CoA Nexus, Inc. (formerly Srust, Inc.) is a Tokyo- and Menlo Park-based deep-tech HR startup that uses proprietary AI to read tens of millions of research papers and patents, visualize a scientist's real skills, and match R&D talent with companies - from university spinouts to large manufacturers. Its flagship platform, CoA Researcher, is billed as Japan's largest researcher-matching platform, supporting full-time roles and side work across biotech, chemistry, medical science and semiconductors. The company raised a roughly ¥300 million Series A in October 2025 to expand its global researcher database and go beyond the reach of conventional job ads.
Aaron Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Alex (alex.com), the AI recruiter that runs autonomous phone screens and video interviews at scale. He started the company as Apriora in 2023 with John Rytel, then paid more than half a million dollars for the alex.com domain and renamed both the product and the company after its AI agent. A Brown University graduate in computer science, applied math, and economics, Wang previously worked at Facebook AI Research and as a quantitative analyst at a hedge fund. Alex conducts thousands of interviews a day for Fortune 100 firms, banks, restaurant chains, and Big 4 accounting firms, and has raised roughly $20 million, including a $17 million Series A led by Peak XV Partners.
Findem is an AI-powered talent intelligence platform built on a proprietary Talent Data Cloud that enriches candidate profiles with 3D data (people, company, time). It automates sourcing, CRM, analytics and executive search for enterprise talent teams, with customers including RingCentral, Nutanix, and Intuitive Surgical.

NishA Acharya is a tech talent executive and career strategist with 14+ years of experience placing engineers and consultants at Ernst & Young. As US Talent Acquisition Recruiting Lead for EY Technology Consulting, she has built pipelines for some of the most sought-after tech roles in consulting, with a growing focus on AI, Physical AI, and Robotics. She runs 'The Leverage' newsletter, helping tech professionals navigate career growth, and speaks at Women in Tech events globally on recruiting, STEM, and how to build a career that compounds.