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Tech company Astronomer is launching an investigation after its CEO, Andy Byron, appeared to be filmed embracing the company’s head of HR at a Coldplay concert.
“The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly,” the company said in a statement on X. It added that “no other employees were in the video” and that reports saying Byron has put out a statement are incorrect.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,” the statement said.
The investigation is the next chapter in a saga that commanded social media’s rapt attention.
A clip of Byron and Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s head of people, caught in “kiss cam”-style crowd footage at a Coldplay concert went viral on Thursday. The pair appeared horrified to be broadcast on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium and quickly untwined, prompting Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to speculate that they were “having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
The internet became fascinated with the narrative. Byron’s name was the top trending search term on Google on Thursday, and tens of millions have watched the clip.
Commentators on X and TikTok joked about the awkward scenario. The company turned off comments on its LinkedIn and X accounts as they became flooded with them.
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People even placed bets — over $250,000 was traded on Polymarket — on Byron’s chances of remaining as CEO.
For more than 24 hours, the company and its leadership — the board, active founders, and Byron — stayed quiet about the scandal and did not respond to requests for comment from the media or release a statement.
Ry Walker, who served as Astronomer CEO from 2015 to 2022, put out a comment: “Yes, I was co-founder and early CEO – not on the team or board since 2022, and have no information on ColdplayGate,” Walker wrote on X.
Founded in 2015, Astronomer builds data management and optimization products used by companies like Activision and Marriott. In May, it completed a Series D funding round that valued the company at $775 million, according to PitchBook.
Byron came on as CEO in July 2023 after holding C-suite roles at several other software and tech firms. In November 2024, he hired Cabot as the company’s head of people.
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