Harper
Dammann Smith
Founder. Engineer. Explorer.
I grew up as an explorer, taking every opportunity to go somewhere most people wouldn't. Out of school I built an adventure photography business, shooting for Red Bull in the Himalayas and producing expeditions with National Geographic. I've always been an engineer, machining rocket engines in my workshop and studying aerospace at Bath. That combination led me to startups, with one focus: building AI that captures how organisations actually work and spreads that knowledge so human effort compounds instead of getting lost.
Current Focus
Building Astrid AI
AI-native operating system for superyacht sales and charter. We identified a major inefficiency in how brokers manage transactions and built agentic AI to automate lead qualification, document intelligence, and CRM workflows. Now working with the largest firms in the industry.
Ventures
What I've built
San Diego Space Institute
AI operations centre for 6-satellite CubeSat constellation. NASA TechEdSat architecture.
Team Bath Rockets
Senior propulsion engineer. Aerospike engine, cryogenic feed systems.
Acceler8
One of the largest UK student startup accelerators. 80+ founders, 2 YC companies, 1 ISRO-backed.