What is Adam D'Angelo's Net Worth?
Adam D'Angelo is an American engineer and developer with a net worth of $700 million. He accumulated significant wealth as an early employee of Facebook and co-founder of Quora. Additionally, he served as an advisor and investor in Instagram before its acquisition by Facebook.
As one of Mark Zuckerberg's high school friends, Adam was chosen to be Facebook's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) during its nascent stages. He later became the Vice President of Engineering, pivotal roles that contributed to the development of Facebook's technical infrastructure during its critical growth period.
In 2008, Adam left Facebook. In 2009, he co-founded Quora with Charlie Cheever. Quora is a question-and-answer website that enables users to create, edit, and organize content while linking their accounts to Twitter and Facebook.
Early Life
Adam D'Angelo was born on August 14, 1984. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, where he became friends with future Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Subsequently, he went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). During his college years, he participated in the Association for Computing Machinery collegiate world programming contest and the international Topcoder Collegiate Challenge, ranking among the top 24 finalists in 2005. While still an undergraduate, he developed an AIM buddy list website called BuddyZoo.
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Adam D'Angelo's significant journey in the tech industry began with his early involvement in Facebook. After his tenure at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he formed a close relationship with Mark Zuckerberg, Adam joined Facebook during its initial stages. Serving as Facebook's first CTO, he was instrumental in developing the platform's technical foundation and infrastructure.
At Facebook, Adam's role was crucial in scaling the website's architecture to handle its rapidly growing user base. His efforts focused on optimizing data management and enhancing the site's performance, ensuring that Facebook could manage increasing traffic and data efficiently. His technical expertise and vision helped transform Facebook into one of the world's most influential tech companies.
D'Angelo's tenure at Facebook was marked by a profound understanding of both the technical and social elements of the platform. He contributed to developing various features that shaped user experience. Despite his success, Adam's entrepreneurial spirit led him to departure from Facebook in 2008, paving the way for his subsequent ventures.
Facebook IPO
When Facebook went public in 2012, Adam owned approximately 0.8% of the company's outstanding equity. Following the IPO, his stake's value was around $600 million.
Quora
After leaving Facebook, Adam co-founded Quora in 2009. Quora emerged as a significant platform for knowledge sharing and social interaction. It allows users to ask questions on various topics and receive answers from the community, including experts and enthusiasts. As CEO, Adam aimed to create an internet space for high-quality information sharing.
Under Adam's leadership, Quora rapidly grew, attracting millions of users across a diverse range of subjects. Despite criticism in recent years for providing answers often seen as SEO spam, Quora remains a popular platform. In 2017, the company raised $85 million in a Series D funding round, valuing it at $1.8 billion.
OpenAI
Adam D'Angelo's keen interest in artificial intelligence led him to become an early investor and supporter of OpenAI, an AI research lab founded in 2015. OpenAI focuses on developing and promoting friendly AI for beneficial purposes. Adam's support as an investor and advisor significantly contributes to the advancement of groundbreaking AI technologies.
Poe
Adam founded an AI platform called 'Poe,' designed for seamless conversational experiences, enhanced productivity, and creative content generation.
Removal of Sam Altman
In November 2023, Adam was one of the OpenAI board members who voted to remove CEO Sam Altman. The decision was quickly recognized as a mistake, resulting in an attempted reconciliation. Sam and several key former OpenAI employees moved to Microsoft, and 90% of OpenAI staff threatened to quit. Subsequently, Sam was reinstated as CEO, and Adam remained on the Board of Directors.
