Fundraising Fox

Jason Cornelius

Founder

Co-founder & CEO at Perseus Defense

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedPerseus Defense · YC

About

Jason Cornelius co-founded Perseus Defense. He worked on the NASA Titan Dragonfly rotorcraft program and led an advanced concepts team on Mars helicopter design using AI and supercomputing. He teaches aerospace engineering at Stanford.

Co-founder & CEO at Perseus DefenseYC S25

Intro paths

YC

Jason went through Y Combinator (Summer 2025) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

GP

Their group partner at YC was Tyler Bosmeny, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Perseus Defense's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

→

In turn, Jason can intro founders to Perseus Defense's investors below.

Perseus Defense's investors · 6

Alumni VenturesManchester · $100K – $10M checks · since 2025Bow CapitalMenlo Park · since 2025Lobster CapitalSan Francisco · since 2025Olive Tree CapitalBostonRebel FundSan Francisco · $100K – $5M checks · since 2025Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2025

Co-founders at Perseus Defense

SMSteve Messinger
Steve MessingerFounder

Experience

  1. Perseus DefenseCo-Founder & CEOcurrent2025 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAerospace Engineer2018 — 2025Silicon Valley, California
  3. Stanford UniversityLecturer2025Palo Alto, California, United States
  4. Penn State UniversityNational Science Foundation Fellow, Department of Aerospace Engineering2016 — 2023State College, Pennsylvania
  5. Penn State UniversityTeam Lead - US Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition2015 — 2017
  6. Penn State UniversityProject Pt. 85 Principle Investigator2016SAE International Powered Lift Conference
  7. Penn State UniversityStudy Abroad Teaching Assistant2016China
  8. Penn State UniversityTeaching Assistant2014 — 2015State College-DuBois Area
  9. Penn State UniversityResearch Assistant2014State College-DuBois Area
  10. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAeromechanics Intern2017Ames Research Center
  11. Bell HelicopterFlight Technology Research and Development Intern2016Xworx Flight Test Facility, Arlington TX
  12. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAeromechanics Intern2016Ames Research Center
  13. Bell HelicopterRotor Analysis Intern2015Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
  14. Bell HelicopterBoot Camper2015Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Skills & more

Microsoft Office13Microsoft Excel11PowerPoint9Microsoft Word10SolidWorks7C++3Matlab5CATIA3Python2ANSYS3Aerospace EngineeringUniversity Lecturing1
+12 moreMathematical ModelingApplied AerodynamicsSubsonic FlowSupersonic FlowAirfoil PerformanceAircraft DesignComputational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)Machine LearningGPU Accelerated CFDResearchAerospaceLeadership

Languages English · Mandarin Chinese · Russian · Spanish

From Jason's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jason Cornelius?
Jason Cornelius co-founded Perseus Defense. He worked on the NASA Titan Dragonfly rotorcraft program and led an advanced concepts team on Mars helicopter design using AI and supercomputing. He teaches aerospace engineering at Stanford.
Where does Jason Cornelius work?
Jason Cornelius is Co-founder & CEO of Perseus Defense.
What companies did Jason Cornelius found?
Jason Cornelius founded Perseus Defense.
Where did Jason Cornelius go to school?
Jason Cornelius studied at Y Combinator; Penn State University (Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Aerospace); Penn State University (Master of Science - MS, Aerospace).

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia8,773

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Y Combinator mafia4,716

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

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Stanford University mafia903

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Peter ThielJ.D.Founded PayPal +1Reid HoffmanB.S.Founded LinkedIn +2Joe LonsdaleBSFounded Opto +3Mike Maples JrBSFounded Pattern BreakersSteve JurvetsonMSEEFounded Mojo VisionBalaji SrinivasanGraduate StudentFounded Counsyl +1

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Penn State University mafia41

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Jim EveringhamComputer ScienceFounded LiveOps +1Ash AshutoshMastersFounded Actifio +1Queen Chinyere QuinnB.A.Founded Oathafrica +1Fahim FerdousComputer ScienceFounded AdQuick +1Joe FiotiComputer ScienceFounded Luminal +1Peter EmighBSFounded Savoy Life

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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

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Also attended Penn State University189

Kelly DonovanExecutive Assistant & Operations Associate, Revolution Growth at RevolutionFallon GoodeExecutive Assistant at March Capital PartnersCristina HohlmanPartner, Chief Financial Officer at Sapphire VenturesNick DolikInvestor at 8VCRobert SoffelRevOps Expert at Notion CapitalLouis BernemanFounding Partner at Osage University Partners

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Shared employers

Also worked at Perseus Defense1

Steve MessingerFounder at Perseus Defense

Also worked at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration104

HariFellow at Clear VenturesSai SenthilkumarPartner at Redpoint VenturesJoe FlahertyDirector, Content & Community at Founder CollectiveJim BridenstineManaging Partner, Artemis Group at Cortado VenturesGabe ShermanPresident, Artemis Group at Cortado VenturesLinda CuretonBoard Member at Maryland TEDCO

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Also worked at Stanford University722

Ann Miura-KoCo-founding Partner at FloodgateBalaji SrinivasanAngel investor and founder of The Network SchoolMartin CasadoGeneral Partner at Andreessen HorowitzMike KriegerCo-founder of Instagram; Chief Product Officer at AnthropicAndy FangCo-founder & CTO of DoorDashRyan SheaCo-founder of Blockstack (Stacks)

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Also worked at Penn State University29

James CarterSr. Staff Scientist & Lab Manager at The Innovation SpaceRebekka CoakleyMarketing & Communications Manager at The Innovation SpaceDanielle CioccoController at StripesLuCompliance Director at UpHonest CapitalAnnie MitsakPartner at Cure VenturesMorton LinInvestor at NEW VISTA CAPITAL

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