Kevin Weil, a veteran tech executive formerly at OpenAI, Twitter, Meta, and Planet Labs, has joined the board of Stoke Space, a Seattle-based startup building reusable rockets. Weil was an early investor in the company through his fund Scribble Ventures and has advised CEO Andy Lapsa since Stoke’s founding in 2020 and its Y Combinator batch. Stoke is developing Nova, a rocket designed for full rapid reuse — repeatedly flying without major refurbishment — a feat no company has achieved. SpaceX’s Starship is the closest competitor. Stoke has raised $1.34 billion to date, including a $510 million Series D in 2025. Lapsa, a former Blue Origin engineer, said the company could fly its rocket this year.

Weil’s background is primarily in digital products and platforms, but he previously served as president of Planet Labs, a satellite earth observation company, for three years. He also joined the US Army Reserve to help bridge Silicon Valley and the Department of Defense, which could be relevant as military contracts are expected to be a key revenue source for Stoke. His most recent role at OpenAI was head of efforts to accelerate scientific research, a program since folded into the broader lab. The article notes that OpenAI’s Sam Altman reportedly considered investing in Stoke, but Lapsa declined to comment on speculation. Weil’s role is focused on Stoke’s scaling strategy, not on creating a link between OpenAI and Stoke.

The broader market context: despite billions in investment, the world still lacks enough affordable launch capacity. Full rapid reuse could unlock new use cases like space-based data centers, which rely on low launch costs. The idea of distributed data centers in space, powered by solar energy and free from geopolitical constraints, depends on affordable launch — an opportunity Stoke aims to address. Lapsa acknowledged that significant technical risk remains — particularly surviving reentry heat — but said the company has retired much of the risk. Stoke will launch when ready, not before.