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Balaji Srinivasan
Born (1980-05-24) May 24, 1980 (age 44)
Long Island,[1] New York, United States
EducationStanford University (BS, MS, MS, PhD)
Known for

Balaji S. Srinivasan (born May 24, 1980)[2] 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.[3]

Biography

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The son of physician parents who immigrated from South India, Srinivasan grew up on Long Island, in Plainview, New York.[4] He received BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MS in Chemical Engineering, also from Stanford.[5]

In 2007 he co-founded genetic testing company Counsyl, which provided tests to prospective parents to screen for Mendelian diseases.[2][3][6] Counsyl was acquired by Myriad Genetics for $375 million in 2018.[7][8] In 2013, he joined the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, as a general partner.[9][10]

In 2013, Srinivasan co-founded 21e6, which later became 21 Inc,[11] a Bitcoin mining startup raising over $120 million from investors.[12][non-primary source needed] The company failed as a bitcoin mining business and pivoted to become Earn.com, which allowed senders to pay users in cryptocurrency to reply to emails.[2][13] Earn.com was acquired by digital currency exchange company Coinbase in April 2018.[14][15] After Coinbase purchased Earn.com, it became Coinbase Earn and Srinivasan became Coinbase's first CTO.[2][16][17] He left the company in 2019.[18] Coinbase shut down Coinbase Earn in December 2019.

In April 2014, he co-founded Teleport, a job search engine. Teleport was acquired by Topia in 2017.[19][20]

In September 2024, Srinivasan started The Network School, a school for people interested in developing "network nations" and "decentralized countries." Located in Forest City, Johor, Malaysia, the school had an initial enrollment of 150. Students are required to have an admiration of “Western values,” to believe Bitcoin is the successor to the US Federal Reserve, and to trust AI over human courts and judges.[21]

The Network State

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In 2013, in a talk at Y Combinator's Startup School titled "Silicon Valley's Ultimate Exit" and in a Wired article called "Software Is Reorganizing the World",[22] Srinivasan urged 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] After TechCrunch mentioned the speech in an article exploring links between Silicon Valley tech leaders and the far-right Dark Enlightenment movement,[28] Srinivasan wrote in an email to Dark Enlightenment leader Curtis Yarvin, "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 2022, in a self-published book titled The Network State: How To Start a New Country, Srinivasan elaborated on his ideas about online nationality and the need to break away from geographical governments. The book describes the concept of a "network state" in which digital communities crowd-fund resources to build autonomous cities and states.[31][32] The ideas in the book were inspired by the work of the economist Albert O. Hirschman, who sees two basic paths to reform, one called voice (remake the system from within) and another called exit (leave and build something new).[33]

In an April 2024 article for The New Republic, Gil Duran warned against dismissing the Network State as an unpopular fringe theory.[34] His article drew from Srinivasan's September 2023 podcast interview in which he called for tech-friendly people to seize political power and take control of cities. Srinivasan said his plan would exclude Democrats from areas the techies control. He suggested bribing the police (with banquets and jobs for their relatives) to prevent them from enforcing laws disadvantageous to technology companies.[34][35] Duran argued that Srinivasan's ideas reveal an "appetite for autocracy."[34]

Public profile

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MIT Technology Review named Srinivasan on its list of "Innovators Under 35" in 2013.[6] In 2018, Fortune ranked him 26th on its "The Ledger 40 Under 40" list.[2]

In 2017, the Trump Administration considered appointing Srinivasan as FDA Commissioner.[36][37][38][39][40][41] While being considered for the appointment, Srinivasan deleted all of his tweets, including tweets critical of the FDA.[42] In one such deleted tweet, Srinivasan wrote, "For every thalidomide, many dead from slowed approvals."[43]

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 activists like her are "sociopaths." Lorenz defended herself and characterized Srinivasan's previous actions as harassment on Clubhouse and other platforms.[44][45][46][47]

In April 2021, Srinivasan donated $50,000 in cryptocurrency to aid in Indian COVID-19 relief 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.[48]

On March 17, 2023, Srinivasan bet James Medlock, a left-leaning economist, that one Bitcoin (then worth less than $30,000) would be worth $1 million in 90 days. Srinivasan made the bet after Medlock tweeted, "I'll bet anyone $1 million dollars that the US does not enter hyperinflation."[49] Srinivasan conceded the bet early and paid an additional US$500,000 to bitcoin core developers.[50] Forbes magazine remarked shortly after the bet was made that Srinivasan owns "a considerable amount of bitcoin" and his $1 million bet on Bitcoin "might be a mere marketing ploy or even a pump-and-dump scheme".[51] Ninety days after Srinivasan made his bet, the price of a Bitcoin was down roughly 3 percent from its March 17 price.[52]

Personal life

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In 2020 Srinivasan moved to Singapore.[53]

References

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  1. ^ "US, India & China - Balaji Srinivasan Decodes the Geopolitical Dynamics | the Ranveer Show 349". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Balaji Srinivasan". Fortune. 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Kafka, Peter (January 14, 2017). "Balaji Srinivasan, who may run the FDA for Trump, hates the FDA. But Silicon Valley likes Srinivasan". Vox. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (September 22, 2017). "The Blockchain Is the Internet of Money". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Jon Russel (April 30, 2018). "Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan joins the speakers at TechCrunch's first blockchain event". TechCrunch.
  6. ^ a b "Balaji Srinivasan". MIT Technology Review. 2013. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "Myriad Genetics Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Counsyl, Inc. | Myriad Genetics, Inc". investor.myriad.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "Myriad Genetics to Acquire Counsyl for $375M". Genomeweb. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Gannes, Liz (December 10, 2013). "Balaji Srinivasan Joins Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (December 9, 2013). "Counsyl Co-Founder Balaji Srinivasan Steps Up As Andreessen Horowitz' Newest General Partner". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "What Is 21.co Really Building? An Excerpt From Digital Gold | TechCrunch". May 20, 2015. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Srinivasan, Balaji (April 16, 2018). "The Turnaround". Medium. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  13. ^ Mann, Sonya (February 16, 218). "Now You Can Earn Cryptocurrency for Opening Your Email". inc.com. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  14. ^ Rooney, Kate (April 16, 2018). "Bitcoin exchange Coinbase buys Earn.com for a reported $100M and adds key executive". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  15. ^ "Coinbase Acquires Earn.com". Wall Street Journal. April 17, 2018. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Russell, Jon (May 4, 2019). "Coinbase loses its first CTO after just one year in the job". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Armstrong, Brian (April 16, 2018). "Welcome Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase's new Chief Technology Officer". Medium. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  18. ^ Russell, Jon (May 4, 2019). "Coinbase loses its first CTO after just one year in the job". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  19. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (May 19, 2014). "Andreessen-Incubated Teleport Aims To Make Location Irrelevant For Mobile Workers". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  20. ^ Hankewitz, Sten (April 3, 2017). "Estonian startup Teleport acquired by MOVE Guides". Estonian World. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Haskins, Caroline (September 23, 2024) "A Mysterious School for the Network State Crowd Is Now in Session.". Wired. (Retrieved October 9, 2024).
  22. ^ "Software Is Reorganizing the World". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  23. ^ "Tech Should Make It Easier To Escape Government Control, Says Startup Veteran Balaji Srinivasan". Reason.com. October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  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 April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  25. ^ Carter, Stephen L. (November 8, 2013). "Is Silicon Valley Arrogant? Not by My Definition". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  26. ^ Giridharadas, Anand (October 28, 2013). "Silicon Valley Roused by Secession Call". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  27. ^ Manjoo, Farhad (November 4, 2013). "Silicon Valley Has an Arrogance Problem". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  28. ^ Finley, Klint (November 23, 2013). "Geeks for Monarchy: The Rise of the Neoreactionaries". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  29. ^ Cavaliere, Victoria (February 21, 2021). "Venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan reportedly suggested doxxing a journalist who reported on narratives he didn't like". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  30. ^ Metz, Cade (February 22, 2021). "Silicon Valley's Safe Space". New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  31. ^ Chitkara, Hirsh (September 17, 2022). "For God and 'The Network State': The crypto elite's endgame". Protocol. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  32. ^ "Balaji Srinivasan: The Network State [The Knowledge Project Ep. #134]". Farnam Street. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  33. ^ "Balaji Srinivasan: How to build your own country in the cloud". Reason.com. October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  34. ^ a b c Duran, Gil (April 26, 2024). "The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of "Blues"". The New Republic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  35. ^ "Balaji on How the Tech Tribe Can Save Our Cities [Part 2]".
  36. ^ Balakrishnan, Anita (January 12, 2017). "Trump met with two Silicon Valley insiders who may join the FDA". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  37. ^ Burton, Thomas M. (January 13, 2017). "Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts for FDA Commissioner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  38. ^ George, Varghese K. (January 17, 2017). "Indian American could be FDA head under Trump". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  39. ^ 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 April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  40. ^ Burton, Thomas M. (January 13, 2017). "Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts for FDA Commissioner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  41. ^ RAJAGOPAL, DIVYA. "Balaji S Srinivasan may join Trump's team". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  42. ^ Kafka, Peter (January 14, 2017). "Balaji Srinivasan, who may run the FDA for Trump, hates the FDA. But Silicon Valley likes Srinivasan". Vox. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  43. ^ 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.)
  44. ^ "Silicon Valley Elite Discuss Journalists Having Too Much Power in Private App". www.vice.com. July 2, 2020. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  45. ^ Kasana, Mehreen (July 3, 2020). "A journalist does not deserve to be harassed by VCs for doing her job". Input. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  46. ^ Newton, Casey (July 7, 2020). "How Twitter is shifting the power balance from companies to their employees". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  47. ^ Levy, Steven (July 10, 2020). "Where Are the Adults in the Clubhouse?". Wired. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  48. ^ "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 April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  49. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (March 20, 2023) "A big bet on the near-term future of... money." Politico.com. (Retrieved June 6, 2023.)
  50. ^ DiCamillo, Nate (May 3, 2023). "Balaji Srinivasan lost $1 million in a bizarre bitcoin bet". Quartz. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  51. ^ Kochkodin, Brandon (March 20, 2023) "Who Is Balaji Srinivasan And Why Should We Care About His $1 Million Bitcoin Prediction?" Forbes. (Retrieved May 1, 2023.)
  52. ^ Querishi, Mehab (June 17, 2023) "Yikes! Only 1 Day Remaining For Balaji Srinivasan's $1M Bet—Yet Bitcoin Fails To Surge By Even 1%." MSN.com. (Retrieved June 20, 2023.)
  53. ^ "Entrepreneurs don't need to come to US to build billion-dollar businesses, says Balaji Srinivasan". The Economic Times. February 16, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
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