# Babak Nivi

> Babak Nivi is the co-founder of AngelList, the platform that rewired how startups raise money and find talent. Alongside Naval Ravikant, he turned a casual email list of angel investors into a $3.5B+ funding infrastructure that backed over 7,000 startups and produced 200+ unicorns. Before AngelList, Nivi co-created Venture Hacks, the blog that demystified term sheets and negotiation for a generation of founders. An MIT-trained engineer who once co-invented the first printed inorganic transistor, he brings both scientific rigor and street-level startup pragmatism to everything he builds.

- **Role:** Founder at Venture Hacks
- **Organizations:** AngelList, Venture Hacks, Songbird
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Master's in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), NSF Graduate Research Fellow (Ph.D. candidate), MIT Media Lab
- **Known for:** Co-founded AngelList, which channeled $3.5B+ into 7,000+ startups and produced 200+ unicorns, Co-invented the first printed inorganic transistor at MIT Media Lab; published in Science journal, Co-created Venture Hacks, the foundational resource for startup fundraising education

## Career timeline

- **1996-2000** — National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, MIT Media Lab - co-invented the first printed inorganic transistor
- **2000-2003** — Associate at Seed Capital Partners, Boston
- **2003-2004** — Consultant at Atlas Venture
- **2005** — Entrepreneur in Residence at Bessemer Venture Partners (with David Cowan)
- **2005-2007** — Vice President at Songbird (music player startup)
- **2007** — Co-founded Venture Hacks blog with Naval Ravikant to demystify term sheets and fundraising for founders
- **2007-2008** — Entrepreneur in Residence at Atlas Venture
- **2010** — Co-founded AngelList with Naval Ravikant, launching with 50 angel investors committing ~$80M
- **2012** — Launched AngelList Talent - startup jobs marketplace
- **2013** — Pioneered online syndicate investing via AngelList Syndicates
- **2014** — Recognized in Fortune Magazine 'Meet the Uber Rich' for early Uber investment
- **2016** — AngelList acquired Product Hunt for $20M
- **2017** — Departed AngelList 'for his own reasons' (July 2017)
- **2017-present** — Angel investor, advisor to startups backed by Sequoia, Benchmark, Bessemer; continues running Venture Hacks
- **2024** — Most recent notable investment: Superorder (November 2024)

## Achievements

- Co-founded AngelList, which channeled $3.5B+ into 7,000+ startups and produced 200+ unicorns
- Co-invented the first printed inorganic transistor at MIT Media Lab; published in Science journal
- Co-created Venture Hacks, the foundational resource for startup fundraising education
- Pioneered online syndicate investing via AngelList Syndicates in 2013
- Early angel investor in Uber - a $20K investment grew to approximately $40M
- Holds 2 patents from MIT research
- Published 'The Venture Hacks Bible' and 'Pitching Hacks' - canonical startup fundraising guides
- Editor of Naval Ravikant's 'How to Get Rich'
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Made investment in Superorder, one of his most recent public angel investments
- **2024-01** — Continues angel investing and advising startups backed by Sequoia, Benchmark, and Bessemer

## Links

- Website: https://nivi.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bnivi
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/nivi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/babak-nivi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27