Former SpaceX engineers raise 7.5m to build Sift, the software stack for building next generation machines, backed by 50+ SpaceX alums

Gollapudi, who led several SpaceX Dragon missions, and Spiegel, who led multiple teams supporting high-profile projects across the board at the space industry giant, came together upon recognizing the dangerous room for human error of current telemetry tools. From satellites to submersibles, small miscalculations can equate to costly disasters.

Keenly observing this problem, along with recognizing that transportation systems are racing toward autonomy, Gollapudi and Spiegel observed how many companies were running into preventable failures due to a lack of transparency into their machine performance. Machine performance data has remained confusing and ambivalent throughout hardware development, manufacturing and operations for even the most seasoned engineers. Knowing this was a solvable problem, Gollapudi and Spiegel developed Sift's proprietary, end-to-end telemetry stack to serve as a digital backbone to the physical world.

Advanced hardware plays a critical role in mission success across industries — from transportation, to energy, to space and defense, and beyond. As the earth's orbit fills with satellites, transportation systems race toward autonomy, and energy scientists reimagine our climate future — many processes are required to create and run the complex machines shaping our collective future.

Designed for the rigors of space, Sift's end-to-end stack allows forward-thinking engineering teams to scale their data infrastructure, easily review data, and automate operations – as the company's name implies, engineers can now sift through their data to invent new machines and scale easily. Similar to the sieve prospectors once used when panning for gold, Sift's stack allows engineers to easily locate and interpret the data they're searching for without complication.

The Sift stack is already used by innovative operating teams in aerospace, aviation, defense, energy and transportation. Regarding Sift, Ben Stabler, co-founder of the autonomous train company Parallel Systems, says, "Our engineering team uses Sift daily to understand test data from our vehicles and iterate on our designs. Sift helps us build a safer, more flexible freight transportation system."

"We saw so many of our friends leaving SpaceX to build the machines of tomorrow, but they were struggling with the tools available today," said Gollapudi. "We're very excited to equip our community of hardware innovators with the tools they need to build the future."

Sift is backed by leading hardware investor, Riot Ventures, and enterprise SaaS expert Fika Ventures, also investors in First Resonance, Datum, and Duro.

With offices in Los Angeles, Gollapudi and Spiegel have assembled a team who worked on mission critical tools at SpaceX before augmenting it with experts from tech sector giants like Google, Palantir, Uber, Amazon, Bird and LeoLabs. Each founder independently forged groundbreaking advances while leading critical missions at SpaceX, and they plan to replicate that formula for success within Sift and their clients.

About the Founders:
Karthik Gollapudi is a second generation software developer with deep roots in the SpaceX community. As a former Dragon engineer, he led mission-over-mission operations, including simulation, test, and certification. He achieved several advancements in human spaceflight, including joint simulations with NASA, before founding his telemetry-based start-up, Sift, in 2023.

Austin Spiegel is a seasoned software engineer who started his career at SpaceX, where he was a lead responsible for the telemetry system for Starlink's satellite constellation and innovative manufacturing systems. From building groundbreaking applications to managing diverse engineering teams, his contributions spanned multiple divisions, culminating in the foundation of his telemetry-focused start-up, Sift, in 2023.

SOURCE Sift