Fundraising Fox

James Smith

Founder

Co-Founder at Hessian

London, England, United Kingdom

FoundedHessian · YC

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 HessianYC X26

Intro paths

YC

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

GP

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 checksY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Hessian

BNBao Nguyen
Bao NguyenCo-Founder & CEO
TWTom Watson
Tom WatsonFounder

Experience

  1. HessianCo-Foundercurrent2026 — present
  2. DRWSoftware Engineer2025 — 2026London
  3. Bloomberg LPSoftware Engineer2020 — 2025Greater London
  4. FeaturespaceSoftware Engineer2019Cambridge, United Kingdom
  5. FeaturespaceContract Software Engineer2018 — 2019United Kingdom
  6. 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 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

Durham University mafia21

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Joshua MarchLLBFounded SciFi Foods +1Helen MurphyMaster of Engineering (MEng)Founded Opply +1Ash RustBScFounded SendHubDaniel MacklinBAFounded Salary FinanceColin HayhurstMEngFounded GoScaleAaron MorrisBSc with First Class HonsFounded PostEra

+ 14 more

Featurespace mafia3

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Piotr GrudzienData ScientistFounded Quickchat AIBotty DimanovDeep Learning ConsultantFounded Tenyks

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 Durham University166

Bertie AykroydPartner at Mayfair Equity PartnersMaria DrobotInvestor at DN CapitalNaseem MoumeneVice President at Northzone, investing across complex and fragmented industries undergoing fundamental shiftsJeppe ZinkPartner at NorthzoneHugo AdamsInvestor at Pembroke VCTChandar LalPartner at Mosaic Ventures

+ 160 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Hessian2

Bao NguyenCo-Founder & CEO at HessianTom WatsonFounder at Hessian

Also worked at DRW17

Arjun MohanInvestments at Standard CryptoJason UrbanCo-Head of Digital Assets at Galaxy VenturesKimberly TrautmannPartner at DRW Venture CapitalMax AdelmanAssociate at Ironspring VentureJosh FelkerManaging Partner at BoxOne VenturesBobby ChoPartner at CMS Holdings

+ 11 more

Also worked at Bloomberg LP154

Reed HastingsCo-founder of NetflixEric WagnerVP of Research and Data at Redpoint VenturesVivek GopalanInvestment Team at 8VCAndrea GurnariInvestor at Moonfire VenturesAllison PavlickInvestor Relations Principal at S32Adriana RocheHead of Talent at Uncork Capital

+ 148 more

Also worked at Featurespace4

Gardiner W. GarrardCo-Founder and Managing Partner at TTV CapitalLonne JaffeManaging Director at Insight PartnersPiotr GrudzienCofounder / CTO at Quickchat AIBotty DimanovFounder at Tenyks