Reid Garrett Hoffman, American Internet Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist
An accomplished entrepreneur and executive, he played an integral role in building many of today’s leading consumer technology businesses, including LinkedIn and PayPal. As an investor, he has been instrumental in the success of iconic companies such as Facebook and Airbnb and has helped fast-growing startups like Aurora and Convoy get to scale. Reid is a frequent public speaker, known for his approachability and skill at explaining complex topics with lucidity. He is the co-author of Blitzscaling and two New York Times best-selling books: The Start-up of You and The Alliance and Masters of Scale. He also hosts the podcast Masters of Scale.
Reid Garrett Hoffman is an American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. Hoffman was the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social network used primarily for professional networking. He is currently a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners and a co-founder of Inflection AI.
2023
Hoffman was a founding investor in OpenAI, a startup that does artificial intelligence research. It was revealed in March 2022 that Hoffman and Mustafa Suleyman, a fellow Greylock employee and co-founder of DeepMind, were launching a new venture together called Inflection AI. According to CNBC, “Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Inflection will aim to develop AI software products that make it easier for humans to communicate with computers.”
Hoffman resigned from the OpenAI board on March 3, 2023, claiming a wish to prevent conflicts of interest between his position as founder of Inflection AI, investments in AI technology firms through Greylock Partners, and his board membership at OpenAI.
Hoffman and Greylock Partners had made investments in at least 37 AI startups as of May 2023. For instance, they were among the first investors in Tome, a company that produces AI-powered productivity software. According to the firm, it is the productivity software creator that has reached one million customers the quickest.
Hoffman has rejected proposals to “pause” the creation of sophisticated AI systems, branding them as “anti-humanist” and “foolish.” Rather, he has advocated for an acceleration of progress in order to assist humans in resolving major societal issues.
