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Stratus Aviation

AI-powered intelligence layer for airports

Airports are among the most data-rich yet information-poor environments in transportation. Thousands of radio transmissions, aircraft movements, and sensor signals occur every second, but these systems remain siloed. Most airfields still rely on manual logs and calls to understand what’s happening on the ground, creating blind spots that slow coordination and limit safety oversight. The result is a growing safety and efficiency gap. The FAA records four to five runway incursions every day, and over 90% of air traffic control facilities are operating below target staffing levels. Despite $20 billion in modernization programs like NextGen and Safety Management Systems, airports still lack a unified data backbone that connects communication, movement, and intent across the airfield. Stratus provides the missing layer of intelligence for airport and airside operations — unifying data, communication, and movement into one shared, real-time picture. For airports, this means faster decisions, clearer accountability, and safer, more efficient operations. For aviation as a whole, it’s the foundation for connected, data-driven infrastructure that can finally keep pace with modern airside complexity.
Active Founders
Hunter Nguyen
Hunter Nguyen
Founder
Hunter Nguyen is the Co-founder & CTO of Stratus. He previously worked at NASA on machine learning and aviation safety systems, contributing to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (100,000+ annual reports) at Ames Research Center, and participated in NASA-funded research on mission operations and mobility system design for autonomous rover concepts. He was also selected for Meta’s Production Engineering Fellowship (2.5% acceptance rate) and has 9× hackathon wins.
Mizan Rupan-Tompkins
Mizan Rupan-Tompkins
Founder
Mizan Rupan-Tompkins is the Co-founder & CEO of Stratus. At 17, he became a FAA-licensed pilot. His work has been featured by major media (NYT, FOX, CBS, NBC, etc.) and he was honored with “Mizan Rupan-Tompkins Day” (July 11th) in San Mateo County. He is a 2× founder and has $30k+ in hackathon wins.
Stratus Aviation
Founded:2025
Batch:Fall 2025
Team Size:2
Status:
Active
Location:San Francisco
Primary Partner:Andrew Miklas