Meta’s Head of AR Glasses Joins OpenAI, Former Lyft and Splunk CFO Joins a16z, and Foursquare Co-Founder Launches New Venture

Free Agency

Welcome to Free Agency, where we share updates on notable career moves in tech. Whether someone is launching a new venture, joining a different company, stepping away to explore new opportunities, or otherwise making waves in the industry, we’re here to help you keep up. 

Know someone making a move or having an impact? Share their details with us by filling out this short form.

We're excited to partner with Live Data Technologies to track career moves of key professionals. Their real-time job change data serves investors, tech platforms, HR teams, and major media outlets like WSJ and Bloomberg. Contact Jason Saltzman or visit their website if you want to learn more.

Free agents

Marten Mickos, former CEO of HackerOne, recently stepped down after nearly a decade leading the company. With a history of scaling category-defining startups like MySQL and Eucalyptus, Marten is recognized for his expertise in cybersecurity, distributed teams, and global business growth. 

Nanyi Dong is on the lookout for new opportunities as a Data Scientist or Data Analyst in New York. With prior experience at Current and Gemini, Nanyi brings expertise in data analysis and problem-solving in fast-paced environments.

Just started

Seth Radman has launched loop as Founder and CEO. He brings extensive experience in building and scaling successful companies, including Upbeat (acquired by MakeMusic), which grew to 200,000 users and $1M ARR within 12 months, and Crescendo (acquired by Ultimate Guitar).

Recode Ventures has launched Recode Edge, a new multi-million dollar investment program in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company. The initiative focuses on early-stage AI-first healthcare startups worldwide. Selected companies will receive equity investment, access to a startup boot camp, and strategic corporate partnership opportunities. The program's final selection event is scheduled for April 2025 in Chicago, with applications open until January 7th, 2025.

Dennis Crowley, Max Sklar, and Alejandro Fragoso have launched Hopscotch Labs, announcing a pre-seed round co-led by Alpaca and Lightspeed, with participation from Betaworks and Next Wave NYC. Their first project, BeeBot, described as a "Marauders Map for AirPods," combines elements of Twitter, Foursquare, and Waze with AI capabilities. The app, currently in private beta with around 150 testers, focuses on creating a fun, serendipitous urban navigation experience.

Brad Heller has launched a new stealth startup as Co-Founder. He brings technical leadership experience from his time at Snowflake, along with advisory experience from roles at dltHub and Techstars Berlin, where he continues to serve as a mentor.

Just left 

Jake Mendel has departed Silicon Valley Bank after 7 years at the bank. He plans to take a few weeks off before starting his next venture, which he hints will involve deeper work in fintech, crypto, and banking sectors.

Jasmine Sun has departed from Substack after nearly 4 years, where she progressed from a Writer Development intern to Product Manager for Core Product through various roles in partnerships, community, and design. She's now transitioning to pursue writing full-time.

Sarthak Moorjan recently left his role as a Software Engineer at Snowflake, where he contributed to the Unistore team. 

Just joined