# Ry Walker

> Ry Walker is a Cincinnati-based software engineer, entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded Differential and Astronomer, left Astronomer in 2022, and is co-founder and CEO of Tembo, which began with managed Postgres and pivoted to AI coding agents in May 2025.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Tembo
- **Organizations:** Tembo, Astronomer, Differential
- **Education:** Computer science studies; left without graduating, University of Cincinnati
- **Known for:** Co-founded Astronomer, which his personal biography identifies as Cincinnati’s first technology unicorn., Co-founded Differential in 2013., Founded Tembo in 2022; the company announced a $14 million Series A in July 2024.

## Career timeline

- **1990-1992** — Studied computer science at the University of Cincinnati; did not complete a degree.
- **1990s** — Built a web development agency; later sold the business.
- **2001-2013** — Held technology leadership roles, according to his personal career chronology.
- **2013-2015** — Co-founded Differential, a Meteor-focused venture studio.
- **2015** — Co-founded Astronomer.
- **2020** — Appeared as Astronomer founder/CTO in Airflow Summit materials.
- **2022** — Left Astronomer after selling shares in a secondary transaction; founded Tembo.
- **2024** — Tembo announced a $14 million Series A led by GreatPoint Ventures.
- **2025-05** — Tembo pivoted from managed Postgres toward AI developer agents.
- **2026** — Published essays on enterprise agent orchestration, OSSRank’s closure and developing young hires.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Astronomer, which his personal biography identifies as Cincinnati’s first technology unicorn.
- Co-founded Differential in 2013.
- Founded Tembo in 2022; the company announced a $14 million Series A in July 2024.
- Created the Hacking Postgres podcast, listed by Apple Podcasts with 22 episodes in 2023-2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Discussed Astronomer, Tembo, venture capital and AI adoption on Project Gamma, episode 24.
- **2026-06** — Published an essay advocating that promising young hires gain experience across four roles in two years.
- **2026-05** — Published his OSSRank shutdown retrospective.
- **2026-02** — Published The Tembo Manifesto on enterprise AI coding agent orchestration.

## Links

- Website: https://rywalker.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rywalker/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/rywalker
- GitHub: https://github.com/ryw
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rywalker.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryandouglaswalker/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ry-walker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20