About
Alen Polakof is founder and CTO of Flai. He previously served as a founding engineer at HappyRobot and spent over four years in infrastructure roles at Uber.
Founder at FlaiYC S25
Intro paths
YC
Alen went through Y Combinator (Summer 2025) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Andrew Miklas, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Flai's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
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In turn, Alen can intro founders to Flai's investors below.
Flai's investors · 7
Beat VenturesSan FranciscoFirst Round CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $7M checks · since 2025Innovation EndeavorsPalo Alto · $1M – $15M checks · since 2025Liquid VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $5M checks · since 2025RedBlue CapitalSanta Cruz · since 2025Toyota VenturesLos AltosY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2025
Co-founders at Flai
Experience
- FlaiCo-Foundercurrent2025 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- HappyRobotFounding Engineer2025San Francisco Bay Area
- UberSenior Software Engineer2024 — 2025San Francisco Bay Area
- UberSoftware Engineer II2022 — 2024San Francisco Bay Area
- UberSoftware Engineer I2021 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Alen Polakof?
- Alen Polakof is founder and CTO of Flai. He previously served as a founding engineer at HappyRobot and spent over four years in infrastructure roles at Uber.
- Where does Alen Polakof work?
- Alen Polakof is Founder of Flai.
- What companies did Alen Polakof found?
- Alen Polakof founded Flai.
- Where did Alen Polakof go to school?
- Alen Polakof studied at Georgia Institute of Technology (Master's degree, Computer Science); Georgia Institute of Technology (Bachelor's degree, Computer Science).
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,773
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1
+ 8,766 more
Georgia Institute of Technology mafia180
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Lukasz GadowskiExchange SemesterFounded Spreadshirt +2Aamir PoonawallaMastersFounded Understudy Labs +1Jonathan FriedmanBachelor of Science (B.Sc.)Founded Assembly +1Eric WangMaster of Science - MSFounded Natural +1Pranavkrishna SureshDual EnrollmentFounded Blaze Market Incorporated +1Royce ArockiasamyBachelor of Science - BSFounded Pleom +1
+ 173 more
Uber mafia170
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Garrett CampFounder & ChairmanFounded Aero +1Raquel UrtasunChief Scientist, Head of Uber ATG R&DFounded WaabiRobin ChanAdvisorFounded Operator +2Dan LifshitsEngineering ContractorFounded GO GLOBAL WORLD +1Ben LernerSoftware Engineer, InfrastructureFounded Espresso AI +1Bastien BeurierSoftware EngineerFounded Lantern +1
+ 163 more
HappyRobot mafia3
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Georgia Institute of Technology346
Brando De CourtenData Engineer at P101 VenturesTom DyalCo-Founder at Redpoint VenturesWouter Van de PutteInvestment Director at Capricorn Venture PartnersWill McGinnisEntrepreneur and data science executive working at the intersection of AI/ML, technology, and business strategyJaya GuptaInvestor at Foundation CapitalJames WangGeneral Partner at Creative Ventures
+ 340 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Flai2
Also worked at HappyRobot6
Also worked at Uber418
Bill GurleyGeneral Partner Emeritus at BenchmarkJason CalacanisFounder of LAUNCH; host of This Week in StartupsAndrew ChenGeneral Partner at Andreessen HorowitzGarrett CampCo-founder of Uber and StumbleUpon; founder of ExpaRaquel UrtasunFounder & CEO of WaabiFrédérique DameInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)
+ 412 more