Cosmin Nicolaescu
About Cosmin Nicolaescu
Cosmin Nicolaescu holds a BS in computer science from Drexel University (class of 2008). Public profiles also list earlier engineering work at Microsoft.
He later worked at Stripe, where he was an engineering manager and global engineering lead, and then joined Brex. He became Brex's CTO and describes the Stripe and Brex years as joining two high-growth companies while they were still early.
He now runs Accrual, which he co-founded with Siddarth Chandrasekaran, a colleague from his early Stripe days. Crunchbase describes Accrual as an AI-driven accounting platform for professional accounting firms, and lists his role as co-founder from October 2024. Press coverage of the Synthetic round describes him as CEO of Accrual and former CTO of Brex.
In a 2024 Drexel Magazine profile, Nicolaescu said he has made "tens of angel investments" to help companies get off the ground. He also said he coaches, mentors and advises early-stage founders and executives, and works with venture capitalists to help their portfolio companies.
The public record of individual deals is thin. Tracxn lists one angel investment: Standard Fleet, a seed round dated June 2023. Tracxn tags its sectors as Enterprise Applications and Transportation and Logistics Tech.
His AI round on the Lounge deals desk is Synthetic's $10M seed, announced on May 14, 2026. Khosla Ventures led the round and Basis Set Ventures also took part. Nicolaescu was named among the operator-investors, alongside Tobi Lütke, Kaz Nejatian, Zach Abrams and Michael Tannenbaum.
Synthetic is building an AI bookkeeping service for software startups, SaaS companies and AI businesses. It is designed to run without human bookkeepers. It is a close fit with his own work on AI accounting at Accrual.
He has not published a thesis, check size or fund size that we could find. The public deals point to software and fintech-adjacent companies, and to seed-stage rounds, in the United States. He describes himself as an operator who enjoys early-stage ventures. Founders with finance, accounting or engineering-heavy products have the most obvious overlap with his background.
- venturebeat.com/business/synthetic-raises-10m-seed-led-by-khosla-ventu
- finsmes.com/2026/05/synthetic-raises-10m-in-seed-funding.html
- pulse2.com/synthetic-10-million-seed-raised-for-ai-bookkeeping-platfor
- drexelmagazine.org/2024/cosmin-nicolaescu
- crunchbase.com/person/cosmin-nicolaescu-0382
- crunchbase.com/organization/accrual-87d3
- tracxn.com/d/people/cosmin-nicolaescu/__WBAoE0w395eWorabov9uTov9HkHq2E
- x.com/getCos
Investing activity
Cosmin Nicolaescu appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $10M. The most recent is Synthetic (Seed, $10M, May 2026).
Cosmin Nicolaescu most often invests alongside Khosla Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, Zach Abrams and Michael Tannenbaum, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Cosmin Nicolaescu
Who is Cosmin Nicolaescu?
He is the CEO and co-founder of Accrual, an AI accounting company, and the former CTO of Brex. He also worked at Stripe and Microsoft earlier in his career.
What AI startups has Cosmin Nicolaescu invested in?
The AI deal on record is Synthetic's $10M seed round in May 2026, led by Khosla Ventures. Synthetic builds AI bookkeeping for software startups.
What is Cosmin Nicolaescu's check size?
He has not made a check size public. We found no verified figure, so we do not list one.
What stage does Cosmin Nicolaescu invest in?
His publicly reported deals are seed rounds: Synthetic in 2026 and Standard Fleet in 2023 (per Tracxn). He has not published a stage thesis.
How can founders contact Cosmin Nicolaescu?
He is on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cosminn and on X as @getCos. His X profile also links to cosn.io.
Is Cosmin Nicolaescu an angel investor?
Yes. Cosmin Nicolaescu invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Cosmin Nicolaescu invested in?
Cosmin Nicolaescu's AI investments include Synthetic. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Cosmin Nicolaescu invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Cosmin Nicolaescu has invested at Seed, with a median round of $10M.
Who does Cosmin Nicolaescu co-invest with?
Cosmin Nicolaescu's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Khosla Ventures (1 deal), Basis Set Ventures (1 deal), Zach Abrams (1 deal), Michael Tannenbaum (1 deal) and Kaz Nejatian (1 deal).
How can founders reach Cosmin Nicolaescu?
Founders on Lounge can see Cosmin Nicolaescu's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Cosmin Nicolaescu to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.