Kevin Weil, a veteran tech executive with experience at Twitter, Meta, Planet Labs, and OpenAI, has joined the board of Stoke Space, a Seattle-based startup developing reusable rockets. Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa explained that Weil’s involvement began when he cofounded the company in 2020 and joined Y Combinator’s winter batch. Weil, an early investor through his wife’s fund Scribble Ventures, helped Lapsa navigate fundraising and company-building challenges. The company raised $1.34 billion, including a $510 million Series D round in 2025, to build a rapidly reusable rocket expected to fly this year.
Weil’s background in digital products and platforms, which are not central to Stoke’s current roadmap, raises questions about his potential role. He previously served as OpenAI’s chief product officer until October 2025 and was involved in the company’s efforts to accelerate scientific research. Lapsa noted that Weil’s role is to focus on Stoke, declining to comment on rumors about OpenAI’s potential investment in Stoke. Stoke is developing the Nova rocket, which aims to be fully reusable, a feat no company has achieved yet. SpaceX’s Starship is the closest competitor in this area.
Stoke’s CEO, Andy Lapsa, emphasized the growing recognition that space launch technology remains unsolved. He pointed out that the concept of full, rapid rocket reuse, once considered radical, is now seen as inevitable. The company is also exploring opportunities in space-based data centers and military contracts, areas where Weil’s experience in bridging Silicon Valley and the Department of Defense could be valuable. Lapsa acknowledged that while the company has made progress, there is still significant work to do before operational launches.
Source: techcrunch
