Astronomer interim CEO Pete DeJoy (right) addressed the controversy surrounding former CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot appearing on the "kiss cam" at a Coldplay concert.

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

The last few days sure have been an "Adventure of a Lifetime" for Pete DeJoy.

The cofounder of Astronomer has made his first public comments since the viral "kiss cam" moment at a Coldplay concert led to the resignation of the New York City company's former CEO, Andy Byron. The video board at Gillette Stadium caught the married man and Astronomer's human resources chief, Kristin Cabot, intimately hugging before immediately separating in shame.

In a LinkedIn post on Monday, July 21, DeJoy, who's now interim CEO, said his artificial intelligence firm has gained a stunning amount of international infamy.

"The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies — let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world — ever encounter," DeJoy wrote. "The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name."

Astronomer announced an investigation into Byron and Cabot on Friday, July 18, two days after the scandalous moment at the show in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The executives quickly pulled away when they noticed the camera, but not before a Jersey Shore bartender's TikTok video captured the moment.

The original clip has been seen more than 123 million times, but countless memes, jokes, and parodies have spread ever since. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin even gave fans a playful warning about the kiss cam during the next stop on the Music of the Spheres World Tour in Madison, Wisconsin.

DeJoy said the suspected cheating scandal is just the latest obstacle that Astronomer must overcome.

"We have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we've emerged stronger," he wrote. "From starting a software company in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keeping the lights on through the collapse of the bank that held all our cash, to scaling from 30 to 300 people during a global pandemic that demanded we do it all without ever being in the same room."

Astronomer helps its clients manage data infrastructure, allowing businesses to gain analytical value from that data. The company uses Apache Airflow, a platform for managing complex data pipelines.

DeJoy, a Bowdoin College graduate, said his firm's tools power everything from sports analytics and large language model chatbots to self-driving cars.

"We're here because Astronomer is built by people who live to solve hard problems, stay late to fix what's broken, and care deeply about doing things the right way," DeJoy said. "We're here because our customers trust us with their most ambitious data & AI projects. And, most importantly, we're here because the mission is bigger than any one moment."

DeJoy ended his statement by saying Astronomer's story is "still being written."

"To our team: thank you for your resilience & commitment to building something great," he said. "And to our community and customers: thank you for your trust. We won't let you down."

Cabot has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. She joined Astronomer in late 2024 as the company's chief people officer.

Astronomer said no other employees were in the viral video.