Andy Byron, the startup government on the heart of a unprecedented social media furor, has resigned as CEO of information operations startup Astronomer.
Byron, who’s married, was captured on a Coldplay live performance “kiss cam” along with his arms across the firm’s chief folks officer Kristin Cabot. After Byron and Cabot rapidly tried to cover from the digital camera, Coldplay singer Chris Martin joked, “Both they’re having an affair or they’re simply very shy.”
Video of the awkward incident quickly went spectacularly viral — Axios, citing Muck Rack information, reported on Friday that over the previous 24 hours, 22,000 information articles had been printed in regards to the startup, together with 9,000 about Byron himself. (Amidst the various jokes and memes, 404 Media argued that the incident is “emblematic of our social media surveillance dystopia.”)
Astronomer, which introduced in Could that it had raised a $93 million Collection D, mentioned Friday that Byron had been positioned on go away, with cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy turning into interim CEO. Cabot has reportedly been positioned on go away as effectively.
Now, the corporate has launched an extended assertion asserting that Byron has resigned.
“Our leaders are anticipated to set the usual in each conduct and accountability, and lately, that normal was not met,” Astronomer mentioned.
“Earlier than this week, we had been referred to as a pioneer within the DataOps area, serving to information groups energy all the things from trendy analytics to manufacturing AI,” the corporate added. “Whereas consciousness of our firm might have modified in a single day, our product and our work for our clients haven’t.”
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
DeJoy will proceed to function interim CEO because the board searches for a everlasting substitute.