Tony Xu
Born 1983 · Age 42
Chinese-American entrepreneur; co-founder and CEO of DoorDash. Immigrated from Nanjing, studied at UC Berkeley and Stanford GSB, worked at McKinsey/eBay/PayPal/Square before co-founding DoorDash in 2013. Led DoorDash to IPO in Dec 2020; signatory to the Giving Pledge.
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Life & Career Timeline
Family immigrated to the United States (Champaign, Illinois)
Tony Xu's parents moved the family to Champaign, Illinois (Wikipedia notes 1989). Sources also state he immigrated at age four; dates/details show slight inconsistency.
Early work at mother's restaurant (childhood)
Worked washing dishes and doing restaurant tasks in his mother's restaurant while growing up; formative experience inspiring DoorDash.
Began undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley (approx.)
Attended University of California, Berkeley (BS in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research). Exact enrollment year not provided; inferred from later MBA timing.
Graduated UC Berkeley with BS (approx.)
Earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (with high honors per GoldHouse). Graduation year is inferred (~2005).
Early career: Business analyst at McKinsey & Company
Worked as a business analyst at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company (exact start year not explicitly stated; early-career role).
Product/business development roles: RedLaser and Square internship
Completed business development work for RedLaser and interned at Square, Inc. (dates not explicit; included among early-career experiences).
Corporate strategy roles at eBay and PayPal
Served in corporate strategy roles for eBay and PayPal, including leading special projects for eBay CEO/CFO (exact dates not specified; occurred prior to Stanford MBA).
Co-launched PaloAltoDelivery.com (DoorDash predecessor)
With future cofounders, launched PaloAltoDelivery.com as a predecessor/local experiment to DoorDash.
Married Patti Xu
Married Patti (met at church during undergraduate years at Berkeley); the couple have two children. Wedding year reported as 2013.
Earned MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business
Graduated Stanford GSB with an MBA (class of 2013); named an Arjay Miller Scholar.
Co-founded DoorDash
Co-founded DoorDash with Stanford classmates Andy Fang, Evan Moore and Stanley Tang; company focused on local food delivery and local commerce.
Early DoorDash founders completed deliveries themselves
In DoorDash's early days, Tony Xu and other employees personally completed food deliveries to learn the business.
Legal name change to 'Tony Xu' (date unspecified)
He legally changed his name from Xu Xun to Tony Xu, inspired by TV character Tony Danza; exact date not published.
DoorDash seed / early funding & YC participation (approx.)
DoorDash went through early-stage funding and startup programs (Y Combinator and early investors included Pejman Mar, CRV, Khosla, Kleiner, Sequoia). Exact dates of rounds vary; early capital established company growth.
Reported capital raised and valuation (reported figure)
Press reports around 2015 referenced approx. $60 million raised and a near $600M valuation for DoorDash (context: early growth stage coverage).
Media profile: NPR feature and broader public profile
Tony Xu and DoorDash received broad media coverage as DoorDash expanded; example: NPR feature on DoorDash (Nov 12, 2018).
DoorDash operating expansion (multi-city international growth)
By later reporting DoorDash was operating in thousands of cities across the U.S. and internationally (reports cite operations across the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany and >7,000 cities in some profiles).
DoorDash acquired Caviar from Square for $410M
DoorDash purchased rival food delivery service Caviar from Square in a strategy move to expand restaurant partnerships and market share.
Named to Fortune's 40 Under 40
Included in Fortune's '40 Under 40' list in 2020 in recognition of leadership at DoorDash.
Became a billionaire (post-IPO)
Media reports state Xu became a billionaire following DoorDash's IPO; some outlets noted he was ~36 yrs old when this occurred (sources vary on exact age).
Partnership: Official on-demand delivery platform of NBA/WNBA/NBA 2K League
DoorDash became the official on-demand delivery platform of the NBA, WNBA and NBA 2K League (announced Aug 17, 2020).
Filed for IPO / public offering process (late 2020)
DoorDash filed and prepared for an initial public offering, with Xu credited for leading the effort.
Published: 'Building the future of work, right now' (Business Insider)
Tony Xu authored an op-ed published Nov 29, 2020, on Business Insider discussing the future of work.
DoorDash IPO (public listing)
DoorDash held its initial public offering in December 2020; coverage described it as a roughly $3.4B IPO in reporting.
Gained control via Class B voting shares (69% voting interest)
As of December 2020, Tony Xu had voting authority over all Class B shares, giving him approximately 69% of DoorDash's voting interest.
Reported ownership stake in DoorDash approx. 5%
Press reports noted Tony Xu owned about a 5% equity stake in DoorDash after the IPO (reported circa 2021).
Board roles: Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation and TechNet executive council
Served as a board member of the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation and as an executive council member of TechNet (dates ongoing as of reporting).
Maintained CEO role at DoorDash
Continued as CEO of DoorDash through 2021 (and beyond), leading corporate strategy, fundraising and the IPO process.
Public commentary: credited for leading DoorDash IPO
Media and analysts credited Tony Xu for leading DoorDash's IPO process and strategic decisions around listing and governance (dual-class stock structure retained him control).
Invested in ghost kitchen startups (All Day Kitchens / Local Kitchens) and others
Tony Xu made investments in ghost kitchen startups and other food-tech businesses; press reporting in early-mid 2021 documents his angel investments (amounts to startups vary).
Donation: Support for AAPI community (reported $10M among executives)
Reporting noted Asian American executives, including DoorDash leadership, joined donations supporting the AAPI community; Tony and Patti Xu engaged in philanthropic giving (aggregate reporting reference).
Estimated net worth reported at $2.8 billion (April 2021)
Wikipedia cites an estimated net worth for Tony Xu of approximately $2.8 billion as of April 2021 (based on DoorDash shares/IPO valuation/media estimates).
Invested in ghost kitchen fundings (press noted $20M raises for related startups)
Coverage in May 2021 noted ghost-kitchen startups raising rounds (~$20M) in which DoorDash execs and alums (including angel investors like Xu) participated; exact personal investment amounts not disclosed.
Podcast appearance: Series A with Keith Rabois
Featured on the 'Series A' podcast (May 25, 2021) sharing insights on DoorDash and entrepreneurship.
Podcast appearance: 20VC (Harry Stebbings)
Appeared on '20VC' podcast (June 7, 2021) discussing leadership and DoorDash strategy.
Invested in blockchain provider Alchemy (reported)
Press coverage (Aug 2021) lists Tony Xu among investors in Alchemy; exact personal investment not disclosed publicly.
Signed the Giving Pledge (with wife Patti Xu)
Tony and Patti Xu became signatories to the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes (announced Dec 14, 2021).
Joined Meta Platforms Board of Directors
Tony Xu was announced as a member of Meta Platforms' board of directors (January 2022).
Major philanthropic gift reports (Northwestern / Berkeley references)
Press reported Xu's philanthropic activity supporting Berkeley, Northwestern and AAPI causes; specific endowed chair and HCI gifts referenced in 2022 coverage.
Angel investor in Gigs (participated in $20M round)
In 2022 Tony Xu was reported as an angel investor in the Gigs startup, which raised a $20M round with multiple investors (report dated Sep 21, 2022).
Continued board & advisory roles and public speaking
Ongoing public engagements, media profiles, and continued service on boards (DoorDash board, Meta board, Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation), profile updated through 2024.
DoorDash made offer to acquire Deliveroo for $3.6B (reported)
Reports in Apr 2024 said DoorDash made a $3.6 billion offer for UK-based Deliveroo as part of European expansion; Tony Xu as CEO led company strategy.
Public profile and Forbes coverage (ongoing)
Forbes and other outlets continued to profile Tony Xu and DoorDash into 2024-2025 for strategic moves such as the Deliveroo offer and wider expansion; ongoing net worth will vary with market.
Key Achievement Ages
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