Baiju Bhatt
Baiju Bhatt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bhatt in 2018 | |
| Born | Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt 1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder, Robinhood |
| Spouse | Adrienne Sussman[2] |
| Children | 1 |
Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American entrepreneur[1][3] of Indian descent.[3] He was the chief creative officer and co-founder, along with Vlad Tenev, of Robinhood, a US-based financial services company.[1][3][4]
Early life and education
[edit]Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt, the son of Indian immigrants, grew up in Poquoson, Virginia.[5] He earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Stanford University, where he also completed a master's degree in mathematics in 2008. He and Tenev met during Bhatt's time at Stanford.[6]
Career
[edit]In 2013, Bhatt co-founded the zero-commission stock trading platform Robinhood with Vlad Tenev.[1] The idea stemmed from witnessing the issues in the financial industry during the 2011 protests of Occupy Wall Street.[7] In 2015, Robinhood launched a mobile app.[8]
Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Bhatt and Tenev became billionaires.[1][9] He stepped down as co-CEO in November 2020.[10]
As of August 2021, Forbes has estimated his net worth at US$2.4 billion.[11]
In March 2024, Robinhood announced that Bhatt would step down from his executive role of chief creative officer, but remain a member of its board of directors.[12]
In October 2024, Bhatt announced the launch of a space-based solar energy startup based in San Carlos called Aetherflux, of which he is the founder and chief executive. The company intends to create a satellite constellation to collect solar energy in space and beam it back to Earth using infrared lasers.[13][14]
Awards and recognition
[edit]Bhatt spoke at Disrupt SF 2018 on investing where he announced plans to launch an IPO for Robinhood in 2019.[15] Bhatt made the Goldhouse 100 most impactful Asians in 2021.[16] Bhatt appeared in a Fast Company list, "Most Creative People", in 2017, and a Forbes "30 Under 30" list in 2016.[17][18]
Personal life
[edit]Bhatt is married to Adrienne Sussman.[2] They have one child, and live in Palo Alto, California.[2][11]
In popular culture
[edit]Bhatt is portrayed by Rushi Kota in the 2023 film Dumb Money, a drama about the GameStop short squeeze.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Robinhood Founders Are Billionaires in Silicon Valley Minute". Bloomberg News. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ a b c Fontana, Francesca (February 21, 2020). "Where Robinhood's Founder Found His Faithful Band of Advisers". WSJ.
- ^ a b c Vix, Bill (2020). "20 Things You Didn't Know About Baiju Bhatt". moneyinc.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
- ^ "Baiju Bhatt Chief Creative Officer/Co-Founder, Robinhood Markets Inc". Bloomberg. March 18, 2022.
- ^ "I'm Baiju Bhatt, Robinhood CEO, and This Is How I Work". lifehacker.com. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ "Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Cao, Sissi (September 10, 2018). "Robinhood CEO Opens Up About How He Convinced Tim Draper to Back His Crazy Idea". Observer. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Online Brokerage Robinhood Will Offer Bitcoin And Ethereum Trading In February". Forbes. 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Meet the 11 new tech billionaires that emerged in 2018". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Roberts, Jeff John (November 20, 2020). "Robinhood co-founder steps down as co-CEO, leaving Vlad Tenev as sole chief ahead of a rumored IPO". Fortune.
- ^ a b "Forbes profile: Baiju Bhatt". Forbes. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Glickman, Ben (21 March 2024). "Robinhood Co-Founder to Step Down as Creative Chief". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Einhorn, Bruce (October 9, 2024). "Billionaire Backs Space-Laser Solar Startup After Robinhood Exit". Bloomberg News.
- ^ Karlin, Susan (October 11, 2024). "Robinhood cofounder Baiju Bhatt wants to create the Starlink of solar power". Fast Company.
- ^ Constine, Josh. "Robinhood aims at IPO as the fintech startup seeks CFO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Kamala Harris, Chloé Zhao, Blackpink Among Gold House's 100 Most Impactful Asians". Variety. May 3, 2021.
- ^ "MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE Baiju Bhatt". Fast Company. January 24, 2017.
- ^ "Robinhood's Triumph: More Than A Billionaire Windfall". Forbes. July 29, 2021.
- ^ "'Dumb Money' First Look: The GameStop Stock Frenzy Is Now a Movie". Vanity Fair. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-08-19.