Rumors ofa4s‚ &''the death of stealth mode&'' have beena4s‚ greatly exaggerated. Ever since angel investor Chris Dixon tweeted, &''New early-stage start up trend: get big quietly, so you don&'t tip off potential competitors&'' back in Marcha4s‚ you can&'t grab a coffee at The Creamery without hearing a &''We&'re in stealth mode&'' come out some neophyte founder&'s mouth.

Multiple startups I have contacted for coverage have uttered the dreaded epithet and declined press despite a growing userbase.a4s‚ I&'ve spoken to a handful of VCs who hold that it&'s getting increasingly difficult to announce funding or undertake any sort of publicity for the nascent companies they&'re involved with.

Perhaps the most absurd thing about the state of stealth modea4s‚ is that many of these under-the-radar companies still manage to be over-hyped (!). In testament to this, the Quora thread &''What are the hottest stealth startups in Silicon Valley right now&''a4s‚ explores the ambiguities of stealth mode and forms a consensus on the most buzzed about stealth companies in Silicon Valley currently.

Some, like 3LM, we&'ve tracked down and got the skinny on. And others, like Rockmelt, are still on our radar. (FYI. If you&'ve got a Facebook Fan Page, Marc Andreesen as an investor and are working on a new browser, YOU ARE NOT STEALTH.)

We&'ve created an expandable PearlTree for those hungry for more information on the secretive startups.a4s‚ But really it&'d be great if some of them would just remove the cloak of invisibility or whatever marks the transition to non-stealthy behavior.

Hey guys, I&'m really curious about all the cool things you&'ve been working on, and I promise we won&'t bite (I&'m looking a you Path). CrunchBase InformationQuoraPearltreesInformation provided by CrunchBase