Atharva is Co-Founder and CTO at AxionOrbital Space (YC W26), building foundation models that enable 24/7 Earth observation by converting radar data into optical imagery. He is a PhD student in Computer Science at University of Colorado Boulder.

Atharva was a researcher at Harvard Visual Computing Group and McGill University, focusing on computer vision and medical image analysis. He is a 2x Microsoft Imagine Cup National Champion and World Finalist, recognized in Hindustan Times City 30-under-30 for Technology.

Atharva received the Best in Physics award at AAPM for his computer vision work in radiation therapy. He has published research in AI and medical imaging, and volunteers teaching mathematics to underprivileged children.

AxionOrbital Space launched ORION, the most advanced Earth observation model, achieving a FID score of 30.24 and beating competitors by 19.23% on the MSAW benchmark. The model processes images in 0.06 seconds, enabling real-time visibility through clouds and darkness.

ORION delivers 24/7 planetary awareness for defense, commodities trading, agriculture, and disaster response, solving the critical visibility gap that renders optical satellites useless 70% of the time. The company serves clients requiring continuous monitoring at 1/100th the cost of current tasking.