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Balaji Srinivasan

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Balaji Srinivasan
Born (1980-05-24) May 24, 1980 (age 44)
Plainview, New York, USA
EducationStanford University (BS, MS, MS, PhD)
Known for

Balaji S. Srinivasan (born May 24, 1980)[1] is an American entrepreneur and investor. He was the co-founder of Counsyl, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Coinbase, and former general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.[2]

Early life and education

Srinivasan grew up on Long Island, in Plainview, New York.[3] He received BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MS in Chemical Engineering, also from Stanford.[4]

Career

Counsyl

In 2007, Srinivasan co-founded genetic testing company Counsyl, which provided tests to prospective parents to screen for Mendelian diseases.[1][2][5] Counsyl was acquired by Myriad Genetics for $375 million in 2018.[6][7]

Andreessen Horowitz

In 2013, Srinivasan joined the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner.[8][9]

21 Inc (later Earn.com)

In 2013, Srinivasan co-founded 21e6, which later became 21 Inc,[10] a Bitcoin mining startup that failed as a bitcoin mining business after raising over $120 million from investors.[11][non-primary source needed] The company later pivoted to become Earn.com, which allowed senders to pay users in digital currency to reply to emails.[1] Earn.com was acquired by digital currency exchange company Coinbase in April 2018 for over $100 million.[12][13] After Coinbase purchased Earn.com, it became Coinbase Earn and Srinivasan became Coinbase’s first CTO.[1][14][15] He left the company in 2019.[16] Coinbase shut down Coinbase Earn in December 2019.

Teleport

In April 2014, he co-founded Teleport, a job search engine. Teleport was acquired by Topia in 2017.[17][18]

Published books

The Network State

In July 2022, Srinivasan published The Network State: How To Start a New Country which coined the concept of a Network State which proposes the setting up of decentralized digital communities that crowdfund resources to build new autonomous cities and states.[19][20][21] The ideas in the book are inspired by the work of the economist Albert O. Hirschman who sees two basic paths to reform - voice (remake the system from within) and exit (leave and build something new).[21]

Public profile

MIT Technology Review named Srinivasan on its list of "Innovators Under 35" in 2013.[5] In 2018, Fortune ranked him 26th on its "The Ledger 40 Under 40" list.[1]

In 2013, Srinivasan gave a talk at Y Combinator's Startup School titled "Silicon Valley's Ultimate Exit" and published "Software Is Reorganizing the World"[22] in Wired, which advocated for the technology industry to digitally exit the United States and move abroad. The talk was received positively by Reason,[23] Wired,[24] and Bloomberg News,[25] but was criticized by The New York Times[26] and The Wall Street Journal.[27] In 2022, Srinivasan extended this idea, publishing The Network State, about online nationality and the breakaway from geographical governments.

In 2013, after TechCrunch published an article exploring links between Silicon Valley tech leaders and the Dark Enlightenment movement that mentioned this speech,[28] Srinivasan suggested doxing reporters who bring these links to the attention of the public. In an email to Curtis Yarvin, he wrote, "If things get hot, it may be interesting to sic the Dark Enlightenment audience on a single vulnerable hostile reporter to dox them and turn them inside out with hostile reporting sent to *their* advertisers/friends/contacts.”[29][30]

In 2017, the Trump Administration considered appointing Srinivasan as FDA Commissioner.[31][32][33][34][35][36] While being considered for the appointment, Srinivasan deleted all of his tweets, including tweets critical of the FDA.[37] In one such deleted tweet, Srinivasan wrote, "For every thalidomide, many dead from slowed approvals.”[38]

In July 2020, Srinivasan drew attention after criticizing Taylor Lorenz's reporting alleged misbehavior of Away's CEO on Twitter. On the Twitter thread, he suggested Lorenz and journalists like her are "sociopaths." Lorenz defended herself and characterized Srinivasan's previous actions as harassment on Clubhouse and other platforms.[39][40][41][42]

In April 2021, Srinivasan donated $50,000 in cryptocurrency to aid in Indian COVID-19 relief in during a resurgence of the virus in the country. On Twitter, he pledged to donate another $50 for every time his post was retweeted, up to $100,000.[43]

Personal life

In 2020 Srinivasan moved to Singapore.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Balaji Srinivasan". Fortune. 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  2. ^ a b Kafka, Peter (2017-01-14). "Balaji Srinivasan, who may run the FDA for Trump, hates the FDA. But Silicon Valley likes Srinivasan". Vox. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  3. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (22 September 2017). "The Blockchain Is the Internet of Money". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  4. ^ Jon Russel (30 April 2018). "Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan joins the speakers at TechCrunch's first blockchain event". TechCrunch.
  5. ^ a b "Balaji Srinivasan". MIT Technology Review. 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  6. ^ "Myriad Genetics Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Counsyl, Inc. | Myriad Genetics, Inc". investor.myriad.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  7. ^ "Myriad Genetics to Acquire Counsyl for $375M". Genomeweb. 2018-05-29. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  8. ^ Gannes, Liz (2013-12-10). "Balaji Srinivasan Joins Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  9. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (2013-12-09). "Counsyl Co-Founder Balaji Srinivasan Steps Up As Andreessen Horowitz' Newest General Partner". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  10. ^ "What Is 21.co Really Building? An Excerpt From Digital Gold | TechCrunch". web.archive.org. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  11. ^ Srinivasan, Balaji S. (2018-04-16). "The Turnaround". Medium. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  12. ^ Rooney, Kate (2018-04-16). "Bitcoin exchange Coinbase buys Earn.com for a reported $100M and adds key executive". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  13. ^ "Coinbase Acquires Earn.com". Wall Street Journal. 2018-04-17. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  14. ^ Russell, Jon (2019-05-04). "Coinbase loses its first CTO after just one year in the job". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  15. ^ Armstrong, Brian (2018-04-16). "Welcome Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase's new Chief Technology Officer". Medium. Archived from the original on 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  16. ^ Russell, Jon (4 May 2019). "Coinbase loses its first CTO after just one year in the job". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (2014-05-19). "Andreessen-Incubated Teleport Aims To Make Location Irrelevant For Mobile Workers". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  18. ^ Hankewitz, Sten (2017-04-03). "Estonian startup Teleport acquired by MOVE Guides". Estonian World. Archived from the original on 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  19. ^ Chitkara, Hirsh (2022-09-17). "For God and 'The Network State': The crypto elite's endgame". Protocol. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  20. ^ "Balaji Srinivasan: The Network State [The Knowledge Project Ep. #134]". Farnam Street. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  21. ^ a b "Balaji Srinivasan: How to build your own country in the cloud". Reason.com. 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  22. ^ "Software Is Reorganizing the World". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  23. ^ "Tech Should Make It Easier To Escape Government Control, Says Startup Veteran Balaji Srinivasan". Reason.com. 2013-10-30. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  24. ^ "Silicon Valley's Elite Don't Want to Secede. They Just Want to Stay on Top". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  25. ^ "Is Silicon Valley Arrogant? Not by My Definition". Bloomberg.com. 2013-11-08. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  26. ^ Giridharadas, Anand (2013-10-28). "Silicon Valley Roused by Secession Call". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  27. ^ Manjoo, Farhad (2013-11-04). "Silicon Valley Has an Arrogance Problem". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  28. ^ Finley, Klint (23 November 2013). "Geeks for Monarchy: The Rise of the Neoreactionaries". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  29. ^ Cavaliere, Victoria (February 21, 2021) “Venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan reportedly suggested doxxing a journalist who reported on narratives he didn't like.” Archived 2021-02-14 at the Wayback Machine Business Insider. (Retrieved April 21, 2021.)
  30. ^ Metz, Cade (February 22, 2021) “Silicon Valley’s Safe Space.” Archived 2021-04-20 at the Wayback Machine New York Times. (Retrieved April 21, 2021.)
  31. ^ Balakrishnan, Anita (2017-01-12). "Trump met with two Silicon Valley insiders who may join the FDA". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  32. ^ Burton, Thomas M. (2017-01-13). "Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts for FDA Commissioner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  33. ^ George, Varghese K. (2017-01-17). "Indian American could be FDA head under Trump". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  34. ^ Langlois, Shawn. "The coronavirus will forever change us, according to an investor who was once eyed for Trump's top FDA gig". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  35. ^ Burton, Thomas M. (2017-01-13). "Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts for FDA Commissioner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  36. ^ RAJAGOPAL, DIVYA. "Balaji S Srinivasan may join Trump's team". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  37. ^ Kafka, Peter (2017-01-14). "Balaji Srinivasan, who may run the FDA for Trump, hates the FDA. But Silicon Valley likes Srinivasan". Vox. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  38. ^ Chafkin, Max (September 15, 2021) "Peter Thiel Gamed Silicon Valley, Donald Trump, and Democracy to Make Billions, Tax-Free."Bloomberg Businessweek. (Retrieved October 15, 2021.)
  39. ^ "Silicon Valley Elite Discuss Journalists Having Too Much Power in Private App". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  40. ^ Kasana, Mehreen. "A journalist does not deserve to be harassed by VCs for doing her job". Input. Archived from the original on 2021-05-31. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  41. ^ Newton, Casey (2020-07-07). "How Twitter is shifting the power balance from companies to their employees". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  42. ^ Levy, Steven (July 10, 2020). "Where Are the Adults in the Clubhouse?". Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  43. ^ "Tech bosses pad up to help India in Covid fight; angel investor Balaji Srinivasan, Vinod Khosla, Sundar Pichai offer monetary support". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  44. ^ "Entrepreneurs don't need to come to US to build billion-dollar businesses, says Balaji Srinivasan". The Economic Times. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
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