# James Hu

> James Hu is a bioengineer, medical doctor, and co-founder and co-CEO of Illuminant Surgical in Los Angeles. He studied bioengineering at Stanford, met co-founder Eldrick Millares as a freshman dormmate, and earned his MD at UC Irvine while helping build the company. Illuminant joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2022 batch, and its founders were recognized on the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. In 2026 the company announced an $8.4 million seed round and opened its Nexus headquarters.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Illuminant Surgical
- **Organizations:** Illuminant Surgical, Y Combinator, Stanford University, University of California, Irvine
- **Education:** BS, Bioengineering, Stanford University, MD, UC Irvine School of Medicine
- **Known for:** Co-founded Illuminant Surgical, a Y Combinator Summer 2022 company., Earned an MD at UC Irvine while working full time at Illuminant., Recognized with Eldrick Millares on the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

## Career timeline

- **2017** — Participated in Stanford Bio-X Undergraduate Summer Research Program.
- **2021** — Co-founded Illuminant Surgical with Eldrick Millares.
- **2022** — Began full-time company building in Boston in January; Illuminant joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2022 batch.
- **2025** — Announced completion of medical school on May 21 while continuing to run Illuminant; presented at Global Spine Congress in May; Forbes recognition announced in December.
- **2026** — Presented at NVIDIA GTC in March; Illuminant announced an $8.4 million seed round in April and celebrated its Nexus headquarters opening in June.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Illuminant Surgical, a Y Combinator Summer 2022 company.
- Earned an MD at UC Irvine while working full time at Illuminant.
- Recognized with Eldrick Millares on the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
- Presented Illuminant’s work at NVIDIA GTC 2026.
- Co-led Illuminant as it announced an $8.4 million seed round and opened a 12,000-square-foot Los Angeles headquarters.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Illuminant published an account of the Nexus ribbon cutting, attended by more than 130 guests, celebrating the headquarters, fundraise, and first production-equivalent units.
- **2026-04** — Illuminant announced an $8.4 million seed round led by Wing 2 Wing Ventures.
- **2026-03** — Hu presented Illuminant’s work at NVIDIA GTC 2026.
- **2025-12** — Illuminant announced Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition for both co-founders.
- **2025-05** — Hu announced medical-school graduation in a May 21 LinkedIn post.

## Links

- Website: https://www.illuminant.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshu7/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-hu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14