Bryan Johnson
Born 1977 · Age 48
American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author; founder of Braintree, Kernel and OS Fund; known for Project Blueprint longevity experiments.
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Life & Career Timeline
Parents divorced (approx.)
His parents divorced when he was young; he lived with his mother and stepfather who owned a trucking company.
Began LDS mission to Ecuador
At about age 19 Johnson served a two-year Latter-day Saint mission in Ecuador.
Completed LDS mission
Completed two-year missionary service in Ecuador and returned to the U.S.
Launched first startup (cell phones)
Started a business selling cell phones and service plans to pay his way through BYU; earned about $300 commission per sale.
Commissioned sales success (door-to-door credit processor)
Worked in door-to-door sales for a credit card processing service; became a top performer with a customer base generating around $62,000/month in recurring revenue (reported anecdote).
Co-founded Inquist (VoIP)
Co‑founded Inquist, a VoIP company combining features of Vonage and Skype (co-founders: Johnson + three partners).
Joined $70M real-estate project
Joined his brother and another partner on a $70 million real-estate project that failed to meet sales goals.
Graduated Brigham Young University (BA)
Received a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Brigham Young University.
Began extended depression (reported)
Reportedly fell into a deep depression beginning around 2004 that lasted roughly a decade, per interviews.
Sales experience inspired payments business (approx.)
Door-to-door sales experience pushed Johnson toward building a payments business (precursor to Braintree); timing approximate pre-2007.
Graduated University of Chicago Booth (MBA)
Completed an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Founded Braintree
Founded Braintree, a payments company focused on mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce.
Braintree ranked #47 on Inc. 500
Braintree ranked 47th on Inc. magazine's 2011 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies.
Braintree ranked #415 on Inc. 5000
Braintree placed 415th on Inc.'s 2012 list.
Braintree acquired Venmo
Braintree purchased person-to-person payments app Venmo for $26.2 million.
Braintree client roster growth (milestone)
Under Johnson, Braintree signed major customers including Uber, Airbnb, and GitHub (reported by profiles and retrospectives around 2011–2013).
Company processed $12B annually (milestone)
By September 2013 Braintree announced processing about $12 billion in payments annually, with $4 billion on mobile.
Reported proceeds from sale: walked away >$300M
Media reported Johnson personally walked away from the PayPal acquisition with more than $300 million.
Left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (approx.)
Reports indicate he left the LDS Church around the time of the sale and personal changes after 2013; some sources state he remained a member until age 34 (contradictory reporting).
Divorce from first wife (post-sale)
Following the sale of Braintree, Johnson ended his first marriage (reported timing post-2013 sale).
PayPal acquires Braintree (exit)
PayPal (then part of eBay) acquired Braintree (including Venmo) for approximately $800 million.
Founded OS Fund with personal backing
Announced creation of OS Fund, a VC fund investing in early-stage science/tech companies; he backed it with $100 million of his own capital.
Interview on The Tim Ferriss Show
Guest appearance discussing entrepreneurial path and motivations.
Guest on This Week in Startups (Jason Calacanis)
Podcast appearance discussing sale of Braintree and future projects.
Founded Kernel (neurotechnology)
Launched Kernel to build devices to measure and record brain activity; multiple sources report Johnson invested personal capital to start the company.
Received University of Chicago Booth Distinguished Alumni Award
Honored by his business school as a distinguished alumnus.
Reported initial personal investment in Kernel ($100M)
TechCrunch reported Johnson invested $100 million of his own money to launch Kernel.
Published 'Code 7: Cracking the Code for an Epic Life'
Authored Code 7, a book on personal philosophy and entrepreneurship.
Published multiple books later summarized (timeline event)
Authored multiple books over years: Code 7 (2017), The Proto Project (2019), Don't Die (2023), We the People (2023); also contributed to Architects of Intelligence (2018).
Contributed to 'Architects of Intelligence' (chapter)
Contributed a chapter to Martin Ford's collection on AI builders.
Published 'The Proto Project'
Released The Proto Project: a sci-fi adventure novel.
Kernel pivoted to non-invasive neuroimaging focus
Kernel shifted emphasis toward building non-invasive hardware (helmet-like devices) measuring electrical and hemodynamic brain signals.
Featured in documentary 'I Am Human' (brain–machine interfaces)
Was featured in the documentary about brain–machine interfaces.
Kernel demoed helmet-like brain devices (Flux & Flow)
Kernel demonstrated helmet-like devices that can measure electrical and hemodynamic brain signals for studies and potential therapies.
Kernel raised $53M from outside investors
By July 2020 Kernel had raised $53 million from outside investors; by that time Johnson had invested approximately $54 million since inception (reports vary).
Taryn Southern files lawsuit (filed Oct 2021)
Content creator Taryn Southern filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and emotional distress related to their relationship; case later moved to arbitration because of an employment contract.
Announced 'Project Blueprint' (anti-aging)
Publicly announced Project Blueprint, a comprehensive, data-driven life-extension/anti-aging program.
Reported multi-component Blueprint regimen in use
Reports document his strict regimen (dozens of supplements, diet, laser therapies, exercise and extensive monitoring) as part of Blueprint.
Reported regimen costs ~ $2 million/year
Bloomberg and People reported Johnson spends roughly $2 million per year on his Blueprint longevity regimen (team of doctors, treatments, monitoring).
Documented 'multi-generational plasma exchange' with son and father
In May 2023 Johnson announced that he, his son Talmage, and his father completed a multi-generational plasma exchange; part of experimental interventions for Blueprint.
Underwent or trialed follistatin gene therapy in Próspera (reported)
Reportedly underwent an unapproved follistatin gene therapy in Próspera (Honduras) as part of anti-aging interventions (reported in media and documentary).
Discontinued use of son's plasma transfusions
Announced discontinuation of young‑plasma transfusions from his son after detecting no benefit.
TIME profile: reported $4M+ spent developing Blueprint
TIME reported Johnson spent more than $4 million developing the Blueprint system over multiple years.
Arbitrator dismissed Taryn Southern's employment claims; ordered Southern to pay legal fees
Arbitrator dismissed employment-related claims and ordered Southern to pay Johnson's legal fees (reported $584,199). Johnson denied allegations and later addressed the case in a YouTube video.
Posted YouTube video addressing lawsuit and allegations
Released a YouTube video in December 2023 addressing the arbitration and public allegations.
Public discussions and interviews continue on Blueprint
Continued high-profile media coverage and interviews about Blueprint, longevity spending and methods.
Nucleus article estimates net worth ~ $400M (reported)
An article estimated Bryan Johnson's net worth around $400 million in 2024 (varied reporting across sources).
Invited to speak at Bitcoin Conference (2025)
Invited to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in 2025; stated desire to live until 2140 (last Bitcoin halving).
NYT investigation on confidentiality agreements (reported March 2025)
New York Times published an investigation alleging Johnson used confidentiality agreements to control public image; some employees challenged them.
Netflix documentary 'Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever' released
Netflix released a documentary focused on Johnson and his anti-aging/Blueprint efforts.
Key Achievement Ages
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