Fundraising Fox

Ian Lee

Founder

Founder at Petrarch

Greater Philadelphia

FoundedPetrarch · YC

About

Ian Lee founded Petrarch. He previously worked as a fellow at Meridian AI focused on training data and go-to-market infrastructure for AI applications in financial services, and served as a technical advisor at Scale AI on quality filtering and annotation systems. He holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and psychology from Harvard University.

Founder at PetrarchYC S26

Intro paths

YC

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

GP

Their group partner at YC was Vivian Midha Shen — the partner who ran Petrarch's batch and knows the company first-hand.

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In turn, Ian can intro founders to Petrarch's investors below.

Petrarch's investors · 1

Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Petrarch

SHSamuel Hahn
Samuel HahnFounder
SSSudhish Swain
Sudhish SwainFounder

Experience

  1. PetrarchCEO, Co-Foundercurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
  2. Meridian AIFellow2026New York, New York, United States
  3. Scale AIGenerative AI Technical Advisor2024 — 2025San Francisco, California, United States
  4. University of PennsylvaniaEnergy Industrials Intern - Kleinman Center for Energy Policy2023Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Skills & more

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Valuation1M&A Modeling1Financial Modeling1

From Ian's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ian Lee?
Ian Lee founded Petrarch. He previously worked as a fellow at Meridian AI focused on training data and go-to-market infrastructure for AI applications in financial services, and served as a technical advisor at Scale AI on quality filtering and annotation systems. He holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and psychology from Harvard University.
Where does Ian Lee work?
Ian Lee is Founder of Petrarch.
What companies did Ian Lee found?
Ian Lee founded Petrarch.
Where did Ian Lee go to school?
Ian Lee studied at Harvard University (Bachelor of Arts - BA, Applied Mathematics (Psychology) - on leave); Y Combinator (S26); The Lawrenceville 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

Scale AI mafia47

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Alexandr WangCo-founder & CEOFounded Scale AILucy GuoCo-founderFounded PassesWilliam HockeyBoard DirectorFounded PlaidJosephine LeeIntern - GenAIFounded Palette Labs +1Daniel LevineBoard MemberFounded ChartioArnav SahuInvestorFounded Wolfia

+ 40 more

The Lawrenceville School mafia17

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Savraj SinghFounded ContestMachine +1Rujul ZapardeFounded FlightCar +1Mike CarterFounded Vooma +1Sandy KhaundFounded CredenzaPeter FishmanFounded Mozart DataPorter BraswellFounded Jopwell

+ 10 more

Meridian mafia3

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

George FangCTO & Co-FounderFounded Canopy (was Encarte)John LingCEO & Co-FounderFounded Canopy (was Encarte)

Same school

Also attended Harvard University1,564

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

+ 1,558 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 The Lawrenceville School55

Zoe van den BolInvestor at Alpha PartnersCorey RitterPartner at ARCH Venture PartnersLuke ArmourInvestor at Chaac VenturesClaire ZauPartner at GSV VenturesDavid StewartVenture Partner at LiveOak VenturesBrian O'CallaghanCo-Founder at AIF

+ 49 more

Also attended The Episcopal Academy2

Chad KemmererAnalyst at Volition CapitalAaron KimDirector at Oxeon Partners

Shared employers

Also worked at Petrarch2

Samuel HahnFounder at PetrarchSudhish SwainFounder at Petrarch

Also worked at Meridian AI4

Victoria ZuoPartner on QED Investors' early stage domestic team, focused on early stage fintech and commerceGeorge FangFounder at Canopy (was Encarte)John LingFounder at Canopy (was Encarte)Zach KirshnerCOO & Co-Founder at Meridian

Also worked at Scale AI81

Alexandr WangCo-founder of Scale AI; Chief AI Officer at MetaLucy GuoCo-founder of Scale AI; founder & CEO of PassesWilliam HockeyCo-founder of Plaid; founder & CEO of ColumnBrad PorterFounder & CEO of Collaborative RoboticsCat WuInvestor at Index VenturesMike VolpiInvestor at Index Ventures

+ 75 more

Also worked at University of Pennsylvania122

Wesley BarrowPartner at Correlation VenturesDavid MagermanManaging Partner at Differential VenturesNuan ZhangInvestor at Episode1Vyas RamananVenture Partner at Third Rock VenturesLouis BernemanFounding Partner at Osage University PartnersBrian HalakManaging Partner at Medical Excellence Capital

+ 116 more