Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman was born on August 5, 1967, and studied philosophy and symbolic systems at Stanford University as an undergraduate, a program that combined computer science, cognitive science, and philosophy and exposed him early to AI concepts. He later earned a Master of Studies in Philosophy from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. Hoffman worked at Apple in the mid-1990s on eWorld and then at Fujitsu before co-founding SocialNet.com in 1997, an early social networking/dating site. He joined PayPal’s board and then its executive team, serving in business development and operations roles during the PayPal era that produced many future Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors ('the PayPal Mafia'). In December 2002, Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn, which launched publicly in May 2003 as a business-oriented social network; Peter Thiel was an early investor and Hoffman later became LinkedIn’s executive chairman and served in executive roles while also investing through Greylock Partners. LinkedIn went public on May 19, 2011, and was later acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for approximately $26 billion, an event that significantly increased Hoffman’s public profile and philanthropic capacity. After LinkedIn, Hoffman became a partner at Greylock Partners and founded or co-founded multiple AI and biotech ventures including Inflection AI and Manas AI, and he chairs Village Global, a network-driven VC/accelerator organization. He is an early investor and board member in numerous technology companies, served on Microsoft’s board, is an author of books on entrepreneurship and strategy, hosts influential podcasts about technology and society, and actively participates in public policy and philanthropic efforts related to AI, mental health, and community building.