Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant | |
|---|---|
Ravikant in 2009 | |
| Born | November 5, 1974[1] New Delhi, India |
| Education | Stuyvesant High School |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (BS) |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, Investor |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | |
| Website | nav |
Naval Ravikant (born November 5, 1974) is an Indian-born American entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder and chairman of AngelList, a platform for startups, investors, and job seekers.[2] He is an angel investor who has made early-stage investments in companies including Uber, Twitter, Postmates, and Yammer.[3] Ravikant is a recipient of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.[4] He also co-hosts a podcast with Brett Hall.[5]
Early life and education
Ravikant was born in New Delhi, India in 1974. He moved to New York City with his mother and his brother, Kamal, when he was 9 years old. He attended Stuyvesant High School and graduated in 1991.[6] In 1995, he graduated from Dartmouth College with degrees in Computer Science and Economics.[6] During college, he interned at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.[6] Academic studies of U.S. venture-capital dynamics show that immigrant or minority founders including those who, like Ravikant, emigrated at a young age and often rely on networks and cultural fluency to access funding, which may help explain the prominence of Indian-born investors in Silicon Valley. [7]
Career
After graduating, Ravikant briefly worked at Boston Consulting Group before moving to Silicon Valley.[6]
Epinions
In 1999, Ravikant co-founded the consumer product review site Epinions. The company raised $45 million in venture capital from firms including Benchmark Capital and August Capital.[8] In 2003, Epinions merged with the comparison pricing site Dealtime to become Shopping.com, which held an Initial public offering (IPO) in October 2004.[8]
In January 2005, Ravikant and three of his co-founders filed a lawsuit against Benchmark Capital, August Capital, and co-founder Nirav Tolia, alleging they were misled into approving the merger under the pretense that the company was worth less than the capital raised, making their shares worthless.[8] The lawsuit was settled in December 2005.[9]
Hit Forge
Around 2007, Ravikant started a $20 million early-stage venture capital fund named The Hit Forge. The fund invested in startups including Twitter, Uber, and Stack Overflow.[10]
AngelList
In 2007, Ravikant began co-writing a blog called Venture Hacks, which offered detailed advice on negotiating term sheets.[11] That blog evolved into AngelList, which Ravikant co-founded in 2010 as a platform for startups to connect with angel investors.[11] AngelList also operates the product discovery platform Product Hunt. In 2022, AngelList Venture raised funds at a $4 billion valuation.[12]
MetaStable Capital
In 2014, Ravikant co-founded MetaStable Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund.[13] A June 2017 regulatory filing reported the fund's assets as $69 million, with investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.[13]
Spearhead.co investment fund
In 2017, Ravikant launched Spearhead, an investment fund that provides capital to founders to enable them to invest in technology startups as angel investors.[14] The fund's third cohort raised $100 million for 15 founders.[3] Companies backed by Spearhead founders include Neuralink, Opendoor, and Rippling.[15]
Podcasting and writing
Ravikant hosts a podcast, Nav.al, where he discusses topics including philosophy and investing. He has also been a guest on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferriss Show.[16]
With Ravikant's permission, Eric Jorgenson curated his tweets, essays, and interviews into a book titled The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness.[17]
Airchat
In 2023, Ravikant co-founded Airchat, a social media application that uses voice notes and AI-powered transcription.[18]
References
- ^ Jorgenson, Eric (2020). The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (PDF). Magrathea Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5445-1420-8. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Clifford, Catherine (April 3, 2019). "Top Silicon Valley investor: This is what gives Elon Musk 'true superpowers' in business". CNBC. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Bertoni, Steven (October 22, 2019). "How AngelList's Naval Ravikant Is Creating A New Generation Of Angel Investors". Forbes. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ^ "Edmund Hillary Foundation Alumni Directory". EHF. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ nav
.al - ^ a b c d Smillie, Eric (November 1, 2014). "Avenging Angel". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ "Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher". Farnam Street. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c Rivlin, Gary (January 26, 2005). "Founders of Web Site Accuse Backers of Cheating Them (Published 2005)". The New York Times.
- ^ Rivlin, Gary (December 23, 2005). "Suit Over Epinions.com Is Settled". The New York Times.
- ^ "AngelList's Naval Ravikant on His Syndicates Program, Two Months In". Strictly VC. November 21, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Halperin, Alex (March 24, 2014). "Silicon Valley's Avenging Angel". Fast Company.
- ^ Jun 2022 (March 8, 2022). "AngelList Venture takes on rare capital at a $4 billion valuation". TechCrunch.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Wieczner, Jen (July 26, 2016). "Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz Are Secretly Backing This Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund". Fortune. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "Spearhead will give $1M to 15 founders to invest freely". TechCrunch. October 15, 2019.
- ^ "FAQ". spearhead.co.
- ^ Parrish, Shane (August 17, 2019). "Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher [The Knowledge Project Ep. #18]". Farnam Street Blog.
- ^ "Almanack of Naval Ravikant". navalmanack.com.
- ^ Liao, Taylor (May 23, 2023). "Naval Ravikant Launches Airchat, a Social App Built on Voice". The Verge. Retrieved March 13, 2024.