Sanjay Mukhyala
Founder of Arden (YC P26) and Research Assistant at UC Berkeley’s Statistical Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL)
Building an AI-native platform for internal audit teams and researching sequential evaluation frameworks for LLMs.
Intro
I'm Sanjay Mukhyala, a founder and researcher currently building Arden (YC P26), where we are creating an AI-native platform for internal audit and SOX compliance. My background sits at the intersection of applied mathematics and aggressive entrepreneurship—I'm a Research Assistant at UC Berkeley’s SAIL lab focusing on LLM evaluation frameworks, and I previously co-founded an edtech startup backed by Character Capital. I’m deeply passionate about the shift from clicking interfaces to prompting outcomes and believe in using university as a canvas for high-stakes experimentation. Whether it's discussing agentic AI, quant finance, or the 'optimistic delusion' required to build something new, I'm always looking to connect with audit professionals, researchers, and fellow founders who have a bias toward action.
Networking
What I can offer
- ›Technical expertise in AI agents and LLM evaluation
- ›Insights into early-stage fundraising and YC
- ›Rapid product sprinting and technical consulting
What I'm looking for
- ›Internal auditors and SOX compliance professionals
- ›AI researchers
- ›Fellow student founders and Berkeley entrepreneurs
Best fit for
Focus
Current interests
Core competencies
Background
Career
A serial founder and researcher transitioning from edtech and finance into AI-native compliance and LLM evaluation frameworks.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics (Operations Research concentration) at University of California, Berkeley.
Achievements
- ›Accepted into Y Combinator P26 for Arden
- ›Co-founded Breefly, backed by Character Capital at a $3M valuation
- ›Risk Analyst for a fund achieving 27% YTD returns
- ›Managed StreetFins content platform with 370k+ impressions
Opinions
- Founders must have 'optimistic delusion' paired with extreme discipline.
- College is a canvas for aggressive experimentation, not a checklist.
- Computing is shifting from clicking interfaces to prompting outcomes.
- Advocates for 'selling uncomfortably fast' and a heavy bias toward action.
Personality
Communication style
Energetic, entrepreneurial, and narrative-driven with a hacker-centric edge.
Formality — 4/10
Vocabulary