Fundraising Fox

Essam Sleiman

Founder

Founder & CEO at Canvas

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedCanvas Β· YC

About

Essam Sleiman is the founder of Canvas AI. He previously built AI and continual learning systems at Twitch and AWS, co-founded Komma, a sales automation platform, and has published AI research in top conferences.

Founder & CEO at CanvasYC F24

Intro paths

YC

Essam went through Y Combinator (Fall 2024) β€” any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

GP

Their group partner at YC was Pete Koomen, General Partner at Y Combinator β€” the partner who ran Canvas's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile β†—

β†’

In turn, Essam can intro founders to Canvas's investors below.

Canvas's investors Β· 3

FoundryBoulder Β· $250K – $15M checks Β· since 2025Trilogy Equity PartnersSeattle Β· $2M – $6M checks Β· since 2025Y CombinatorSan Francisco Β· $500K checks Β· since 2024

Experience

  1. Canvas AI (YC F24)Founder & CEOcurrent2024 β€” presentSan Francisco, CA
  2. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesGraduate Research Assistant2023 β€” 2024
  3. TwitchResearch Engineer2021 β€” 2022San Francisco, CA
  4. KommaCo-Founder/CTO2020 β€” 2021
  5. CodeLabCo-Founder/President2020 β€” 2021
  6. Amazon Web Services (AWS)Software Engineer2020 β€” 2021San Francisco Bay Area
  7. University of California, DavisResearch Assistant2019 β€” 2021

Skills & more

PyTorchReact.jsNode.jsJavaScriptMongoDBPython (Programming Language)Google Cloud Platform (GCP)Amazon Web Services (AWS)Machine Learning4Computer Vision4Deep Learning4Image Processing
+7 moreArtificial Intelligence (AI)Applied Machine LearningFull-Stack DevelopmentBackendGo (Programming Language)CommunicationTeamwork

From Essam's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Essam Sleiman?
Essam Sleiman is the founder of Canvas AI. He previously built AI and continual learning systems at Twitch and AWS, co-founded Komma, a sales automation platform, and has published AI research in top conferences.
Where does Essam Sleiman work?
Essam Sleiman is Founder & CEO of Canvas.
What companies did Essam Sleiman found?
Essam Sleiman founded Canvas.
Where did Essam Sleiman go to school?
Essam Sleiman studied at Harvard University (Master of Science - MS, CSE); Y Combinator (F24); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cross-Registeration).

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

Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia546

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co.Nat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded XamarinMatt HuangB.S.Founded HotspotsDelian AsparouhovDropoutFounded Nightingale +1Drew HoustonBSFounded Dropbox +1Arash FerdowsiComputer ScienceFounded Dropbox

+ 539 more

Twitch mafia17

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Justin KanFounderFounded Stash +5Ethan KurzweilBoard MemberFounded Level Access +1Kyle VogtFounderFounded TheBotCompany +1Emmett ShearFounderFounded Softmax +1Kevin LinChief Operating OfficerFounded MetatheoryArram SabetiOffice OperationsFounded Zerocater

+ 10 more

Same school

Also attended Harvard University1,999

Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalChris DixonFounder & Managing Partner of a16z crypto at Andreessen HorowitzSarah TavelVenture Partner at BenchmarkDanny RimerPartner at Index VenturesLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates Foundation

+ 1,993 more

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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,608

Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars

+ 1,602 more

Also attended University of California, Davis205

Charles CallSLP & Venture Partner at Cottonwood Technology FundDavid PhuController at Felicis VenturesTeresa ChanChief Financial Officer at Felicis VenturesMike ZakInvestor at CRV (Charles River Ventures)Bryan EglanDirector of Business Development at Menlo VenturesScott MaxwellInvestor at OpenView Venture Partners

+ 199 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences34

Ankit GuptaGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorDavid KoleskyPrincipal at MPM BioImpactShuya GongDesign & Futures at IDEO CoLab VenturesRuss WilcoxCEO, Trellis Air & Venture Partner at Pillar VCJessica LinCo-Founder and General Partner at Work-BenchJatin PatilInvestor at E14 Fund

+ 28 more

Also worked at Twitch33

Justin LiuVice President at Sapphire VenturesAndrew VogeleyVice President at Sapphire VenturesStewart AlsopInvestor at Alsop Louie PartnersJustin KanInvestor at Goat CapitalEthan KurzweilInvestor at ChemistryHubert ThieblotGeneral Partner at Founders

+ 27 more

Also worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS)292

Nancy WangInvestor at Felicis VenturesJon TurowVenture Partner at Madrona Venture GroupEric AndersonPartner at Scale Venture PartnersKeerthi NalabotuInvestor at True VenturesAdam NaorInvestor at CapitalGKen HowardVice President of Technology Services at Flare Capital Partners

+ 286 more

Also worked at University of California, Davis51

Bryan EglanDirector of Business Development at Menlo VenturesScott MaxwellInvestor at OpenView Venture PartnersJosephine ChenInvestor at Sequoia CapitalCindy DoleDeputy General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Samsung Catalyst FundGordon RausserAdvisory Board Member at Rembrandt Venture PartnersToni AlejandriaEvents + Community at Rackhouse Venture Management Lp

+ 45 more