Chamath Palihapitiya

Chamath Palihapitiya was born in 1976 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to a family that immigrated to Canada when he was five due to economic hardship. Raised in Ottawa by a single mother after his father struggled with alcoholism, Palihapitiya attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute and later studied electrical engineering at the University of Waterloo, dropping out to pursue finance. He began his career in 1999 at BMO Nesbitt Burns as a trader, then joined Winblad Venture Partners, before landing at Facebook in 2007 as vice president of growth, marketing, and operations, where he helped scale monthly active users from 50 million to 700 million. In 2011, Palihapitiya left Facebook to found Social Capital Partners (later Social Capital), a venture firm investing in mission-driven companies like Slack, Box, and Yammer, with a portfolio exceeding $1.5 billion. He gained attention for public criticisms of Facebook's impact on society and Silicon Valley excesses. Palihapitiya pivoted Social Capital toward climate tech, biotech, and public markets, launching high-profile SPACs including Virgin Galactic (2019), Opendoor, and SoFi, though some faced regulatory scrutiny. Beyond investing, Palihapitiya has influenced sports and politics; he was a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors from 2010 to 2022, contributing to their NBA success, and has donated millions to causes like education via The Giving Pledge. In 2020, he co-founded the All-In Podcast, which analyzes tech trends and policy. As of 2025, he remains active in venture capital through 8090 and focuses on AI, climate, and financial innovation.