Leo Kankkunen
Founder & CEO at DAIVIN, electrical engineer and certified diver
San Francisco, California
Helsinki, Finland
Summary
Deep‑tech founder building a novel life‑support product: Leo founded DAIVIN! to commercialize a tankless underwater breathing system that generates oxygen from water via electrolysis, reframing oxygen as an energy problem rather than a logistics problem. daivin+2
Practical electrical engineering expertise and credentials: he trained and worked as an electrician and electrical specialist, completed a B.Eng. in electrical and automation engineering, and earned advanced vocational electrical certification in Finland—credentials he leverages in hardware and safety‑critical system design. theseus+1
Military service and hands‑on extreme‑environment experience: Leo served in the Finnish Defence Forces and is a certified diver, combining operational discipline with domain experience that informs DAIVIN!'s safety and field‑use design decisions. rocketreach+1
Public communicator and founder‑operator: actively publishes company updates and technical vision (YC launch, social posts), runs a personal site, and participates in professional memberships and networks while leading early‑stage product development and fundraising. ycombinator+2
Work
Education
Projects
Writing
Launch YC: DAIVIN! - We let humans breathe underwater (without oxygen tanks!)
January 1, 2026YC launch post describing DAIVIN!'s tankless dive gear, technical approach (electrolysis-based oxygen generation), safety and redundancy design, and vision for breath autonomy across domains.
Sähkötöiden johtaminen tuotantotiedolla
November 1, 2022Bachelor's thesis (in Finnish) on managing electrical works using production data; authored while at Centria University of Applied Sciences.