Fundraising Fox

Armen Arakelyan

Founder

Co-founder & CTO at Ornadyne

Burbank, California, United States

FoundedOrnadyne · YC

About

Armen Arakelyan is Co-founder and CTO at Ornadyne, developing autonomous flapping-wing aircraft. He previously worked as a Starship components engineer at SpaceX and led machining operations at the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at the University of Southern California.

Co-founder & CTO at OrnadyneYC X26

Intro paths

YC

Armen 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 Aaron Epstein, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Ornadyne's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

→

In turn, Armen can intro founders to Ornadyne's investors below.

Ornadyne's investors · 1

Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Ornadyne

GKGeourg Kivijian
Geourg KivijianCo-founder & CEO

Experience

  1. OrnadyneCo-Founder / CTOcurrent2026 — presentLos Angeles, CA
  2. SpaceXComponents Engineer2025 — 2026Los Angeles, CA
  3. USC Rocket Propulsion LaboratoryMachining Team Lead2023 — 2025Los Angeles, California, United States
  4. USC Rocket Propulsion LaboratoryManufacturing and Propulsion Engineer2021 — 2023Los Angeles, California, United States
  5. MeggittMechanical/Electrical Engineering Intern2023Simi Valley, California, United States

Skills & more

Design for Manufacturability3Machining3Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing2Design for ManufacturingRadio Frequency (RF)1Electrical Design1CNC ManufacturingManual MachiningWeldingMastercamCAD/CAMPython (Programming Language)
+2 moreMATLABSOLIDWORKS

From Armen's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Armen Arakelyan?
Armen Arakelyan is Co-founder and CTO at Ornadyne, developing autonomous flapping-wing aircraft. He previously worked as a Starship components engineer at SpaceX and led machining operations at the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at the University of Southern California.
Where does Armen Arakelyan work?
Armen Arakelyan is Co-founder & CTO of Ornadyne.
What companies did Armen Arakelyan found?
Armen Arakelyan founded Ornadyne.
Where did Armen Arakelyan go to school?
Armen Arakelyan studied at Y Combinator (P26); University of Southern California (Bachelor of Science - BS, Aerospace).

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

University of Southern California mafia137

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Marc BenioffB.S.B.A.Founded SalesforceGabriel PereyraBachelor's degreeFounded HarveyKent WakefordJuris Doctorate (J.D.)Founded Breaking +4Matt MichelsonM.S.Founded Evid Science +1Jinal JhaveriMaster of ScienceFounded SchoolMint +1Danny WenBachelor of Science - BSFounded Crowdmade +1

+ 130 more

Same school

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyArhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear VenturesMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports Ventures

+ 1,994 more

Also attended University of Southern California490

Shaun MaguirePartner at Sequoia CapitalMarc BenioffCo-founder, Chair & CEO of SalesforceGabriel PereyraCo-founder & President of HarveyDamir BecirovicInvestor at Index VenturesVojtech HornaInvestor at Index VenturesNatalie VaisInvestor at Spark Capital

+ 484 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Ornadyne1

Geourg KivijianCo-founder & CEO at Ornadyne

Also worked at SpaceX148

Roelof BothaAdvisor & former Steward at Sequoia Capital; SpaceX board memberSteve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesAsanka JayasuriyaPortfolio Support at 8VCJustin RoseInvestment Team at 8VCGarry HillInvestment at Makers FundHelen LiangFounder & General Partner at FoundersX Ventures

+ 142 more

Also worked at Meggitt2

Eric AchtmannAdvisory Board at Arowana PartnersJeffrey NicholasPartner At Fox Rothschild Llp at Delaware Crossing Investor Group