Former OpenAI executive Kevin Weil has joined the board of directors at Stoke Space, adding another high-profile technology leader to the reusable rocket startup as it prepares for the first launch of its Nova rocket.
Stoke Space, a Seattle-based aerospace company developing fully reusable launch vehicles, announced Weil’s appointment on Tuesday. The company said his experience in scaling technology businesses and artificial intelligence products would help guide Stoke as it moves from development into commercial operations.
Weil currently serves as chief product officer at OpenAI, where he oversees product development for ChatGPT and the company’s growing portfolio of artificial intelligence services. Before joining OpenAI, he held senior leadership positions at X, Meta, and satellite imaging company Planet Labs, building products used by hundreds of millions of people.
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Stoke Space CEO Andy Lapsa said he first met Weil when the startup joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2020 accelerator program.
“I left engineering, started a company and had no idea how to raise funds. I didn’t understand how Silicon Valley works. I didn’t have a network,” Lapsa told TechCrunch, describing how Weil became an early adviser to the company.
The appointment comes as Stoke enters a critical stage of development. The startup is preparing for the inaugural flight of Nova, a medium-lift launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable. Unlike many existing rockets that discard stages after launch, Nova is intended to return both stages for reuse, a strategy aimed at significantly lowering launch costs.
Founded in 2019 by former Blue Origin engineers Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman, Stoke Space has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and the U.S. government. The company is positioning itself as a challenger to SpaceX in the rapidly growing commercial launch market.
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Demand for launch services has continued to rise as governments and private companies deploy larger satellite constellations for communications, Earth observation, and defense applications. Industry analysts have said additional launch providers will be needed even as SpaceX remains the dominant player in the market.
Weil’s appointment reflects a growing crossover between Silicon Valley’s AI sector and the commercial space industry, where software, autonomous systems, and machine learning are playing an increasingly important role in spacecraft design, manufacturing, and flight operations.
Neither OpenAI nor Stoke Space indicated that Weil’s new board position would affect his current responsibilities at the artificial intelligence company.