Nilay Patel
American technology journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Verge, host of Decoder and co-host of The Vergecast. Formerly of Engadget and a contributor to major broadcast outlets.
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Life & Career Timeline
Frequent TV and radio appearances (CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Fox, etc.)
Patel has appeared as a technology commentator on networks including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, Sky News, NHK and others across his career.
First blogging job at Gapers Block
Had his first blogging job at Gapers Block, a Chicago-centric blog (early career step before Engadget). Exact year not stated in sources.
The Verge nominated for major journalism awards under his leadership
Under Patel's stewardship The Verge has been nominated for honors including a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize (dates unspecified in sources).
Named one of '10 voices that matter' in tech journalism (SAY Media)
SAY Media named Nilay one of 10 'voices that matter' in technology journalism for his legal-analysis niche — exact year not specified in sources.
Regular contributor to CNBC and speaker at major conferences
Patel has been a regular contributor to CNBC and is a regular conference speaker (e.g., Collision 2016, Collision 2022, other industry events).
Graduated AB, Political Science, University of Chicago
Earned a Bachelor of Arts (AB) in political science from the University of Chicago.
Earned Juris Doctor (J.D.), University of Wisconsin Law School
Completed a J.D. at the University of Wisconsin Law School; later drew on this legal training in technology reporting.
Served as Managing Editor at Engadget (tenure ~4 years)
During a roughly four-year tenure at Engadget, Patel rose to a senior/editorial leadership role (Managing Editor); known for legal analysis niche.
Joined Engadget (responsible for blogging)
Joined Engadget as a blogger and became well-known there for legal analysis and technology coverage.
Left Engadget with colleagues to start a new site
Between March and April 2011, Patel and up to eight other Engadget staffers left AOL/Engadget to found a new tech publication with Vox Media/SB Nation support.
Launched interim site 'This Is My Next'
The former Engadget team ran an interim site called This Is My Next while building The Verge; it quickly attracted large traffic as a prototype.
This Is My Next reached ~1M uniques
By August 2011 the interim site 'This Is My Next' had reached roughly 1 million unique visitors.
This Is My Next ~3M uniques / 10M pageviews
By October 2011 the interim site reported about 3 million uniques per month and 10 million total pageviews.
The Verge launched with large initial traffic
Vox Media reported The Verge launched with roughly 4 million unique visitors and 20 million pageviews (early launch metrics).
Co-founded and launched The Verge
The Verge launched publicly on November 1, 2011 as a Vox Media technology news site co-founded by Joshua Topolsky's former Engadget team including Nilay Patel.
Inaugural episode of The Vergecast
The Vergecast, the site's flagship podcast co-hosted by Nilay Patel, aired its first episode on November 4, 2011.
The Verge and The Vergecast won Webby Awards
The Verge won multiple Webby Awards for 2012, including Best Podcast for The Vergecast (recognition for the site's podcast effort that Patel co-hosted).
Profiled for legal background aiding tech reporting
Poynter Institute wrote about the benefits of news sites having writers with legal backgrounds, citing Patel's reporting as an example.
Left The Verge (managing editor) to join Vox.com
In March 2014 Patel stepped away from his managing editor role at The Verge to work at sister site Vox.com.
Returned to The Verge as Editor-in-Chief
Following Joshua Topolsky's departure to Bloomberg, Patel returned to The Verge in July 2014 as editor-in-chief.
NBCUniversal invested in Vox Media (company milestone)
NBCUniversal took a $200 million stake in Vox Media (owner of The Verge) — a major corporate funding event impacting The Verge's parent company.
Spoke at Collision Conference (photo captioned 2016)
Patel appeared at the Collision Conference in New Orleans in 2016 (photo of him at the event is widely used).
The Verge 3.0 redesign and rebrand
The Verge launched a major redesign and new branding (Verge 3.0) for its fifth anniversary; Patel was part of leadership during the redesign era.
Launched 'Guidebook' reviews section at The Verge (site-level milestone)
The Verge launched Guidebook to host and standardize tech product reviews (company editorial milestone during Patel's leadership).
Verge Science YouTube metrics milestone
By January 2019 Verge Science (launched 2018) reported more than 638,000 subscribers and ~30 million views; (source dates around late 2018/early 2019).
PC build video controversy & DMCA takedowns
Vox Media issued DMCA takedowns against YouTube videos criticizing The Verge's erroneous PC build video; Patel later asked YouTube to reinstate those videos.
Launched Decoder podcast
Patel launched Decoder, an interview podcast hosted on The Verge, with the first episode published October 27, 2020.
Executive editor Dieter Bohn resigned
Dieter Bohn resigned as Executive Editor of The Verge in March 2022 (organizational change affecting senior leadership under Patel).
The Verge redesign and feed-style home page (2022)
The Verge rebranded and redesigned its site in September 2022, shifting home page format toward a feed and integrating social conversations.
Decoder increased to two episodes per week
On February 8, 2024 Patel announced Decoder would publish two episodes weekly (expansion of the podcast).
Decoder special episode with guest host Hank Green
A special episode of Decoder published March 4, 2024 where Hank Green guest-hosted and interviewed Nilay on his own show (featured Verge coverage piece).
Guest on The Ezra Klein Show (NYT) — longform interview transcript published
Nilay Patel appeared on The Ezra Klein Show (transcript published April 5, 2024) discussing the future of AI and the internet.
Explained reason for paywall (public statement)
Patel wrote about the move to subscriptions to preserve rigorous, independent journalism and reduce reliance on ad-driven models.
Announced The Verge subscription / partial paywall
Patel announced The Verge introduced a paid subscription in December 2024 (metered paywall) at $7/month or $50/year to support long-form reporting.
Approximate estimated net worth (public estimate)
Estimated net worth based on long editorial career, leadership at The Verge, media appearances, and speaking — rough estimate, not from a published wealth list.
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