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Bryan Johnson

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This article is about the American entrepreneur and anti-aging practitioner. For other people named Bryan Johnson, see Bryan Johnson (disambiguation).

Bryan Johnson (born August 22, 1977) is an American entrepreneur,[1][2] venture capitalist,[3] writer and author.[4] He is the founder and former CEO of Kernel, a company creating devices that monitor and record brain activity,[5][6] and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies.[7]

Bryan Johnson
Johnson in 2015
Born (1977-08-22) August 22, 1977 (age 47)
Provo, Utah, U.S.
Alma materBrigham Young University (BA)
University of Chicago (MBA)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Business executive
Known forFounder, CEO of Kernel, OS Fund, Braintree
Websitebryanjohnson.co

Johnson was also the founder, chairman and CEO of Braintree,[8] a company specializing in mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce companies. Braintree acquired Venmo in 2012 for $26.2 million; the combined entity was acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013.[9][10]

Johnson has received media attention for his anti-aging attempt which he refers to as "Project Blueprint".[11][12]

Early life and education

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Johnson was born in Provo, Utah,[13] and raised in Springville, Utah,[8] as the middle child of three brothers and a sister. After his parents divorced, Johnson lived with his mother and his stepfather, who owned a trucking company. At 19, Johnson became a Latter-day Saint missionary, customary for young men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and spent two years in Ecuador.[2]

Johnson graduated with a BA in International Studies from Brigham Young University in 2003 and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2007.[13][14]

Career

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Early ventures

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Johnson launched three startups between 1999 and 2003. The first sold cell phones and helped pay his way through Brigham Young University. Johnson hired other college students to sell service plans and cell phones; Johnson earned about a $300 commission on each sale.[8][15]

He also started two other businesses. Inquist, a VoIP company Johnson co-founded with three other partners, combines features of Vonage and Skype. It ended operations in 2001.[2] After that, he joined his brother and another partner on a $70 million real estate project in 2001. The project did not achieve sales goals.[2]

Braintree

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Johnson founded Braintree in 2007.[16][17] The company was 47th on Inc. magazine's 2011 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies[18] and 415th in 2012.[19] That year, Braintree purchased Venmo, an app that allows users to send and receive money from each other electronically, for $26.2 million.[9]

By September 2013 the company announced it was processing $12 billion in payments annually, with $4 billion on mobile.[20] Shortly afterward, on September 26, 2013, the company was acquired by PayPal, then part of eBay, for $800 million.[17][21][22] Time Magazine published that Johnson walked away from the sale of Braintree Venmo with more than $300 million.[23]

OS Fund

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In October 2014 Johnson announced the creation of the OS Fund, which he backed with $100 million of his personal capital.[8]

Kernel

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Johnson founded Kernel in 2016, investing $100 million of his own money to launch the company.[24] The company later shifted its focus to building hardware that measures electrical and hemodynamic signals produced by the brain. In 2020, Kernel demonstrated a pair of helmet-like devices that can see and record brain activity. Johnson hopes "to bring the brain online with Kernel"[dubious – discuss]. Studies may include Alzheimer's disease, aging, concussions, meditation states, and strokes.[25] The company has said the devices may be used to help paralyzed individuals communicate, or people with mental health challenges access new therapies.[6]

By July 2020 Kernel had raised $53 million from outside investors, following Johnson's investment of $54 million in the company since its inception.[26]

Life extension attempt

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On October 13, 2021, Johnson announced an anti-aging attempt called "Project Blueprint."[11][12] Johnson underwent a series of six monthly 1-liter plasma transfusions with his son as the donor for one of the transfusions, but he says he will not repeat the transfusions due to lack of benefits.[27][28] The FDA has stated that transfusions such as the kind Johnson had are without benefit and may be harmful.[29] Johnson follows a strict dietary and lifestyle regimen in pursuit of life extension.[30]

His attempts have been met with criticism from some experts in fields related to aging. Moshe Szyf, a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at McGill University, has expressed skepticism that science is yet capable of achieving the remarkable results which Johnson claims to be reaching. Andrew Steele, a longevity scientist and author, has stated that genetics plays the largest role in determining a person's life expectancy and that no amount of the practices that Johnson is doing can change genetics.[31]

Recognition

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Johnson received the University of Chicago Booth's 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award.[32]

Johnson was featured in the 2020 documentary I Am Human about brain–machine interfaces.[33]

Published works

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Johnson contributed a chapter to the book Architects of Intelligence: The Truth About AI from the People Building It (2018) by the American futurist Martin Ford.[34]

Personal life

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Johnson has three children with his ex-wife.[13]

He was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but left the church when he was 34.[35] He is a pilot and has claimed to have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, as well as Toubkal, the highest peak of North Africa.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Altucher, James (May 4, 2013). "How To Go From $0 To $1,000,000 In Two Years". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Kravitz, Seth (December 19, 2010). "How Bryan Johnson has Taken Braintree to Explosive Growth in Three Years". Technori. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  3. ^ Mims, Christopher (October 20, 2014). "Humanity's Last Great Hope: Venture Capitalists". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Rosso, Cami (May 7, 2020). "Kernel launches neuroscience as a service (NaaS)". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Elon Musk's latest target: Brain-computer interfaces". Statnews. Associated Press. March 28, 2017. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Vance, Ashlee (May 20, 2020). "A neuroscience startup uses helmets to measure brain activity". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "OS Fund LLC: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d Mangalindan, JP. "Crazy, insane start-ups are this tech investor's meat and potatoes". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Wortham, Jenna (August 16, 2012). "Braintree, a Payments Company, Buys Venmo for $26.2 Million". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  10. ^ Hardawar, Devindra (September 26, 2013). "Ebay buys payments startup Braintree for $800M, yet another win for PayPal". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Brockes, Emma (May 25, 2023). "What's the use of $800m, Bryan Johnson, if you dine on baby food?". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Vance, Ashlee (January 25, 2023). "How to Be 18 Years Old Again for Only $2 Million a Year". Bloomberg. Bloomber. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "Bryan Johnson". Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  14. ^ "Bryan Johnson". The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  15. ^ Tim Ferriss (June 12, 2015). "The Rags to Riches Philosopher: Bryan Johnson's Path to $800 Million". fourhourworkweek.com (Podcast). Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Founder Stories at 1871: Braintree's Bryan Johnson". Doejo. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  17. ^ a b Barr, Alistair (September 26, 2013). "PayPal agrees to acquire Braintree for $800 million". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  18. ^ "The 2011 Inc. 5000". Inc. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  19. ^ "The 2012 Inc. 5000". Inc. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  20. ^ Deamicis, Carmel (September 20, 2013). "Mobile payments are one-third of Braintree's business". Pando Daily. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  21. ^ Chowdhry, Amit (September 26, 2013). "eBay Buys Braintree For $800 Million To Accelerate Its Mobile Payments Revenue". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  22. ^ Bomkamp, Samantha (September 26, 2013). "EBay buying Chicago-based Braintree". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  23. ^ "The Man Who Thinks He Can Live Forever". TIME. September 20, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  24. ^ Mannes, John (October 20, 2016). "Bryan Johnson invests $100 million in Kernel to unlock the power of the human brain". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  25. ^ Weber, Peter (June 16, 2021). "A California tech millionaire is weeks away from selling helmets that can read your mind". The Week. Dennis. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  26. ^ O'Brien, Chris (July 9, 2020). "Kernel raises $53 million to bring neuroscience insights to businesses". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  27. ^ Prater, Erin (July 13, 2023). "Tech CEO defends using his 17-year-old son's blood plasma in pursuit of youth, despite it not working". Fortune Well. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Mikhail, Alexa (July 8, 2023). "Tech CEO Bryan Johnson admits he saw 'no benefits' after controversially injecting his son's plasma into his body to reverse his biological age". Fortune Well. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  29. ^ Richardson, Hollie (September 5, 2023). "The Immortals: meet the billionaires forking out for eternal life". the Guardian. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Snape, Joel (September 14, 2023). "'My ultimate goal? Don't die': Bryan Johnson on his controversial plan to live for ever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  31. ^ Mikhail, Alexa (July 30, 2023). "Meet the 29-year-old doctor leading Bryan Johnson's $2 million per year reverse aging process, which reportedly costs up to $1,000 an hour". Fortune Well. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  32. ^ "Bryan R. Johnson". www.chicagobooth.edu. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  33. ^ "I AM HUMAN | 2019 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  34. ^ Falcon, William (November 30, 2018). "This Is The Future Of AI According To 23 World-Leading AI Experts". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  35. ^ Jason Calacanis (September 18, 2015). "Episode 579: Founder Bryan Johnson sold Braintree to build an extraordinary world with OS Fund and next-level synthetic biology, A.I., space tools, transportation, and more". This Week in Startups (Podcast). Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
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