# Spencer Hewett

> Spencer Hewett is the founder and CEO of RADAR, a New York retail-technology company that wires store ceilings with RFID and computer-vision sensors to locate inventory in real time. He dropped out of Washington University in St. Louis to take the Thiel Fellowship in 2012, spent years building and rebuilding the idea, and has since taken RADAR through Old Navy and American Eagle rollouts to a $1 billion valuation on a $170 million Series B closed in May 2026.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at RADAR
- **Organizations:** RADAR, Washington University in St. Louis (attended, did not graduate), Y Combinator (W13 batch), Stanford StartX, Thiel Fellowship
- **From:** Illinois, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Computer Engineering (left as a sophomore, did not graduate), Washington University in St. Louis
- **Known for:** Thiel Fellowship recipient (2012), Forbes 30 Under 30, Retail & Ecommerce (2022), Built RADAR into a $1 billion valued company via a $170 million Series B (May 2026)

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Built an early RFID inventory prototype
- **2012** — Left Washington University in St. Louis as a sophomore after winning the Thiel Fellowship, a $100,000 award, and moved to Palo Alto
- **2013-2016** — Iterated on the idea, studying under an MIT physics mentor and supporting himself via Airbnb income
- **2017** — Founded RADAR
- **2022** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30, Retail & Ecommerce
- **2023** — RADAR named one of The Information's 50 Most Promising Start-ups
- **2024** — RADAR raised a $38 million round and expanded to 541+ American Eagle stores
- **2026-05** — RADAR closed a $170 million Series B, reaching a $1 billion valuation, backed by Gideon Strategic Partners, Nimble Partners and Align Ventures
- **2026-06** — RADAR deployed in nearly 1,500 American Eagle and Old Navy stores

## Achievements

- Thiel Fellowship recipient (2012)
- Forbes 30 Under 30, Retail & Ecommerce (2022)
- Built RADAR into a $1 billion valued company via a $170 million Series B (May 2026)
- Filed more than 20 retail technology patents
- Scaled RADAR to nearly 1,500 stores across American Eagle and Old Navy
- Named a Business Insider Retail Tech Power Player

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — RADAR closed a $170 million Series B, reaching a $1 billion valuation and unicorn status
- **2026-06** — Hewett discussed RADAR's growth from 500 to 1,500 stores in an Omni Talk Retail interview

## Links

- Website: https://goradar.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhewett/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/spencerhewett
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sir_spenny/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/radar/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/spencer-hewett
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-08