# Doug Petkanics

> Doug Petkanics is the co-founder and CEO of Livepeer, a decentralized network that turns idle GPUs around the world into open video infrastructure. A University of Pennsylvania computer scientist and three-time founder, he built and sold Hyperpublic to Groupon and shipped an Apple App of the Year at Wildcard before betting on blockchain in 2016. Today he is steering Livepeer squarely at real-time AI video, arguing the open internet should not be rebuilt on the same handful of cloud giants it set out to escape.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Livepeer
- **Organizations:** Livepeer, Livepeer Foundation, Wildcard, Hyperpublic, Groupon, Frogmetrics, Accenture
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BSE, Computer Science, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded and sold Hyperpublic to Groupon (2012), Co-built Wildcard, named one of Apple's Apps of the Year in 2015, Co-founded Livepeer, one of the leading decentralized video infrastructure networks

## Career timeline

- **2006** — Graduated University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Computer Science; began as an analyst at Accenture.
- **2008** — Joined Frogmetrics as entrepreneur and software developer building tablet-based survey software.
- **2010** — Co-founded Hyperpublic, a location data platform, as VP of Engineering.
- **2012** — Hyperpublic acquired by Groupon; joined Groupon as a member of technical staff in Palo Alto.
- **2013** — Co-founded Wildcard, a mobile web browser and publishing platform; product named an Apple App of the Year in 2015.
- **2016** — Co-founded Livepeer with Eric Tang; built Ethereum protocols Auction House and TAP along the way.
- **2022** — Livepeer raised a $20M Series B (total funding $51M).
- **2025** — Livepeer Inc incorporated and the Livepeer Foundation launched; company refocuses on real-time AI video.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and sold Hyperpublic to Groupon (2012)
- Co-built Wildcard, named one of Apple's Apps of the Year in 2015
- Co-founded Livepeer, one of the leading decentralized video infrastructure networks
- Raised approximately $51M in total funding for Livepeer
- Authored early Ethereum protocols Auction House (NFT-style asset sales) and TAP (transaction security)
- Launched the Livepeer Foundation to steward 10+ ecosystem entities (2025)

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Announced Livepeer Inc's incorporation and a sharpened go-to-market focus on real-time AI video infrastructure, alongside the launch of the Livepeer Foundation.

## Links

- Website: http://dougpetkanics.com/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougpetkanics
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/petkanics
- GitHub: https://github.com/dob
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/petkanics/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/petkanics/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/doug-petkanics
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-12