A German AI startup full of ex-Palantir talent – what's behind Zeit AI?
"What system did you hack?": Leopold von Waldthausen had to answer this question for his application to Y Combinator (Summer Batch 2024). He chose the following story: how he sneaked into Y Combinator's Demo Days ten years ago wearing Sam Altman's name tag.
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still want to view external content from third-party providers? Then click "agree" and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offering to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third-party providers at any time in the privacy policy (link to privacy). In this context, user profiles (e.g. based on cookie IDs) can be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our privacy policy and in the privacy policy, both of which are available at any time in the footer of our offering. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offering via the "Revocation Tracking" link.
Von Waldthausen was 19, had finished school, and founded his first startup, Weview—a video rating platform for product reviews. He met with Marc Samwer in a café near Y Combinator to talk about Weview, he says.
And then chance came into play, von Waldthausen continues. In the parking lot, he met Sam Altman , who was wearing a Demo Day badge around his neck. Von Waldthausen spontaneously asked him if he could have it. Altman was running Y Combinator at the time; it was the year he founded OpenAI.
Read also
He says he realized "surprisingly late" that von Waldthausen didn't get the name tag from just anyone, but from Sam Altman. But at least it was on the same day, so there was enough time for a photo with the name tag as a souvenir.
Almost ten years later, von Waldthausen himself made it into Y Combinator with his Sam Altman story, but especially with his startup Zeit AI. A full-circle moment. For the founder, Y Combinator is the "holy cathedral of the startup scene."
He founded the startup together with Marvin Bornstein in 2024. After eight weeks, they developed their first product. After ten weeks, they acquired their first major customers, according to von Waldthausen. These come from industries such as the automotive and agricultural trade.
businessinsider
