Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
CTO Vibhav Altekar joins KP partner Ilya Fushman for a conversation about his path from KP Fellow to defense technology founder. Vibhav reflects on his early years as an engineer at Anduril, how he teamed up with former Navy SEAL Dino Mavrookas to start Saronic, and the company’s beginnings with a raft, off-the-shelf parts, and an Austin warehouse. He shares why Saronic chose to build software, hardware, autonomy, and manufacturing under one roof, what it takes to coordinate autonomous vessels in contested environments, and how he thinks about leadership as the company scales. He also reflects on the decisions that shaped his career and shares advice for Fellows considering startups, larger companies, or founding something of their own.
CTO Vibhav Altekar joins KP partner Ilya Fushman for a conversation about his path from KP Fellow to defense technology founder. Vibhav reflects on his early years as an engineer at Anduril, how he teamed up with former Navy SEAL Dino Mavrookas to start Saronic, and the company’s beginnings with a raft, off-the-shelf parts, and an Austin warehouse. He shares why Saronic chose to build software, hardware, autonomy, and manufacturing under one roof, what it takes to coordinate autonomous vessels in contested environments, and how he thinks about leadership as the company scales. He also reflects on the decisions that shaped his career and shares advice for Fellows considering startups, larger companies, or founding something of their own.
