Dean Leitersdorf
About Dean Leitersdorf
Dean Leitersdorf is the co-founder and CEO of Decart, an AI research lab focused on fast generative video and world models. Decart was founded in 2023 with Moshe Shalev, and Orian Leitersdorf is also named as a co-founder. Crunchbase lists him as Decart's CEO since September 2023 and places him in Palo Alto, California.
He studied computer science at the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology). Calcalist reports that he holds three computer science degrees, including a PhD completed at 23. He did a postdoc in Singapore before starting Decart.
Decart has raised funding from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark and Zeev Ventures, and a HumanX speaker profile cites $153 million raised in total. Calcalist ranked Decart first on its 2025 list of the 50 most promising Israeli startups.
Leitersdorf does not appear to publish a personal angel portfolio, and no fund or syndicate is publicly tied to him. The only angel-style investment found in public sources is Noetive in 2026, made alongside his Decart co-founders. He has not publicly stated a check size or investing thesis.
Noetive emerged from stealth on September 16, 2026 with a $41 million Seed round led by Eclipse. The company's announcement lists Dean Leitersdorf, Moshe Shalev and Orian Leitersdorf, the co-founders of Decart, among the round's participants. Other individual backers include Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, Airbnb CTO Ahmad Al-Dahle and Nest co-founder Matt Rogers.
Noetive is based in San Francisco. It builds what it calls the intelligence of record for the physical economy, meaning AI for factories, logistics, energy facilities and data centers.
The one public data point is an AI company at Seed stage, applying AI to physical operations. Leitersdorf's own work is in real-time generative models and AI infrastructure. Check size, preferred stage and geography are not public, and he has made no public statement on what he looks for in founders.
- Noetive: AI for factories, logistics and other physical operations. Participated in its $41M Seed, led by Eclipse, announced September 2026, with his Decart co-founders.
- crunchbase.com/person/dean-leitersdorf
- linkedin.com/in/dean-leitersdorf
- x.com/dleitersdorf
- humanx.co/us/speakers/dean-leitersdorf
- calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/6rn7vscw2
- calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hjji2potfx
- noetive.ai/news/noetive-emerges-from-stealth-with-41-million-seed
- runtimewire.com/article/noetive-raises-41m-seed-industrial-ai
Investing activity
Dean Leitersdorf appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $41M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $41M. The most recent is Noetive (Seed, $41M, Sep 2026).
Dean Leitersdorf most often invests alongside Eclipse, The Westly Group, Zach Frankel and Incite Ventures, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Dean Leitersdorf
Is Dean Leitersdorf an angel investor?
He is primarily a founder. Public sources show him participating, with his Decart co-founders, in the Noetive Seed round in 2026. No broader angel portfolio is publicly documented.
What AI startups has Dean Leitersdorf invested in?
The only one found in public sources is Noetive, which raised a $41M Seed in September 2026. The round was led by Eclipse.
What is Dean Leitersdorf's check size?
It is not public. He has not disclosed check sizes, and none of the sources report his amount in Noetive.
What does Dean Leitersdorf do besides angel investing?
He is co-founder and CEO of Decart, an AI lab building real-time generative video and world-model technology. He holds a PhD in computer science from the Technion.
How can founders contact Dean Leitersdorf?
He is on X as @DLeitersdorf and has a public LinkedIn profile. He has no public investor intake process, and no personal website was found.
What AI companies has Dean Leitersdorf invested in?
Dean Leitersdorf's AI investments include Noetive. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Dean Leitersdorf invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Dean Leitersdorf has invested at Seed, with a median round of $41M.
Who does Dean Leitersdorf co-invest with?
Dean Leitersdorf's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Eclipse (1 deal), The Westly Group (1 deal), Zach Frankel (1 deal), Incite Ventures (1 deal) and Liquid 2 Ventures (1 deal).
How can founders reach Dean Leitersdorf?
Founders on Lounge can see Dean Leitersdorf'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 Dean Leitersdorf to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.