source: techcrunch ai: former openai exec kevin weil is now on the board of stoke space
level: business
kevin weil, a tech executive with roles at twitter, meta, planet labs, and openai, has joined the board of stoke space. the seattle startup is building a fully reusable rocket called nova to compete with spacex. weil was an early investor through scribble ventures and helped ceo andy lapsa with fundraising and silicon valley networking. stoke has raised $1.34 billion, including a $510 million series d in 2025, and aims to fly this year.
weil recently left openai where he led efforts to speed up scientific research and served as chief product officer. his move raises questions about ties between openai and stoke, but lapsa declined to comment on rumors. lapsa said weil's role is to focus on scaling stoke as it nears operational launch. the company must still execute on technical challenges like surviving atmospheric reentry, a feat only spacex has approached with starship.
stoke sees growing demand for launch services and believes full rapid reuse is key to lowering costs. lapsa noted that space data centers, which some investors are exploring, only make sense with cheap, frequent launches. military contracts are another target, and weil's experience bridging tech and defense could help. his past role at satellite firm planet labs also gives him space industry insight as stoke pushes toward its first flight.
why it matters: weil's move connects ai leadership with the space launch industry, where cheaper access to orbit could enable new ai infrastructure like orbital data centers.
source: techcrunch ai: former openai exec kevin weil is now on the board of stoke space