Fundraising Fox

Merlin Kafka

Founder

Founder at Rex

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedRex · YC

About

Merlin spent four years as Chief Product Officer at Sequence, an order-to-cash platform, before founding Rex. He previously held a product management role at Tessian and studied Industrial Engineering at Cambridge and Product Design at Glasgow.

LinkedIn ↗X / Twitter ↗
Latest on 𝕏

Merlin @merlinkafka

@rexdotinc 3/ At Synthesia, Rex is now the system driving order-to-cash operations, keeping work moving so finance teams can focus on higher-value work. Before Rex, we spent more than four years building finance automation software. Find us at: https://t.co/ldzNCmEJeW

Jul 27, 2026 · ♥ 5

Merlin @merlinkafka

@rexdotinc 2/ Rex works every account continuously and takes the next action immediately, so order-to-cash stops being a backlog and cash moves faster. Rex builds deep context on how each enterprise operates and develops expertise from outcomes and human feedback. Rex handles the process

Jul 27, 2026 · ♥ 4

Merlin @merlinkafka

1/ @rexdotinc turns enterprise order-to-cash into an autonomous operation. Today, enterprises invoice customers, then spend months chasing payment through email chains, PDFs, and ancient web portals. Work gets missed, disputes sit unresolved, and cash arrives late.

Jul 27, 2026 · ♥ 7

Founder at RexYC S26

Intro paths

YC

Merlin 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 Rex's batch and knows the company first-hand.

→

In turn, Merlin can intro founders to Rex's investors below.

Rex's investors · 2

Founders FundY Combinator

Co-founders at Rex

LBLewis Blackwood
Lewis BlackwoodFounder

Experience

  1. Rex.incCo-founder & CEOcurrent2026 — present
  2. SequenceCPO (AR & Quote to cash)2025Region London, Vereinigtes Königreich
  3. SequenceHead of Product (AR & Quote to cash)2022 — 2025Grande Londra
  4. TessianProduct Manager (Enterprise AI)2019 — 2022Region London, Vereinigtes Königreich
  5. Legal SphereProduct Manager2018 — 2019Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
  6. Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of CambridgeIndustrial Consultant2017 — 2018Cambridge, United Kingdom
  7. Re-system.coFounder2016 — 2018Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
  8. Coco ChocolatierProject Manager2017Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  9. LEAP TechnologyVenture Competition2016Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
  10. Allianz InsuranceIntern2012 — 2013Shanghai City, China

Education

  1. University of CambridgeMasters, Industrial Systems
  2. Nanyang Technological University SingaporeExchange semester, Product Development
  3. DTU - Technical University of DenmarkExchange semester, Product Development
  4. University of StrathclydeBEng (Hons), Product Design Engineering

Skills & more

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Finance OperationsEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP)Accounts Receivable (AR)Order to CashTessian Architect6Engineering18Product Design33Project Management6Concept Development11CAD8Industrial Design4
+12 moreSocial MediaPhotographyDesign ManagementRapid PrototypingOperations ManagementGraphic DesignProduct DevelopmentUser ExperienceSupply Chain ManagementCAD/CAMPhotoshopSolidWorks

Languages English · German

  • Mastering Product Management — Reforge
  • Professional Scrum Master — Scrum.org
  • Data Science & Machine Learning in Python (14 Courses, 5h each) — DataCamp
  • Machine Learning - Stanford University - Coursera online course — Coursera

From Merlin's professional profile.

Same school

Also attended University of Cambridge652

Niko BonatsosInvestment Team at General CatalystGeorgia StevensonInvestor at Index VenturesHannah SealInvestor at Index VenturesAnthony PhilippakisInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Erik NordlanderInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Nic LowdenInvestor at Moonfire Ventures

+ 646 more

Also attended Nanyang Technological University Singapore125

Angela ToyPartner & COO at Golden Gate VenturesKarim GillaniGeneral Partner at Luge CapitalMike MoradiGeneral Partner at Cortado VenturesGenping LiuGeneral Partner at Vertex Ventures Sea Management Pte. Ltd.Kelven LamInvestment Director - Water at Emerald Technology Ventures AgGautam GuptaCo-Founder & Venture Partner at BA Capital

+ 119 more

Also attended DTU - Technical University of Denmark46

Lars PedersenPartner, Chief Financial Officer at Redpoint VenturesClaus AnderssonGeneral Partner at Sunstone CapitalKartik KashyapStudent Assistant at Sunstone CapitalChris PorsgaardPartner at SEED Capital DenmarkOtto SilvennoinenAsset Manager, Real Estate at Innovestor VenturesThomas NagyOperational Partner at Astanor Ventures

+ 40 more

Also attended University of Strathclyde55

ThomasGeneral Partner at Acadian Ventures Management, LlcRob DesboroughGeneral Partner and Chair of Seraphim Space Accelerator at Seraphim SpaceRupert LyleInvestment Director at Future Planet CapitalRoss StrachanInvestor at Adara VenturesAngus ConroyInvestor at Scottish Equity PartnersCalum PatersonInvestor at Scottish Equity Partners

+ 49 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Rex.inc1

Lewis BlackwoodFounder at Rex

Also worked at Tessian13

Luciana LixandruPartner at Sequoia CapitalJamie MontgomeryCo-Founder & Managing Partner at March Capital PartnersTom SheridanVP, US at RTP GlobalPhilipp KobusManaging Partner at FraserSuranga ChandratillakePartner at Balderton CapitalScott SageCo-Founder and Partner at Crane Venture Partners

+ 7 more

Also worked at Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge1

Tony RavenChair of Board and Consultation Committee at UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund

Also worked at Allianz Insurance1

Dominik MayerInvestor at XR Invest