Kevin Weil, a veteran tech executive known for stints at Twitter, Meta, Planet Labs, and OpenAI, has joined the board of Stoke Space, a well-funded Seattle startup building reusable rockets to compete with SpaceX. Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa told TechCrunch that Weil was an early investor in the company through his fund Scribble Ventures and helped him think about fundraising and getting the company off the ground. Lapsa has raised $1.34 billion, including a $510 million Series D funding round in 2025, to build a rapidly reusable rocket called Nova that could fly this year. Weil was most recently the head of OpenAI's efforts to accelerate scientific research, leaving the company in April after that program's work was spread more widely across the frontier lab. He had previously served as OpenAI's chief product officer from June 2024 until October 2025. When asked about potential links between OpenAI and Stoke, Lapsa declined to comment on "gossip and rumors," saying Weil's role was to focus on Stoke itself. Stoke is building Nova, a rocket intended to be completely reusable and flown again and again, a technological challenge that has deterred even deep-pocketed space investors. Lapsa noted that "the world is realizing that launch is still not solved" and that the idea of full, rapid reuse has now been normalized. SpaceX's blockbuster stock market debut, with much of its value resting on promises that Starship will be flying operational missions this year, has proven Lapsa's foresight about the market for reasonably-priced reusable rockets.
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