About
Ari Polakof is co-founder and CEO of Flai. He previously worked as a founding engineer at Happyrobot, a Y Combinator S23 company.
Founder at FlaiYC S25
Intro paths
YC
Ari 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, Ari 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 Engineer2024 — 2025San Francisco, California, United States
- AppFolioMachine Learning Engineer II2024San Francisco, California, United States
- AppFolioSoftware Engineer II2024San Francisco, California, United States
- AppFolioSoftware Engineer2022 — 2024San Francisco, California, United States
- AppFolioSoftware Engineer Intern2022
- AppFolio, Inc.Software Engineer Intern2021
Skills & more
AWS12Nextjs12React9Python4PyTorch2SQL1Ruby on Rails2React.js1Java1C++2JavaScript1Golang3
+1 more
TypeScriptFrom Ari's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Ari Polakof?
- Ari Polakof is co-founder and CEO of Flai. He previously worked as a founding engineer at Happyrobot, a Y Combinator S23 company.
- Where does Ari Polakof work?
- Ari Polakof is Founder of Flai.
- What companies did Ari Polakof found?
- Ari Polakof founded Flai.
- Where did Ari Polakof go to school?
- Ari Polakof studied at Y Combinator (S25); Georgia Institute of Technology (Master's degree, Computer Science); UC Santa Barbara (Bachelor of Science - BS, 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
Y Combinator mafia4,716
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3
+ 4,709 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
UC Santa Barbara mafia61
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Logan GreenBAFounded Lyft +1Nils ReggeBAFounded Developx +2Michael WitzbaFounded Mob Science +2Brett GibsonBAFounded Slinkset +1Ivan BercovichPhDFounded Unwrap +1Zheng XuPh.D.Founded SolarCity +1
+ 54 more
The University of Edinburgh mafia41
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Jeffrey ChangGraduate StudiesFounded Doblet +1Nicolas HourcardMsc Finance & InvestmentFounded QuestDB +1Jess LynchFounded WishRouteJohn CampbellDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)Founded Resolution TherapeuticsMartin SchrimpffMechanical Engineering with Management TechniquesFounded KocomoDavid MlčochMaster's degree with DistinctionFounded Asteroid
+ 34 more
Same school
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesCollin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital
+ 1,994 more
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
Also attended UC Santa Barbara235
Logan GreenCo-founder of LyftArturo LitvinHead of Global Portfolio Development at Intel CapitalKevin ThauInvestor at Spark CapitalErica DelamareInvestor at DaphniTiffany ChandraVice President, Head of Talent Network at Sapphire VenturesStephanie DuranInvestor at True Ventures
+ 229 more
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