Kevin Gu

Enigma
DISC Type : cid

Co-Founder at ThirdLayer (YC W25)

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Overview

Kevin is the Co-Founder and CTO of ThirdLayer, a YC W25 startup building Dex, an AI browser copilot. He leverages his background in quantitative trading from Jump Trading and machine learning research at labs like MIT-IBM to build applied AI products. He earned both his BA in Mathematics and MA in Statistics from Harvard University.

He is currently focused on building the core context engine for browser-based AI agents and speaks to other engineers about the challenges of deploying them in production.

Personality Overview

Persuasive & Assertive

Fast Follower

Challenger

They are generally strong communicators and are not easy to convince.  They are likely to ask many questions and look heavily for supporting proof as well as information. They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing

Topics They Care About

AI Agent Reliability
As CTO, he is building production-level AI agents and has given talks to other engineers about the challenges of scaling them reliably.
Human-AI Collaboration
His company, ThirdLayer, is explicitly building Dex as a new interface to improve how humans and AI work together within the browser.
Quantitative Finance
Previously worked as a Quantitative Researcher at Jump Trading, a high-frequency trading firm, indicating deep expertise in this area.

Media Appearances

Kevin has no verified media appearances

Work History

Co-Founder at ThirdLayer (YC W25)
Quantitative Researcher at Jump Trading Group
Research at Center for Brains, Minds and Machines
ML Researcher at MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab
ML Researcher at QuantCo

Education

BA in Mathematics & MA in Statistics from Harvard University
W25 from Y Combinator

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : N/A Location : Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Co-Founder at ThirdLayer (YC W25)
URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Kevin

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use a combination of data as well as stories for your pitch, a ppt might not be necessary
  • Leverage 'negging', or the art of asking negative questions like "you must not be convinced yet..."
  • Be prepared for a mix of questions and inquisitiveness, answer them in the tone in which they have been asked

DONT's

  • Avoid making offhand commitments, understand the root of their concerns first
  • Don’t rely excessively on your relationship with them to win the deal even if you come to form one
  • Don’t try to rush them into a decision, provide all necessary information first

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Kevin is

  • Proven value, strong objective evidence are important for them, rapport can impact decisions a little.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Kevin

  • They are practical and friendly, but can give a clear response with a little prodding

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Kevin move?

  • They like to be detailed, so unless they develop strong conviction, they can take their time to arrive at decisions
  • Can Kevin take some risk or not?

  • They evaluate their decisions systematically and do not take risks that often, unless you can get them to develop strong conviction

You And Kevin

Personality Compatibility


More Profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Search more profiles

Looking for someone else? Search here for anyone.

Or visit Humantic AI to know more.