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Madrid, Spain

Hello, I’mDaniel Aguilera

Co-founder at braincap

Daniel Aguilera

About

Daniel is an engineer from Madrid, Spain. He studied electromechanical engineering at ICAI and Michigan. In 2025, he formed part of the UM Solar Car Race Crew, where he built one of the world's fastest solar cars for the World Solar Challenge. He has worked at two start-ups and at BCG, and researched how ECM models scale for lithium-ion batteries at iiT. Now he is founding braincap, where he is building a platform to help humans keep their freedom to ask, doubt, judge, create, and choose with AI.

Daniel is an engineer from Madrid, Spain. He studied at ICAI and Michigan, built one of the world's fastest solar cars, and is now founding braincap: a platform to help humans keep their freedom to ask, doubt, judge, create, and choose with AI.

Experience

  • Braincap is developing a solution for metacognition in the age of AI. We are building a platform that tracks how you actually think with AI, so you take back control and keep the freedom to ask, doubt, judge, create, and choose.

    View projectbraincap.org
    1. Head of ExpansionJan 2026 – Present
    2. FellowSep 2025 – Dec 2025

    baby vc is an early-stage venture capital fellowship, learning the craft of identifying and backing exceptional founders.

    View project
  • Joined Boston Consulting Group as a 2026 Summer Visiting Associate in the Madrid office.

    View project
  • At iiT, I spent three years understanding how li-ion ECM models scale across cell, parallel, module and pack level. As part of that investigation I designed and iterated various modular battery test banks, and developed a methodology to carry out GITT at a fraction of commercial cycler costs. I also developed thermal models, and studied thermal runaway under external short-circuit conditions.

    View project
    1. Head of Partnerships, PR and Media, Race Crew EngineerJan 2025 – Sep 2025
    2. Business Development EngineerSep 2024 – Dec 2024

    At Michigan I joined the 2025 Race Crew as Head of Partnerships, PR & Media. I fundraised a multi-million-dollar budget to build Millennium, signed 50+ corporate partners, and ran race operations and media across the 3,000 km of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, where we finished as the top North American team and 7th in the world.

    View project
  • University of Michigan College of EngineeringUndergraduate Research Intern, Battery Control GroupSep 2024 – Dec 2024
    1. Head of Business Plan and Branding StrategyJun 2024 – Mar 2025
    2. Battery EngineerSep 2023 – Aug 2024

    At ISC I started as a battery engineer and ended up building the 400 V, 7.8 kWh pack that powered the team's fifth and sixth cars, raced across Spain, Germany and Italy. I ran the business plan and the team's partnerships alongside it.

    View project
  • ISPEEmerging Leaders Board MemberSep 2023 – Aug 2024
  • At Qurado I spent a summer alongside the CEO, scaling sales and operations for a company taking delicacies from origin straight to Michelin-star kitchens. I helped grow sales to €30k MRR, developed the purchase algorithm, and kept the databases intact through a web migration.

    View project
  • Alongside Aguiii Rides, in 2020 I joined my first startup: Carving Social Club, where for two years I worked on breaking down the biomechanics of surfing to teach the sport on land, while also learning how to manage the sales and ops of an e-commerce shop.

    View project
  • EducationUSAMember, Competitive College Club2019 – 2021

Education

  • ICAI, Universidad Pontificia ComillasDouble Master, Electrical Engineering & Artificial IntelligenceSep 2025 – May 2027
  • Grade 3.9/4, on the Honors List. Activities: Solar Car Team, M Run.

  • Grade 8/10, final thesis 10/10 with honours (MH). Activities: ICADE Debate Society, ISC FS Racing Team, research scholarship at iiT.

Awards

  • 2026

    Nova 111 under 25

    Nova Talent

    View certificate
  • 2025

    Best PR and Media

    Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

    View project
  • 2025

    Winner, 10th Smart Industry Hackathon

    Kearney

    View project
  • 2024

    Best Business Plan

    Formula Student Spain and Formula Student Italy

    View project

Projects

  • braincap

    2026 – Present

    Co-founder

    Braincap is developing a solution for metacognition in the age of AI. We are building a platform that tracks how you actually think with AI, so you take back control and keep the freedom to ask, doubt, judge, create, and choose.

    View projectbraincap.org
  • AngryRobot

    2026

    HackSpain Hackathon

    At HackSpain, Claudia, Luis, Hugo and I took on HappyRobot's challenge and built AngryRobot: a kill-switch layer for AI agents. Agents now have more capabilities than ever, and with them come unprecedented opportunities and risks — AngryRobot monitors, mitigates and escalates rogue agent behaviour before it is too late.

    View project
  • UM Solar Car

    2024 – 2025

    Head of Partnerships, PR & Media, Race Crew Engineer

    At Michigan I joined the 2025 Race Crew as Head of Partnerships, PR & Media. I fundraised a multi-million-dollar budget to build Millennium, signed 50+ corporate partners, and ran race operations and media across the 3,000 km of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, where we finished as the top North American team and 7th in the world.

    View project
  • ISC Racing Team

    2023 – 2025

    Battery Engineer · Business & Brand

    At ISC I started as a battery engineer and ended up building the 400 V, 7.8 kWh pack that powered the team's fifth and sixth cars, raced across Spain, Germany and Italy. I ran the business plan and the team's partnerships alongside it.

    View project
  • Aguiii Rides

    2020 – Present

    Creator

    As the world re-opened after the pandemic, in 2020, we started aguiii_rides with the goal of sharing our good vibes through skate, surf and our adventures with the rest of the world, reaching 1.7M people in our first year.

    View projectWatch on YouTubeFollow on Instagram
  • iiT - Instituto de Investigación Tecnológica

    2023 – 2026

    Research Scholar

    At iiT, I spent three years understanding how li-ion ECM models scale across cell, parallel, module and pack level. As part of that investigation I designed and iterated various modular battery test banks, and developed a methodology to carry out GITT at a fraction of commercial cycler costs. I also developed thermal models, and studied thermal runaway under external short-circuit conditions.

    View projectDownload final thesis

Links

  • LinkedIndanielaguilerairala
  • GitHubDanielAguileraICAI
  • XAguiiiDani
  • YouTube@Aguiii_Rides
  • Instagramaguiii_rides
© 2026 Daniel Aguilera