{"id":"6476d6c0-c3c9-4cb0-ab4d-65cc82db0e4e","slug":"mikhail-kokorich","name":"Mikhail Kokorich","bioBrief":"Russian physicist and serial aerospace entrepreneur (born 11 October 1976 in Siberia). Founded Momentus in 2017 to develop water plasma propulsion for in-space transportation. A two-time Y Combinator founder, he was replaced as Momentus CEO in 2021 amid SEC investigation and U.S. national security concerns over his Russian origins. He subsequently founded Destinus, a supersonic/hypersonic aircraft company in Switzerland.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"Russian","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://startupintros.com/orgs/momentus","title":"Momentus: Funding, Team & Investors","sourceName":"Startup Intros"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kokorich","label":"Wikipedia","title":"Mikhail Kokorich"},{"url":"https://sifted.eu/articles/mikhail-kokorich-destinus-supersonic-planes","label":"Sifted","title":"The anti-Putin activist building supersonic planes"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-08T21:03:00.911Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-10T01:41:24.239Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"7d77d4c0-a55c-4553-b9f5-8f8bc3f342bb","personId":"6476d6c0-c3c9-4cb0-ab4d-65cc82db0e4e","companyId":"d29879a2-dd3a-4ded-8eea-f6c2854fe812","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Founder & Former CEO","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":false,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T21:03:01.683Z","company":{"slug":"momentus-space","name":"Momentus Space"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"bbbf0e4b-5013-4dff-afde-9be109846c61","personId":"6476d6c0-c3c9-4cb0-ab4d-65cc82db0e4e","companyId":"d29879a2-dd3a-4ded-8eea-f6c2854fe812","foundingDate":"2017-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"cofounder","stillAtCompany":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-10T01:41:25.497Z","company":{"slug":"momentus-space","name":"Momentus Space"}}]}