# Anton Bernstein

> Anton Bernstein is the co-founder and CEO of Pocket Worlds, the company behind Highrise and operator of Everskies and Hotel Hideaway. A Wharton graduate and former venture investor, he previously founded consumer businesses including Luxury Escapes and Lookingo. His work focuses on social virtual worlds and tools that let their communities create.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Pocket Worlds
- **Organizations:** Pocket Worlds, Luxury Escapes, Lookingo, Ouffer, Insight Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures
- **From:** Moscow, Russia
- **Education:** BS in Economics; computer science minor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded Pocket Worlds and launched Highrise., Built consumer ventures before Pocket Worlds, including Luxury Escapes and Lookingo., Led Pocket Worlds through Y Combinator’s summer 2018 program.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduated from Wharton; subsequently worked at Insight Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures.
- **2011** — Penn’s alumni magazine profiled his Australian venture Ouffer and his Paris-based daily-deals business Lookingo.
- **2013** — Started Pocket Worlds with Jimmy Xu in San Francisco.
- **2016** — Launched Highrise after earlier social-game experiments.
- **2018** — Pocket Worlds participated in Y Combinator’s summer batch.
- **2021** — Pocket Worlds announced a $7 million Series A led by BITKRAFT Ventures and acquired Everskies.
- **2024** — Pocket Worlds launched Highrise Studio; Highrise reported more than $250 million in marketplace transactions.
- **2025** — Pocket Worlds acquired the Infinite Canvas team.
- **2026** — Pocket Labs introduced Rosie; Pocket Worlds acquired Hotel Hideaway in September.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Pocket Worlds and launched Highrise.
- Built consumer ventures before Pocket Worlds, including Luxury Escapes and Lookingo.
- Led Pocket Worlds through Y Combinator’s summer 2018 program.
- Led a business that reported more than $250 million in Highrise marketplace transactions by 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Pocket Worlds acquired Hotel Hideaway from Sulake, bringing its portfolio above 80 million registered users according to the announcement.
- **2026-06** — Discussed Pocket Labs, Rosie and the role of human judgment and taste in AI-assisted creation in an AI Gamechangers interview.
- **2026-03** — Pocket Labs publicly introduced Rosie, an AI agent for Highrise Studio.
- **2025-01** — Pocket Worlds acquired AI-driven UGC studio Infinite Canvas.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonber
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/antonber

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/anton-bernstein
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23