Where does James Smith work?

James Smith is Co-Founder of Hessian.

Where did James Smith go to school?

James Smith studied at Y Combinator (P26); Durham University (Bachelor of Science - BSc, Computer Science).

James Smith

Founder

Co-Founder at Hessian

London, England, United Kingdom

FoundedHessian · YC

Find your path to James

1,196 people in our graph share verified history with James — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Maria DrobotunlockedJames: together at Durham University (2020)

James: together at Durham University

×10James: together at Y Combinator

About

James Smith is co-founder and COO of Hessian, overseeing customer engagement and production AI pipeline deployment. He previously spent five years at Bloomberg developing data infrastructure for financial services and worked at DRW on commodities trading data systems; he holds a degree in computer science from Durham University.

Co-Founder at Hessian YC X26

Intro paths

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

Their group partner at YC was Garry Tan, President & CEO of Y Combinator — the partner who ran Hessian's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

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In turn, James can intro founders to Hessian's investors below.

Hessian's investors · 2

Prime Movers LabJackson · $2M – $30M checks Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Hessian

Bao NguyenCo-Founder & CEO

Tom WatsonFounder

Experience

HessianCo-Foundercurrent2026 — present
DRWSoftware Engineer2025 — 2026London
Bloomberg LPSoftware Engineer2020 — 2025Greater London
FeaturespaceSoftware Engineer2019Cambridge, United Kingdom
FeaturespaceContract Software Engineer2018 — 2019United Kingdom
FeaturespaceSoftware Engineer2018Cambridge, United Kingdom

Skills & more

Java3Python4JavaScript3Computer Science2Software Development2Adobe Photoshop2HTML52SASS2Selenium1react2

From James's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is James Smith?: James Smith is co-founder and COO of Hessian, overseeing customer engagement and production AI pipeline deployment. He previously spent five years at Bloomberg developing data infrastructure for financial services and worked at DRW on commodities trading data systems; he holds a degree in computer science from Durham University.
Where does James Smith work?: James Smith is Co-Founder of Hessian.
What companies did James Smith found?: James Smith founded Hessian.
Where did James Smith go to school?: James Smith studied at Y Combinator (P26); Durham University (Bachelor of Science - BSc, Computer Science).

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia10,230

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3 Garry TanPresident & CEOFounded Y Combinator +1 Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y Combinator Alexis OhanianPartnerFounded Reddit Fred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1 Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded Paradigm +1

+ 10,223 more

Durham University mafia65

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Ash RustBScFounded Sterling Road +1 Matthew FordBA (Hons.)Founded Sidekick Money +1 Joshua MarchLLBFounded SciFi Foods +1 Oliver TonkinBachelor of Arts - BAFounded Bcbgroup +1 Yuk Chi ChanBachelor of Laws - LL.B.Founded Charter +1 Alan ShawDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)Founded Codexis +1

+ 58 more

Featurespace mafia4

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Piotr GrudzienData ScientistFounded Quickchat AI Botty DimanovDeep Learning ConsultantFounded Tenyks Karthik TadinadaDirector of Data ScienceFounded Wearefortify

Same school

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of Kalshi Suhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of Particle Subomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of Convoy Arhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear Ventures Collin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital Victor SantosVictor Scout at One Way Ventures

+ 1,994 more

Also attended Durham University299

Bertie AykroydPartner at Mayfair Equity Partners Maria DrobotInvestor at DN Capital Naseem MoumeneVice President at Northzone, investing across complex and fragmented industries undergoing fundamental shifts Jeppe ZinkPartner at Northzone Hugo AdamsInvestor at Pembroke VCT Chandar LalPartner at Mosaic Ventures

+ 293 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Hessian2

Bao NguyenCo-Founder & CEO at Hessian Tom WatsonFounder at Hessian

Also worked at DRW25

Greg MeccaAnalyst – Agriculture at Ospraie Ag Science Arjun MohanInvestments at Standard Crypto Erin BrownChief Operating Officer at Galaxy Ventures Jason UrbanCo-Head of Digital Assets at Galaxy Ventures Kimberly TrautmannPartner at DRW Venture Capital Angela HanAssociate at NewView Capital

+ 19 more

Also worked at Bloomberg LP260

Reed HastingsCo-founder of Netflix Vivek GopalanInvestment Team at 8VC Andrea GurnariInvestor at Moonfire Ventures Justin FergusonInnovation Manager, Venture Development at Maryland TEDCO Iman El HassanChief of Staff at Gaingels Allison PavlickInvestor Relations Principal at S32

+ 254 more

Also worked at Featurespace5

Gardiner W. GarrardCo-Founder and Managing Partner at TTV Capital Lonne JaffeManaging Director at Insight Partners Piotr GrudzienCofounder / CTO at Quickchat AI Botty DimanovFounder at Tenyks Karthik TadinadaFounder at Wearefortify

Find your path to James

About

Co-Founder at HessianYC X26

Intro paths

Hessian's investors · 2

Co-founders at Hessian

Experience

Skills & more

Frequently asked questions

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia10,230

Durham University mafia65

Featurespace mafia4

Same school

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Also attended Durham University299

Shared employers

Also worked at Hessian2

Also worked at DRW25

Also worked at Bloomberg LP260

Also worked at Featurespace5

Co-Founder at Hessian YC X26