Where does David Ferris work?

David Ferris is Founder of Phonic.

Where did David Ferris go to school?

David Ferris studied at Y Combinator (W20); Hult Ashridge Executive Education (Hult Prize, United Nations Finalist); University of Waterloo (Bachelor’s Degree, Mechatronics).

David Ferris

Founder

Founder at Phonic

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedPhonic · YC

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About

David Ferris holds a degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He worked as a software engineer at Google on real-time ad auctions and as an AI engineer at Uber on Global Intelligence before co-founding Phonic, which he led as CEO until its acquisition by Infillion in 2023.

Founder at Phonic YC W20

Intro paths

David went through Y Combinator (Winter 2020) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

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In turn, David can intro founders to Phonic's investors below.

Phonic's investors · 7

Essence Venture CapitalSan Francisco · $10K – $10M checks Lux CapitalNew York · $100K – $100M checks · since 2025 Romulus CapitalBoston · $250K – $10M checks Supernode VenturesNew York · $500K – $1.3M checks Tola CapitalSeattle · $1M – $15M checks Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2020 ZillionizePalo Alto · $200K checks

Co-founders at Phonic

Mitchell CatoenFounder

Moin NadeemFounder

Nikhil MurthyFounder

Experience

OpenAIMember of Technical Staffcurrent2026 — present
South Park CommonsResearch2025 — 2026
PlaygroundProduct Engineer2023 — 2025
PhonicCo-Founder & CEO2020 — 2023
UberSoftware Engineer2019San Francisco, California
GoogleSoftware Engineer2018New York
AthosData Scientist2017Redwood City
CIBCSoftware Developer2016Toronto, ON
WeMeshAndroid Developer2016Waterloo, ON
FiftyThree Inc.Mobile Device Intern2015Seattle, WA
Devils Glen Country ClubSki Racing Coach2012 — 2013

Skills & more

Leadership10Public Speaking1CommunicationProgramming19Machine Learning9Robotics12Swarm Intelligence3TeachingTutoring1Computer-Aided Design (CAD)1Electrical EngineeringMechatronics3

+12 more

Android DevelopmentWeb DevelopmentPyrotechnicsResearchRunningData MiningComputer ScienceDeep LearningSolidWorksJavaJavaScriptFirmware

Moving Water II (Whitewater Certification) — ORCKA
Open Water Diver — PADI
SQL for Data Science — Coursera
Deep Learning Specialization — Coursera

From David's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is David Ferris?: David Ferris holds a degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He worked as a software engineer at Google on real-time ad auctions and as an AI engineer at Uber on Global Intelligence before co-founding Phonic, which he led as CEO until its acquisition by Infillion in 2023.
Where does David Ferris work?: David Ferris is Founder of Phonic.
What companies did David Ferris found?: David Ferris founded Phonic.
Where did David Ferris go to school?: David Ferris studied at Y Combinator (W20); Hult Ashridge Executive Education (Hult Prize, United Nations Finalist); University of Waterloo (Bachelor’s Degree, Mechatronics).