Vlad Tenev
Vladimir Tenev | |
---|---|
![]() Tenev in 2016 | |
Born | |
Nationality | American, Bulgarian |
Education | Stanford (BA) UCLA (dropped out) |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Known for | Co-founder, Robinhood |
Children | 1 |
Vladimir Tenev (Bulgarian: Владимир Тенев; born 13 February 1987) is a Bulgarian-American entrepreneur who is the co-founder (with Baiju Bhatt) and CEO of Robinhood, a US-based financial technology services company.
Early life
[edit]Tenev was born in Bulgaria, and his parents migrated to the U.S. when he was five.[1] His parents both worked for the World Bank.[2] He attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology[3] in Fairfax County, Virginia.
He earned a degree in mathematics from Stanford University, where he met Baiju Bhatt.[4] He studied for a mathematics PhD at UCLA, but dropped out to work with Bhatt.[2][5]
Career
[edit]In 2010, Tenev and Bhatt started a high-frequency trading software company called Celeris. By January 2011 they abandoned it to create Chronos Research, which sold low-latency software to other trading firms and banks.[6]
In 2013, Tenev and Bhatt co-founded the trading platform Robinhood.[4] In 2015, Robinhood launched its mobile app to the public.[7] Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Tenev and Bhatt became billionaires.[4][8]
In November 2020, Tenev became the sole CEO of Robinhood, having previously shared the co-CEO title with Bhatt.[9]
In July 2021, Robinhood went public via an initial public offering at a $32 billion valuation.[10]
GameStop short squeeze
[edit]Tenev defended Robinhood's decision to prevent users from buying stock or options in a variety of securities, notably GameStop, during the GameStop short squeeze;[11][12][13][14] the decision had sparked widespread criticism from users of the app as well as politicians in both major American parties.[15]
On January 28, 2021, Robinhood was among a number of brokerages that halted users from buying stock or options in GameStop and the other heavily shorted-securities.[16]
On February 18, 2021, Tenev testified before the United States House Committee on Financial Services regarding Robinhood's role during the GameStop short squeeze.[17][18] Tenev came under criticism from members of both parties and was criticized for struggling to provide answers to a number of questions.[19][20][21]
His testimony explained that Robinhood’s decision to halt securities was driven by a need to meet federal clearinghouse deposit requirements, and refuted a number of theories that accused Robinhood of colluding with hedge funds during the squeeze.[22]
In its July 2021 Form S-1 filing with the SEC, Robinhood disclosed that the US Attorney's Office had executed a search warrant for Tenev's cell phone as part of a probe into the GameStop short squeeze.[23][24][25]
Other activities
[edit]Tenev co-founded Palo Alto-based artificial intelligence startup Harmonic in 2023, where he is the executive chairman.[26][27]
Awards
[edit]Year | Awards | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Forbes 30 Under 30 | Young Traders | Won | [28] |
2022 | Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame | [29] |
Other awards
[edit]He was invited to be the keynote speaker at UCLA's 2019 Math Commencement Ceremony.[30]
Personal life
[edit]Tenev is married to Celina A. Tenev, notably a co-founder of an emergency health service, Call9.[31] They have one daughter.[32]
In popular culture
[edit]Tenev is portrayed by Sebastian Stan in the 2023 film Dumb Money, a drama about the GameStop short squeeze.[33]
References
[edit]- ^ "The founders of Robinhood, a no-fee stock-trading app, were initially rejected by 75 venture capitalists — now their startup is worth $1.3 billion". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Vlad Tenev, 28". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Thomas Jefferson HS. "Thomas Jefferson HS". Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Robinhood Founders Are Billionaires in Silicon Valley Minute". Bloomberg News. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Ongchoco, David (12 August 2015). "Startup Insider: The Story Behind Stock Trading App Robinhood and Its One Million-Person Waitlist". HuffPost. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Win the Stock Market with Crowd Sourced Advice from New App Robinhood". 18 April 2013.
- ^ "Online Brokerage Robinhood Will Offer Bitcoin And Ethereum Trading In February". Forbes. 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Meet the 11 new tech billionaires that emerged in 2018". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "This app completely disrupted the trading industry". CNN. 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Robinhood valued at $32 billion after selling shares in IPO at $38 per share". CNBC. 28 July 2021.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO says limited trade to protect firm and customers". Reuters. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaks out on decision to restrict trading on GameStop and other stocks". CNBC. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Says Trading Limits Will Protect Firm, Customers". Bloomberg.com. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ Robinhood CEO speaks on controversy after GameStop stock chaos - CNN Video, 29 January 2021, retrieved 2021-01-29
- ^ "Robinhood founder Vlad Tenev says app blocked GameStop buys to "protect investors"". Newsweek. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy". CNBC. 2021-01-28.
- ^ Popper, Nathaniel (18 February 2021). "Grilled in the hearing, Robinhood's chief apologizes for limiting GameStop trades". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Collins, Eliza (February 18, 2021). "Who Are Keith Gill and Other Key Players at the GameStop Hearing?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Popper, Nathaniel; Phillips, Matt (2021-02-18). "In GameStop Saga, Robinhood Is Cast as the Villain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ "Under fire, Robinhood CEO apologizes to Congress for restricting trading". NBC News. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Karaian, Jason; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2021-02-19). "'Something Very Wrong Happened Here'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ "GameStop hearing: Robinhood founder defends halt to trading". TheGuardian. 2021-02-18.
- ^ Kay, Grace. "Robinhood's IPO filing reveals the US Attorney's Office executed a search warrant for CEO Vlad Tenev's cell phone". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (2021-07-01). "Feds seized Robinhood CEO's phone as part of GameStop trading probe". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ Westbrook, Jesse (July 1, 2021). "Robinhood Says U.S. Demanded Access to CEO Tenev's Phone Records". Bloomberg.
- ^ Victor, John (August 8, 2024). "Sequoia Capital Has Discussed Funding AI Reasoning Startup Cofounded by Robinhood CEO". The Information.
- ^ Fried, Ina (June 10, 2024). "Exclusive: Robinhood CEO backs startup to boost AI's math skills". Axios.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan. "30 Under 30 Finance: The Top Young Traders, Bankers And Dealmakers". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Vlad Tenev". Forbes. 28 March 2022.
- ^ "2019 Math Commencement Keynote Speaker: Vladimir Tenev". UCLA. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Call9: Modernizing Emergency Care". Center for Health Technology Hunter College. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ Garcia, Ahiza (2017-09-08). "Robinhood co-founders want everyone in the stock market". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "'Dumb Money' First Look: The GameStop Stock Frenzy Is Now a Movie". Vanity Fair. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
External links
[edit]Media related to Vladimir Tenev at Wikimedia Commons