horthy, Kyle Mistele in 2023.

Who are HumanLayer's investors?

HumanLayer's investors include Hawk Hill Ventures, Pioneer, Y Combinator, 0 AD, Batch Ventures, Massive Tech Ventures, OurCrowd, Preface Ventures.

Where is HumanLayer headquartered?

HumanLayer is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

HumanLayer

YC F24

San Francisco, US · Founded 2023 · 2 employees · Hiring · 8 known investors

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HumanLayer is an AI IDE and collaboration platform that enables software engineers to accelerate development across the entire software development lifecycle using AI agents. The platform provides structured workflows, task management, and human-in-the-loop code review capabilities for teams building complex software systems.

Also known as QueryTale, Inc.

AI & Machine Learning Developer Tools Enterprise Software SaaS Artificial IntelligenceUnited States of AmericaAmerica / Canada

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (F24)

HumanLayer was founded in 2023 by Dexter Horthy and Kyle Mistele.

Dexter Horthy CEO and Co-FounderDexter Horthy spent seven years in engineering, software engineering, product management, and executive roles at Replicated, a Series C developer tools company, where he worked on container orchestration for enterprise customers. He has coded since high school and currently focuses on context engineering approaches for coding agents.

Kyle Mistele CTO and Co-FounderKyle previously served as CTO and senior AI infrastructure engineer at Naptha AI, founded Constellate AI, and contributed to the open-source vLLM project. Earlier roles include Head of Product & Security at Outlander Capital and Head of Product & Engineering at Zelus, and he sits on the executive advisory board of BellTower Technologies.

Austin AlterHead of Operationsformer

Investors · 8

Hawk Hill Ventureslisted by Hawk Hill Ventures

How we know: Hawk Hill Ventures's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Pioneerlisted by PioneerToronto, Ontario

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · official-page verification 2026-10 · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Y Combinatorlisted by Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K

How we know: the Y Combinator directory · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

0 ADreported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Batch Venturesreported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Massive Tech VenturesreportedSeattle

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

OurCrowdreportedJerusalem

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Preface VenturesreportedNew York · $750K – $2M

How we know: the VCSheet dataset · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

The YC application· Fall 2024 batch

Alumni Q&A

What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?: The founders aim for HumanLayer to become the central place where software is built and teams collaborate, with the goal of engineers shipping 2-3x faster by giving humans leverage rather than replacing them with AI.

Summarized from the founders' answers on their Y Combinator profile.

Related companies · 5

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ProliferateProliferate is an open-source agent workspace that runs multiple AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, and open models) in parallel on local or cloud infrastructure. It provides isolated execution environments, workflow automation, and integrations for developers to orchestrate and manage agent-based tasks.

InnateInnate builds personal AI robots designed to be customizable and programmable by users of all skill levels, combining robotics and artificial intelligence for general-purpose physical tasks. The company aims to democratize robot development so that individuals can create and tailor intelligent machines for various purposes.

SilogySiLogy provides Viv, an AI verification engineer that autonomously debugs failing tests for chip developers by analyzing code, log files, and waveforms. The platform operates fully on-premise with optional bring-your-own-key LLM access, serving semiconductor design and verification teams.

AxleAxle provides instant access to insurance data for fleet managers, asset lenders, and gig platforms, allowing them to verify coverage and reduce risk in seconds rather than hours.

Companies working in the same space as HumanLayer.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure

QueryTale, Inc.

In the news

HumanLayer - Human-in-the-loop for AI Agents and beyondycombinator.com · Oct 2024

Frequently asked questions

What does HumanLayer do?: HumanLayer is an AI IDE and collaboration platform that enables software engineers to accelerate development across the entire software development lifecycle using AI agents. The platform provides structured workflows, task management, and human-in-the-loop code review capabilities for teams building complex software systems.
Who founded HumanLayer?: HumanLayer was founded by Dexter Horthy, Kyle Mistele in 2023.
Who are HumanLayer's investors?: HumanLayer's investors include Hawk Hill Ventures, Pioneer, Y Combinator, 0 AD, Batch Ventures, Massive Tech Ventures, OurCrowd, Preface Ventures.
Where is HumanLayer headquartered?: HumanLayer is headquartered in San Francisco, US.