Ryan Johnston
| Ryan Johnston | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Waypoint Transit |
|---|---|
| Known for | Co-founding Waypoint Transit |
| Education | Stanford University (MS, Electrical Engineering) |
Ryan Johnston is an American entrepreneur and co-founder of Waypoint Transit, an artificial intelligence-powered city planning platform that automates the generation of civil infrastructure studies for municipalities. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch.[1]
Career
Johnston holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, where he met his co-founder Varun Tandon, who studied computer science at the same institution. Before founding Waypoint Transit, Johnston worked on chip design at Apple Inc.[2]
Johnston co-founded Waypoint Transit in 2024. The company develops AI tools designed to automate routine tasks in urban and transportation planning. According to the company, U.S. state and local governments spend approximately $50 billion per year on planning, and Waypoint aims to reduce both the time and cost of producing planning reports — claiming cities can generate studies in months rather than years, at roughly 30 percent of conventional costs. The platform is targeted at municipalities and consulting firms that handle city infrastructure planning.[3]
The company's clients include transit agencies and municipal governments. Johnston has worked directly with transit agencies including the Duluth Transit Authority and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), securing grants and introducing technology to support local transit projects. Other organizations listed as users of Waypoint's platform include the cities of Walnut Creek, San Rafael, and Santa Fe, as well as Teton County.[4]
Waypoint Transit's stated mission addresses three interconnected challenges facing U.S. cities: traffic congestion, municipal budget deficits, and climate change. The company positions its AI tools as a way for understaffed city governments to reduce their reliance on expensive external consultants and respond more quickly to infrastructure problems.
Johnston resides in Duluth, Minnesota.
References
- ↑ "Waypoint Transit – Y Combinator". 'Waypoint Transit}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Waypoint Transit – Y Combinator". 'Waypoint Transit}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Waypoint Transit". 'Waypoint Transit}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Waypoint Transit". 'Waypoint Transit}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.