Fundraising Fox

🦊/People

Arihan Varanasi

Founder

Founder at Wato

Irving, Texas, United States

FoundedWato · YC

Find your path to Arihan

485 people in our graph share verified history with Arihan — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

James DetweilerunlockedArihan: together at Mercor (2025)

×5Arihan: together at Mercor

×6Arihan: together at Stanford University

About

Arihan Varanasi is the founder of Wato. He previously studied computer science at Stanford University.

Founder at Wato YC X26

Intro paths

YC

Arihan went through Y Combinator (Spring 2026) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

GP

Their group partner at YC was Nicolas Dessaigne, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Wato's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

→

In turn, Arihan can intro founders to Wato's investors below.

Wato's investors · 1

Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Wato

RR

Rahul Rejeev

Rahul RejeevFounder

Experience

WatoFoundercurrent2026 — present
MercorML2025
PlayAISWE2025
University of North TexasUndergraduate Researcher2022 — 2023Denton, Texas, United States

Skills & more

Natural Language Processing (NLP)Computer VisionData Analysis1MTA1Data Analytics1Machine Learning3Figma (Software)React.js3Swift (Programming Language)Python (Programming Language)Java1Analytical Skills1

Languages English · Hindi · Spanish · Telugu

MTA: Introduction to Programming Using Java - Certified — Microsoft

From Arihan's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Arihan Varanasi?: Arihan Varanasi is the founder of Wato. He previously studied computer science at Stanford University.
Where does Arihan Varanasi work?: Arihan Varanasi is Founder of Wato.
What companies did Arihan Varanasi found?: Arihan Varanasi founded Wato.
Where did Arihan Varanasi go to school?: Arihan Varanasi studied at Stanford University (Bachelor's degree, Computer Science); Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (Computer Science); Coppell High School (Computer Science).

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia10,230

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3 Garry TanPresident & CEOFounded Y Combinator +1 Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y Combinator Alexis OhanianPartnerFounded Reddit Fred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1 Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded Paradigm +1

+ 10,223 more

Stanford University mafia1,934

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Peter ThielB.A.Founded PayPal Reid HoffmanB.S.Founded LinkedIn +2 David SacksB.A.Founded Yammer Keith RaboisB.A.Founded OpenDoor Garry TanBSFounded Y Combinator +1 Joe LonsdaleBSFounded Opto +5

+ 1,927 more

Mercor mafia16

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Zachary YuEngineeringFounded Belvedir +1 John HealyLead series A investor & board observerFounded Wildlife Victor LazarteBoard MemberFounded Wildlife Robbie KhazanGrowthFounded Payvment Zee SchwabIndependent Finance Expert - AI Evaluation & TrainingFounded Column Taylor FairbankSenior Domain ExpertFounded ReSchedule Med

+ 9 more

Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science mafia10

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Shaoib MakaniFounded Motive Technologies +1 Rishi TalatiFounded Hotplate Jagath VytheeswaranFounded Vogent Justin WeiFounded Phind Aman GottumukkalaHigh SchoolFounded Firebender Kevin TangHigh School DiplomaFounded Firebender

+ 3 more

Coppell High School mafia2

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Raghav PillaiFounded Speck

Same school

Also attended Stanford University2,000

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders Fund David SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; former White House AI & Crypto Czar Garry TanPresident & CEO of Y Combinator Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia Capital Jim BreyerFounder & CEO of Breyer Capital Mike Maples JrCo-founding Partner at Floodgate

+ 1,994 more

Also attended Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science13

Joshua PosamentierManaging Partner and Co-Founder at Congruent Ventures Shaoib MakaniFounder, Motive at Houghton Street Ventures Amanda StudebakerSenior Associate at SCF Partners Brian Huskinson, PhDVenture Partner at ATP Rishi TalatiFounder at Hotplate Jagath VytheeswaranFounder at Vogent

+ 7 more

Also attended Coppell High School4

Jennifer Henry BrownGeneral Counsel, Bridgewest Group at Bridgewest Ventures Anubodh Sunny VarshneyVenture Advisor at Broadview Ventures Mustafa NeemuchwalaPartner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA)Raghav PillaiFounder at Speck

Shared employers

Also worked at Wato1

Rahul RejeevFounder at Wato

Also worked at Mercor29

Peter FentonGeneral Partner at Benchmark James DetweilerVP of Investments at Felicis Ventures Sundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis Ventures Niko BonatsosFounder and Managing Partner of Verdict Virat TalwarInvestor at Spark Capital Sunny DhillonFounder and Managing Partner at Kyber Knight Capital

+ 23 more

Also worked at PlayAI6

Steve JangManaging Partner at Kindred Ventures Chris McCannGeneral Partner at Race Capital Noah LeshanInvestor at Entrepreneur First Hammad SyedFounder at PlayAI Oliver Wendell-BralyFounder/CEO at Clarus Huzaifa AhmadFounder at Parameter (fka Hex Security)

Also worked at University of North Texas15

Rada MihalceaInvestor at Tensility Venture Partners Cliff CozzolinoOperating Advisor at Elsewhere Partners Alex AuerbachInvestor at Evio VC Bob MyersOperating Partner at MidOcean Adrianne CourtChief Human Resources Officer at Tealium Justin WeiFounder at Phind

+ 9 more