Aaron Chen
InvestorFounderCatalyst Fellow at Chemistry · Founder at Payna
San Francisco, California, United States
FoundedPayna · YC
About
Aaron Chen worked as a product engineer at an a16z-backed DeFi startup and won hackathons at ETHGlobal New York and Delhi. He is building Payna to automate regulatory licensing and compliance workflows for regulated companies.
Founder at PaynaYC W26
Intro paths
Aaron went through Y Combinator (Winter 2026) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
Their group partner at YC was Brad Flora, Backing expeditions into the future — the partner who ran Payna's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
In turn, Aaron can intro founders to Payna's investors below.
Payna's investors · 1
Co-founders at Payna
Experience
- ChemistryCatalyst Fellowcurrent2025 — present
- Payna | YC W26Co-Foundercurrent2025 — present
- Blockchain at BerkeleyProduct Designercurrent2025 — presentBerkeley, CA
- AxalProduct Engineer2025New York, NY
- RitualFellow2025
Colleagues at Chemistry
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Frequently asked questions
- Who is Aaron Chen?
- Aaron Chen worked as a product engineer at an a16z-backed DeFi startup and won hackathons at ETHGlobal New York and Delhi. He is building Payna to automate regulatory licensing and compliance workflows for regulated companies.
- Where does Aaron Chen work?
- Aaron Chen is Founder of Payna and Catalyst Fellow at Chemistry.
- What companies did Aaron Chen found?
- Aaron Chen founded Payna.
- Where did Aaron Chen go to school?
- Aaron Chen studied at University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor's Degree); Y Combinator.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,773
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
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Y Combinator mafia4,716
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
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University of California, Berkeley mafia538
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
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Chemistry mafia4
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended University of California, Berkeley1,611
+ 1,605 more
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Payna | YC W261
Also worked at Blockchain at Berkeley15
+ 9 more
