Max Levchin
Born 1975 · Age 50
Ukrainian-American software engineer and entrepreneur; co‑founder and former CTO of PayPal; founder/cofounder of Slide, HVF, Glow, and Affirm; investor and board member in multiple tech firms.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR
Maksymilian Rafailovych Levchyn (Max Levchin) born to a Ukrainian-Jewish family in Kyiv.
Present in Kyiv during Chernobyl disaster; evacuated to Crimea
At age ~10/11 Levchin and his brother were sent to Crimea after the Chernobyl disaster; tested with Geiger counter on arrival.
Immigrated to United States under political asylum
Levchin and his family left the Soviet Union and settled in Chicago; family reportedly arrived with about $700.
Graduated Mather High School; began at University of Illinois
Attended Mather High School (graduated c.1993) and enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, majoring in Computer Science.
Co-founded NetMeridian Software (student venture)
One of his early student ventures at UIUC developing early Internet/palm-top applications.
Co-founded SponsorNet New Media
With fellow UIUC students Luke Nosek and Scott Banister Levchin founded SponsorNet New Media (an advertising/Internet company).
Earned B.S. in Computer Science, UIUC
Graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor's degree in computer science.
Co-founded Fieldlink / Confinity (precursor to PayPal)
With Peter Thiel Levchin co-founded Fieldlink (later renamed Confinity), originally focused on encrypted data storage and 'digital wallet' ideas for PDAs.
Developed PayPal payment product and anti-fraud work
Confinity developed the PayPal payments product (focused on digital funds transfer) and Levchin led significant anti-fraud engineering efforts.
Confinity merged with X.com (Elon Musk)
Confinity merged with X.com; the combined company later adopted the PayPal name.
Co-created the Gausebeck–Levchin test (early CAPTCHA)
Levchin was co-creator of one of the first commercial CAPTCHA implementations (the Gausebeck–Levchin test) used as a human verification anti‑fraud measure.
Named MIT Technology Review TR100 and 'Innovator of the Year'
In 2002 Levchin was named to TR100 (top 100 innovators under 35) and cited as Innovator of the Year.
PayPal IPO
PayPal went public in February 2002; the IPO raised more than $70 million (just under 10% of outstanding stock sold).
eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5B
eBay bought PayPal in July 2002 for approximately $1.5 billion; Levchin's 2.3% stake was reported worth about $34 million at the time.
Founded Slide (personal media-sharing)
Levchin founded Slide, building social-network media widgets and apps for MySpace, Facebook and others.
Early investor and co-founder supporter of Yelp
Met Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons and became an early investor in Yelp; later served as chairman of Yelp's board.
Producer credit on 'Thank You for Smoking' (film)
Levchin received a producer credit for the movie 'Thank You for Smoking' (film released 2005).
Slide initial funding reported (~$78M total; $7M personal)
Sources report Slide raised sizable funding rounds by 2005 (figures reported around $78M total raised, with ~$7M contributed by Levchin).
Joined Evernote board of directors
Levchin joined Evernote's board on August 7, 2006 (served until 2016).
Speaker at Y Combinator Startup School
Appeared as a speaker at the 2007 Startup School organized by Y Combinator, sharing lessons from entrepreneurship.
Moved to San Francisco
Levchin was reported to have lived in San Francisco starting in 2007 (residence there through 2019).
Married Nellie Minkova
Levchin married longtime girlfriend Nellie Minkova (reported Sept 2008); they later had two children.
Google acquired Slide for $182M; Levchin joined Google as VP
In August 2010 Google bought Slide for about $182 million; Levchin joined Google as Vice President of Engineering (Aug 25/26, 2010).
Founded HVF (Hard, Valuable, Fun)
Late 2011 Levchin founded HVF, an incubator/innovation lab to explore data-driven projects.
Founded SciFi VC (general partner)
Founded SciFi VC (reported around 2017 Grainger profile says he founded SciFi VC in 2017) — an investment vehicle to take risks transforming 'science fiction' into reality.
Google shuts Slide; Levchin leaves Google
On August 26, 2011 Google announced it was shutting down Slide and that Levchin was leaving the company.
Cofounded Affirm (spun out of HVF)
Affirm (fintech aimed at point-of-sale consumer credit) spun out of HVF; cofounders included Nathan Gettings and Jeff Kaditz.
Largest shareholder of Yelp (~7M+ shares)
By 2012 Levchin was reported as Yelp's largest shareholder, owning more than 7 million shares and serving as chairman.
Chairman of Yelp board (founding through 2015)
Served as Yelp's chairman from its founding (circa 2004) until stepping down in July 2015.
Served as PayPal CTO (tenure ended 2002)
Levchin served as PayPal's chief technology officer through the IPO and eBay acquisition; recognized for anti-fraud systems.
Co-authored/Contributed to 'The Blueprint' (collaboration)
Collaborated (with Garry Kasparov and Peter Thiel) on themes in 'The Blueprint' around innovation and risk (book published 2012).
Appointed to Yahoo! board of directors
Joined Yahoo's board in December 2012 (served until December 2015).
Spoke at DLD / Tech conferences and media interviews
Presented Glow and HVF work at conferences (e.g., DLD13) and appeared in multiple interviews (BCG, TechCrunch).
Launched Glow (fertility app) from HVF
HVF launched Glow in early/mid 2013, a fertility tracking app to help couples conceive naturally.
Joined (supported) FWD.us advocacy group
Listed as a contributor/supporter of FWD.us, advocating immigration reform and related policies for skilled immigrants.
Talk at University of Waterloo (lecture/Q&A)
Gave a public talk and Q&A at the University of Waterloo (April 24, 2014) about PayPal, HVF, Glow, and Affirm.
Publicly voiced views on NSA surveillance (media commentary)
In 2013–2015 Levchin publicly defended aspects of the NSA's mission in context of national security; covered in tech media.
Stepped down as Yelp chairman / left Yelp board role
In July 2015 Levchin stepped down from Yelp's board, reflecting focus on Affirm's growth.
Appointed to CFPB Consumer Advisory Board (3-year term)
Named to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advisory board (first Silicon Valley exec appointed) for a three-year term.
Levchin Prize first awards (cryptography recognition)
The Levchin Prize began recognizing real-world cryptography accomplishments (first awards and conference mentions 2016–2017).
Established the Levchin Prize for Real-World Cryptography
Created the Levchin Prize, awarding advances in practical cryptography (prize established Jan 6, 2016).
Affirm raised $200M; valuation reported $1.5–$2B
In December 2017 Affirm raised an additional $200 million; media reported valuation between $1.5 and $2 billion.
Keynote speaker, UIUC Commencement (147th)
Returned to the University of Illinois as the commencement keynote speaker on May 12, 2018.
Listed San Francisco home for $7.25M (originally bought 2007 for $5.3M)
Placed his SF house on the market for $7.25M in April 2019; original purchase price reported at $5.3M in 2007.
Affirm initial public offering (IPO); Levchin stake estimated ~$2.5B
Affirm went public in January 2021; reports estimated Levchin's stake at roughly $2.5 billion; various sources estimate his net worth around $1.1B–$3B at/after IPO.
Forbes / public net worth estimate reported (~$3B)
By 2021 multiple sources (including Wikipedia referencing Forbes) listed Levchin's estimated net worth near US$3 billion.
Interview on NPR 'How I Built This'
Appeared on NPR's How I Built This in 2022 discussing his early life, PayPal role, and later ventures.
Continued leadership as CEO of Affirm
Served as CEO of Affirm following its IPO; continued public presence as fintech leader and investor.
Ongoing angel investments (Mixpanel, Yelp earlier, WePay, IronPort, etc.)
Levchin has been an active angel investor in many startups including Mixpanel, Yelp (early), Evernote, IronPort, LiveOps, WePay, Quid, and others.
Recognized and profiled in multiple publications
Longform profiles and references continue to chronicle Levchin's role in PayPal, Slide, HVF, Affirm, and philanthropy/investments.
Key Achievement Ages
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