# James Brown

> James Brown is the co-founder and CEO of Schemata, a San Francisco startup building an AI-powered spatial intelligence platform that turns ordinary 2D imagery into photorealistic 3D environments with a built-in AI instructor. A former US Marine Corps infantry and information operations officer who once briefed the Secretary of the Navy, he was the first in his family to earn a college degree, went on to a Stanford MBA and MS in Symbolic Systems, and now sells rapid-deployment virtual training to defense, energy, and infrastructure customers. Schemata emerged from stealth in May 2025 with a $5M seed round led by Owl Ventures and $3.4M in early Department of Defense contracts.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Schemata, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Schemata, Inc., United States Marine Corps (former), Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS Mechanical Engineering, minor in Robotics Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, MBA (Botha Chan Innovation Fellowship), Stanford Graduate School of Business, MS, Symbolic Systems, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Schemata as CEO, growing it to 14 employees in San Francisco., Raised a $5M oversubscribed seed round led by Owl Ventures (May 2025)., Secured $3.4M in Department of Defense contracts in roughly eight months.

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Graduated University of Nebraska-Lincoln in mechanical engineering; first in his family to earn a college degree.
- **2014-2019** — Served as a US Marine Corps infantry officer, including a Middle East deployment with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
- **2019-2021** — Served as an information operations officer in the Marine Information Group, supporting Indo-Pacific operations for about two and a half years.
- **2021** — Began Stanford MBA; awarded the Botha Chan Innovation Fellowship and researched in the Virtual Human Interaction Lab.
- **2023** — Co-founded Schemata with Huy Nguyen, building an AI-powered spatial training platform; joined a16z Speedrun cohort 003.
- **2025** — Schemata emerged from stealth with a $5M seed round led by Owl Ventures and $3.4M in DoD contracts.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Schemata as CEO, growing it to 14 employees in San Francisco.
- Raised a $5M oversubscribed seed round led by Owl Ventures (May 2025).
- Secured $3.4M in Department of Defense contracts in roughly eight months.
- Awarded two NASA fellowships as a mechanical engineer.
- Earned an MBA and MS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford on the Botha Chan Innovation Fellowship.
- Briefed the Secretary of the Navy on programs he managed during his Marine Corps service.
- First in his family to earn a college degree.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Schemata emerged from stealth with a $5M seed round led by Owl Ventures and $3.4M in Department of Defense contracts.

## Links

- Website: https://schemata.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbrn/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@schemata_ai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-brown
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24