# Christine Spang

> Christine Spang is the co-founder of Nylas, the email, calendar, and contacts API platform that powers scheduling and communication features for thousands of developers and enterprises. A Debian contributor since age 15, MIT computer science alumna, and former Linux kernel engineer at Ksplice/Oracle, she built Nylas from a frustrated attempt to build a better email client into a company that raised $175M and became essential developer infrastructure. She served as Founder & CEO of Nylas through its Series C growth phase before transitioning to the Board of Directors in 2025.

- **Role:** Founder & Board Member at Nylas
- **Organizations:** Nylas, Debian, Lesbians Who Tech, Dev Color, Women Who Code
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Nylas, raising $175M across 6 funding rounds including a $120M Series C, Built Nylas into a leading email, calendar, and contacts API platform used by thousands of developers and enterprises, One of the few women to found and lead a venture-backed developer infrastructure company to Series C scale

## Career timeline

- **~2003** — Began contributing to Debian Linux at age 15 after installing Linux to play a game
- **2006-2010** — Studied Computer Science at MIT; conducted undergraduate research at MIT Media Lab's Tangible Media Group
- **~2010** — Perl Hacker at Best Practical Solutions
- **2010-2013** — Software Engineer and Principal Developer at Ksplice (acquired by Oracle); built rebootless Linux kernel security updates technology
- **2013** — Co-founded Nylas in August 2013 with Gleb Polyakov, initially as an open-source email client project
- **2013-2021** — Served as Co-Founder and CTO of Nylas, leading technical architecture and product development
- **2021** — Nylas raised $120M Series C round, total funding reaching $175M
- **2021-2025** — Transitioned to role of Founder & CEO of Nylas
- **2024** — Launched Platform Builders podcast co-hosted with Isaac Nassimi
- **2025** — Transitioned from CEO to Board of Directors as Founder and shareholder representative; Jeff Koets appointed new CEO

## Achievements

- Co-founded Nylas, raising $175M across 6 funding rounds including a $120M Series C
- Built Nylas into a leading email, calendar, and contacts API platform used by thousands of developers and enterprises
- One of the few women to found and lead a venture-backed developer infrastructure company to Series C scale
- Debian contributor since age 15, with lasting contributions to the open-source ecosystem
- Pioneered rebootless Linux kernel live patching technology at Ksplice/Oracle
- Speaker at Web Summit Lisbon (2019, 2022), SF CTO Summit (2022), Citi Ventures Enterprise Tech Summit (2022), and Infobip Shift (2024)
- Active advocate for women in technology through Lesbians Who Tech, Dev Color, and Women Who Code

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Transitioned from CEO role to Nylas Board of Directors as Founder and shareholder representative; Jeff Koets appointed new CEO
- **2024-01** — Launched Platform Builders podcast with Isaac Nassimi (SVP Product at Nylas) on Heavybit network
- **2022-11** — Spoke at Web Summit Lisbon 2022 (SaaS Monster stage) and Citi Ventures Enterprise Tech Summit
- **2021-06** — Nylas closed $120M Series C funding round, bringing total funding to $175M

## Links

- Website: http://spang.cc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinespang/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/spang
- GitHub: https://github.com/spang/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/christine-spang
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13