Michael Elabd
Michael Elabd is an artificial intelligence researcher and entrepreneur who previously did robotics-related research at Google DeepMindGoogle DeepMindGoogle DeepMind is Google’s artificial intelligence research organization, formed in April 2023 by merging DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014, with the Brain team from Google Research, and led by CEO Demis Hassabis. It developed AlphaGo, AlphaFold, and the Gemini family of models, and Hassabis and John Jumper received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold’s protein structure prediction work.Open the full entry and in 2026 co-founded Trajectory, a company focused on continual learning for AI agents.
Contents6 sections
Key facts
May 2026Co-Founding Trajectory
According to Dealroom, Trajectory was founded in May 2026 by Ronak Malde, Michael Elabd and Arjun KaranamArjun KaranamArjun Karanam is a co-founder of Trajectory. His work spans AI and human–computer interaction, including projects in augmented and virtual reality and public policy.Open the full entry, with him and Malde both formerly researchers at Google DeepMind; AI Engineer’s company page describes him as a former Google DeepMind robotics researcher.[1][2]
May 29, 2026Trajectory Closes Its Seed Round
MediaPost reported on May 29, 2026, that Trajectory launched with a $15 million seed round led by Conviction and Bessemer, aiming to have models update continually from real-world interactions. He wrote on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry that the research question driving the team is whether AI systems can improve in response to real-world experience.[5]
June 2026Contributing to Trajectory’s “Scaling SDPO” Post
On June 2, 2026, Trajectory published the technical post “Scaling SDPO” on its website, and the post’s acknowledgements credit him for contributions to its technical portions.[6]
August 2026Trajectory Raises a $40 Million Series A
In August 2026, San Francisco-based Trajectory announced a $40 million Series A at a $300 million post-money valuation, led by Sequoia CapitalSequoia CapitalSequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972, investing from the seed stage through the growth stage. Its historical investments include Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, and Stripe; in 2021 it introduced the Sequoia Capital Fund structure, which can continue to hold public securities, and in 2023 its regional businesses became independent brands and partnerships.Open the full entry with participation from NVIDIA and Bessemer Venture Partners; the company said the funds would go toward scaling its automated model-tuning infrastructure and its research and engineering team.[7][1]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Trajectory: Official website: https://www.trajectory.ai/ (opens in a new window)[2][7]
Trajectory: Official account: https://x.com/trajectorylabs (opens in a new window)[8]
Google DeepMind: Official website: https://deepmind.google/ (opens in a new window)[1]
Sources
- Trajectory raises $40M Series A at $300M valuation (opens in a new window)
- Trajectory: Continual Learning Infrastructure (opens in a new window)
- Ronak Malde (opens in a new window)
- Trajectory Raises US$40M Series A at US$300M Valuation to Keep Enterprise AI Agents Learning After Deployment (opens in a new window)
- Former Apple, Google Researchers Discover AI's Learning Loop (opens in a new window)
- Scaling SDPO (opens in a new window)
- Trajectory Raises $40M in Series A Funding at $300M Post-Money Valuation (opens in a new window)
- Trajectory (opens in a new window)