About
Jae Choi is a co-founder at Sponge and previously worked on crypto initiatives at Stripe.
Founder at SpongeYC W26
Intro paths
YC
Jae went through Y Combinator (Winter 2026) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Brad Flora, Backing expeditions into the future β the partner who ran Sponge's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile β
β
In turn, Jae can intro founders to Sponge's investors below.
Sponge's investors Β· 2
Co-founders at Sponge
EZ
Eric ZhangFounder
RL
Rishab LuthraFounder
Experience
- Sponge (YC W26)Co-Foundercurrent2026 β presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- StripeSoftware Engineer2019 β 2025New York, United States
- StripeSoftware Engineer2019San Francisco Bay Area
- FlexportSoftware Engineer2019San Francisco Bay Area
- Sumo LogicSoftware Engineer2018San Francisco Bay Area
- IBMSoftware Engineer2017Greater Toronto Area, Canada
- BlackBerrySoftware Engineer2016Waterloo, Canada
- IrdetoSoftware Engineer2016Ottawa, Canada
- Imagine CommunicationsSoftware Engineer2015Waterloo, Canada
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Jae Choi?
- Jae Choi is a co-founder at Sponge and previously worked on crypto initiatives at Stripe.
- Where does Jae Choi work?
- Jae Choi is Founder of Sponge.
- What companies did Jae Choi found?
- Jae Choi founded Sponge.
- Where did Jae Choi go to school?
- Jae Choi studied at University of Waterloo (Bachelor of Computer Science).
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
University of Waterloo mafia200
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Apoorva MehtaBAScFounded InstacartZach WaterfieldComputer EngineeringFounded Zettlor +1Peter CarresciaBMathFounded GoConfirm +1Eric BlondeelDoctor of Philosophy - PhDFounded Samos Insurance +1Oleg KostourHonours Bachelor of Architectural StudiesFounded AtlasGrid +1Anton KrutianskyBachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.)Founded AtlasGrid +1
+ 193 more
Stripe mafia91
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Matt HuangBoard MemberFounded HotspotsPatrick CollisonCo-founder & CEOFounded AuctomaticGreg BrockmanFounding Engineer, then first CTOFounded OpenAIDaniela AmodeiEarly employee β Risk ManagerFounded AnthropicArvid LunnemarkSoftware EngineeringFounded CursorParker ConradMember Board of DirectorsFounded Zenefits +1
+ 84 more
Flexport mafia13
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Trae StephensDirectorFounded Pursuit +1Rob Schoder, Jr.General Manager, MidwestFounded Vinyl EquityHong HuSenior Engineering Manager & Site LeaderFounded 500FriendsAndrew CoyleDirector of DesignFounded Hey HealthcareTennison ChanSenior Software EngineerFounded TruewindYotam HamielSenior Software EngineerFounded Magicflow π
+ 6 more
Flexport mafia13
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan PetersenCEOFounded FlexportRob Schoder, Jr.General Manager, MidwestFounded Vinyl EquityHong HuDirector of Engineering, Site Leader - ChinaFounded 500FriendsAndrew CoyleDirector of DesignFounded Hey HealthcareTennison ChanSenior Software EngineerFounded TruewindYotam HamielSenior Software EngineerFounded Magicflow π
+ 6 more
Same school
Also attended University of Waterloo357
Chamath PalihapitiyaFounder & CEO of Social CapitalApoorva MehtaFounder of Instacart; founder of Cloud Health SystemsKarim GillaniGeneral Partner at Luge CapitalRohan MongaInvestment Associate at Luge CapitalAndrew MiklasGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorAniTalent Team at Hummingbird Ventures
+ 351 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Sponge (YC W26)2
Also worked at Stripe186
Hemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmLuciana LixandruPartner at Sequoia CapitalPatrick CollisonCo-founder & CEO of StripeJohn CollisonCo-founder & President of StripeGreg BrockmanCo-founder & President of OpenAI
+ 180 more
Also worked at Flexport38
Ryan PetersenFounder & CEO of FlexportWesley ChanInvestor at Felicis VenturesJessExecutive Assistant at Renegade PartnersRahul MehtaCo-founder at DST GlobalMatt MocharyInvestor at Fortius VenturesSpencer FoustManaging Director at Sozo Ventures
+ 32 more
Also worked at Sumo Logic17
Pat GradyPartner at Sequoia CapitalJai DasPartner, President at Sapphire VenturesSahir AzamInvestor at Index VenturesAhmed Al-BaharEntrepreneur in Residence at Storm VenturesAsheem ChandnaPartner at Greylock focused on enterprise, cybersecurity, and infrastructure softwareZack IsaacsonVenture Partner at Rackhouse Venture Management Lp
+ 11 more