{"id":"dylan-iskandar","hidden":false,"ipfs":"QmX3zf9RNW3QapQnjZh3tVhfcRbeurmZNbhumDZU4QhnzB","language":"en","transactionHash":"0x6633bff30e5a201b6720a287da666443351c65827f2e237461e1eecc97f3f3a2","created":"2026-10-11T05:08:49.393Z","updated":"2026-10-11T05:08:49.393Z","title":"Dylan Iskandar","summary":"Dylan Iskandar is a researcher and entrepreneur who co-founded Catalyst and RGBsec and works on directed energy, machine learning, and AI-driven trading products.","content":"**Dylan Iskandar** is an American entrepreneur and researcher who is a co-founder of [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst), a startup building artificial-intelligence trading agents for retail investors. He co-founded [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst) in 2025 with Justin Zheng, and the company raised a $30 million seed round led by Sequoia Capital in October 2026.[[2]](#cite-id-w4abyo55p5)[[5]](#cite-id-7n989nvydt) \n\n## Education\n\nIskandar attended Stanford University as a [Jane Street](https://iq.wiki/wiki/jane-street) Scholar before leaving to build [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst).[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-1hnt3dmzg7)​[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-7n989nvydt) After graduating from [Mira](https://iq.wiki/wiki/mira) Costa High School, he enrolled at Stanford with the support of a $50,000 STEM scholarship from Edison and a $40,000 Amazon Future Engineer scholarship awarded for his planned studies there.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-nlstdczgf9) \n\nDuring high school, Iskandar was Grand Prize Winner of Google Code-in 2019 and founded RGBsec, a United States high-school cybersecurity team that was ranked first nationally in 2020. He co-developed the GroceryBuddies iOS application with his brother Winston during the COVID-19 pandemic; the app later won the U.S. Congressional App Challenge and was exhibited at the U.S. Capitol. He also led Mathisi-fy, a nonprofit organization focused on technology education for underserved youth.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-nlstdczgf9)​\n\n## Career\n\n### Catalyst\n\nIn 2025, Iskandar co-founded [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst) with Justin Zheng, a startup that builds AI trading agents aimed at everyday retail investors.[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-itkexfcquj) Biographical profiles state that he was a globally recognized classical pianist at age 4 and conducted cybersecurity research for the U.S. Department of Defense throughout high school.[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-7n989nvydt) \n\n​[Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst)'s product converts plain-English instructions into executable trading strategies, so that a user describes a goal in ordinary language and the company's agents carry it out. Iskandar framed the concept by saying, \"The idea is that people will simply state an intent, and we have our agents to figure out everything end to end.\"[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-itkexfcquj) He described the company's broader mission as building \"safe, trustworthy finance\" and argued for widening access to sophisticated financial tools, stating, \"A farmer shouldn't need a hedge fund to be able to hedge.\"[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-itkexfcquj) The company has said its pilot generated \"hundreds of millions in trading volume over a couple of weeks,\" a figure reported as a company claim; Fortune noted that it did not report how many pilot users produced that volume, which brokerage handled execution, or how [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst) monetizes.[\\[4\\]](#cite-id-n24402gbe2)​\n\nOn October 8, 2026, it was reported that [Catalyst](https://iq.wiki/wiki/catalyst) had raised a $30 million seed round led by Sequoia Capital.[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-w4abyo55p5) The round's co-investors were Jump Trading, PeakXV, Lux Capital, AntiFund, [Coinbase](https://iq.wiki/wiki/coinbase), and Premji Invest.[\\[4\\]](#cite-id-n24402gbe2) ","recentActivity":null,"operator":{"id":"0x1E23b34d3106F0C1c74D17f2Cd0F65cdb039b138"},"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"People in crypto"}],"tags":[{"id":"Artist"},{"id":"Developer"},{"id":"Founder"},{"id":"Researcher"}],"images":[{"id":"Qme7eaacGc1RiwzvGCn3z9KtDU4JXfuCNFjmrrXKqnxR35","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"media":[],"linkedWikis":{"founders":["catalyst"],"blockchains":[],"speakers":[]},"events":[{"title":"Google Code-in Grand Prize","date":"2019-12-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Iskandar is named a Grand Prize Winner in Google Code-in 2019.","link":"https://www.thembnews.com/2023/05/11/434830/meet-mira-costas-90-000-kid","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"a902106b-25e0-4dd4-b909-a1985fc919bf"},{"title":"RGBsec tops U.S. high-school cybersecurity rankings","date":"2020-06-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"RGBsec, founded by Iskandar, is ranked first among U.S. high-school cybersecurity teams.","link":"https://www.thembnews.com/2023/05/11/434830/meet-mira-costas-90-000-kid","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"b4cf01eb-6897-44e8-a0a6-daf2422146e2"},{"title":"GroceryBuddies app wins Congressional App Challenge","date":"2021-06-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"GroceryBuddies, co-developed by Iskandar, wins the U.S. Congressional App Challenge and is exhibited at the Capitol.","link":"https://www.thembnews.com/2023/05/11/434830/meet-mira-costas-90-000-kid","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"10511703-c60b-40cc-b146-ca99add23fd0"},{"title":"Edison and Amazon scholarships awarded","date":"2023-05-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Iskandar receives a $50,000 Edison STEM scholarship and a $40,000 Amazon Future Engineer scholarship for his Stanford studies.","link":"https://www.thembnews.com/2023/05/11/434830/meet-mira-costas-90-000-kid","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"cbb8d0a7-2dc0-4164-b6e4-143d48c3e3fb"},{"title":"Catalyst founded","date":"2025-01-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Iskandar co-founds Catalyst, building AI trading agents for retail investors, with Justin Zheng.","link":"https://fortune.com/2026/10/08/sequoia-backed-catalyst-raises-30-million-build-ai-trading-agents-everyday-investors/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"502665d3-949d-46a3-b272-0e29c365d6f2"},{"title":"Catalyst pilot trading volume","date":"2026-01-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Catalyst reports a pilot that generated hundreds of millions in trading volume over a few weeks.","link":"https://aiweekly.co/alerts/sequoia-leads-30m-seed-for-catalysts-retail-trading-agents","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"f975b385-31ea-4f0d-a991-4baa5d7874a7"},{"title":"Catalyst raises $30 million seed round","date":"2026-10-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Sequoia Capital leads Catalyst's $30 million seed round with several co-investors.","link":"https://fortune.com/2026/10/08/sequoia-backed-catalyst-raises-30-million-build-ai-trading-agents-everyday-investors/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"2b1ba3f2-9c8f-4611-8b9e-3a4f9eb19c7a"}],"founderWikis":[{"id":"catalyst","title":"Catalyst"}],"blockchainWikis":[],"metadata":[{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylaniskandar"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/iskdyl"},{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"itkexfcquj\",\"url\":\"https://fortune.com/2026/10/08/sequoia-backed-catalyst-raises-30-million-build-ai-trading-agents-everyday-investors/\",\"description\":\"Fortune on Iskandar's age and role\",\"timestamp\":1791695043526},{\"id\":\"w4abyo55p5\",\"description\":\"Dealroom - Catalyst raises $30M seed to put AI trading agents in retail investors' hands\",\"timestamp\":1791695183811,\"url\":\"https://dealroom.co/news/161249-catalyst-raises-30m-seed-to-put-ai-trading-agents-in-retail-investors-ha/\"},{\"id\":\"1hnt3dmzg7\",\"url\":\"https://x.com/iskdyl\",\"description\":\"X profile affiliations\",\"timestamp\":1791695043526},{\"id\":\"n24402gbe2\",\"url\":\"https://aiweekly.co/alerts/sequoia-leads-30m-seed-for-catalysts-retail-trading-agents\",\"description\":\"AI Weekly on Catalyst leadership\",\"timestamp\":1791695043527},{\"id\":\"7n989nvydt\",\"url\":\"https://sequoiacap.com/article/partnering-with-catalyst-turning-ideas-into-trades\",\"description\":\"Sequoia Capital on partnering with Catalyst\",\"timestamp\":1791757470434},{\"id\":\"nlstdczgf9\",\"url\":\"https://www.thembnews.com/2023/05/11/434830/meet-mira-costas-90-000-kid\",\"description\":\"MB News profile on scholarships and activities\",\"timestamp\":1791757621836}]"},{"id":"main-image-origin","value":"{\"imageId\":\"Qme7eaacGc1RiwzvGCn3z9KtDU4JXfuCNFjmrrXKqnxR35\",\"originalId\":\"QmdqRLJ6cKGsXnvenuxExDx2ZGwtj8HpDqHMn5FXWmWJnF\"}"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmNyKm1Vg7sXQ8PSy7u6hvMQ8zUprA6rSeW5MpLQzgRcgA"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"Make minor edits to Dylan Iskandar 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