Founder of LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, Hoffman is sometimes called the "Oracle of Silicon Valley" for his track record of identifying transformative technology trends early.
Hoffman was born on August 5, 1967, in Palo Alto, California. He attended Stanford University, where he studied symbolic systems, and later earned a master's degree in philosophy from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. His academic background shaped his interest in human cognition, social systems, and technology's role in connecting people.
After Oxford, Hoffman returned to Silicon Valley and joined Apple Computer, where he worked briefly before moving on to Fujitsu. He then co-founded SocialNet.com in 1997, one of the earliest online social networking platforms, though it never achieved significant traction. These early experiences taught him valuable lessons about the promise and pitfalls of online community building.
In 2000, Hoffman joined PayPal as executive vice president, becoming a key member of what later became known as the "PayPal Mafia"—a cohort of former PayPal employees who went on to found or fund some of Silicon Valley's most influential companies. He helped steer PayPal through its acquisition by eBay in 2002. That same year, he co-founded LinkedIn, which launched in May 2003.
LinkedIn grew steadily under Hoffman's leadership, reaching over 500 million members across more than 200 countries by the time it was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for approximately $26.2 billion. Hoffman served as CEO from 2003–2007, then transitioned to executive chairman. The platform became the world's largest professional network and fundamentally changed how people managed their careers, recruited talent, and built professional relationships.
Beyond LinkedIn, Hoffman has been a prolific investor and partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, which he joined in 2009. He was an early backer of companies including Facebook, Airbnb, and Convoy. His investment philosophy centers on finding entrepreneurs who aim to achieve massive, systemic change—what he calls "network effects" businesses.
Hoffman is also a published author. His books, including The Start-Up of You (co-written with Ben Casnocha) and Blitzscaling (co-written with Chris Yeh), describe strategies for individual career development and rapid business growth respectively. He has also hosted the podcast Masters of Scale, in which he interviewed prominent founders about building transformative companies.
Hoffman has remained a prominent and outspoken figure in conversations about technology's societal impact, entrepreneurship, and the future of work.
