About
Derek Ye previously served as tech lead at Amazon and founding engineer at Arpeggi Labs, an a16z-backed startup. He was a National Merit Scholar at USC.
Founder at MaximalYC S25
Intro paths
YC
Derek 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 Diana Hu, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Maximal's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
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In turn, Derek can intro founders to Maximal's investors below.
Maximal's investors · 1
Co-founders at Maximal
LR
Leeds RisingFounder
Experience
- MaximalCo-Foundercurrent2025 — present
- AmazonSoftware Engineer2022 — 2025San Francisco, California, United States
- Kits.AISoftware Engineer2021 — 2022San Francisco, California, United States
- WorkdaySoftware Engineer2020 — 2021San Francisco Bay Area
- Eli Lilly and CompanyBioinformatics Engineer2018San Diego
Skills & more
Apollo GraphQLReact NativeNode.jsAmazon Web Services (AWS)JavaPyTorchNext.jsReact.jsPython (Programming Language)Microsoft Office2C++3JavaScript2
+10 more
JSXLinuxHTMLCascading Style Sheets (CSS)TypeScriptInfrastructureEngineeringCloud InfrastructureObject-Oriented Programming (OOP)Public SpeakingFrom Derek's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Derek Ye?
- Derek Ye previously served as tech lead at Amazon and founding engineer at Arpeggi Labs, an a16z-backed startup. He was a National Merit Scholar at USC.
- Where does Derek Ye work?
- Derek Ye is Founder of Maximal.
- What companies did Derek Ye found?
- Derek Ye founded Maximal.
- Where did Derek Ye go to school?
- Derek Ye studied at Y Combinator (S25); University of Southern California (Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Science and Business); Torrey Pines High School.
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
Torrey Pines High School mafia7
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
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 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
Also attended Torrey Pines High School12
Brigitte BonebrakeAssistant Controller at Lerer HippeauJackie PlashkesInvestor at Side Door VenturesNathan LianStrategic Advisor, Strategic Finance & GTM at Asymmetric Capital PartnersTy McGuirePartner at Black Mountain Investment GroupKaiwen LiuAssociate at LEADEric GuanHead of Token Economics at Superlayer
+ 6 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Maximal1
Also worked at Amazon645
Apoorva MehtaFounder of Instacart; founder of Cloud Health SystemsBinny BansalCo-founder of Flipkart; co-founder of PhonePe and OppDoorBrad PorterFounder & CEO of Collaborative RoboticsJane MooneyCo-founder & VP, Strategy and Finance at Collaborative RoboticsNick FrosstCo-founder of CohereDave MunichielloInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)
+ 639 more
Also worked at Workday50
Mike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesJob SimonVenture Partner and CTO at Monta Vista CapitalHemamAdvisor at Clear VenturesMike ArpaiaComputer scientist working on machine learning and data infrastructureAndy LeaverOperating Partner at Notion CapitalShashank SaxenaInvestor at Sierra Ventures
+ 44 more
Also worked at Eli Lilly and Company83
David MollerInvestor at Third Rock VenturesJesper GromadaInvestor at Third Rock VenturesMark LevinRetired Founding Partner at Third Rock VenturesRhonda PachecoPresident, U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head at Takeda VenturesCarlos PayaVenture Partner at Ysios CapitalKjersti FrognerInvestor at Almi Invest
+ 77 more