# Eric Ly

> Eric Ly is a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur and software engineer best known as a founding member and the first CTO of LinkedIn. Born in Saigon and raised in Silicon Valley, he was an early Java engineer at Sun and a product builder at General Magic before helping Reid Hoffman launch LinkedIn in 2002. Today he is co-founder and CEO of KarmaCheck, an AI-forward background check and credentialing company that raised a $45M Series B in 2024, focused on speeding up hiring in healthcare and staffing. Across a 30-year career he has chased one recurring idea: building trust between people online.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at KarmaCheck
- **Organizations:** KarmaCheck, LinkedIn, Presdo, Hub, Netmosphere, Tresidder Networks, Wellington Partners
- **From:** Saigon, Vietnam
- **Nationality:** Vietnamese-American
- **Education:** BS in Symbolic Systems (with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa), Stanford University, MS in Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab, PhD program in Computer Science (did not complete), Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founding CTO and co-founder of LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired in 2016 for $26.2 billion, Helped architect LinkedIn's early networking and search algorithms and core product features, Member of the very first Java team at Sun Microsystems

## Career timeline

- **1975** — Emigrated from Vietnam to the United States as a child
- **1991** — Graduated Stanford with a BS in Symbolic Systems
- **1993** — Earned MS from the MIT Media Lab; thesis 'Chatter: A Conversational Telephone Agent'
- **1993** — Joined Sun Microsystems as a software engineer on the very first Java team
- **1995** — Co-founded Netmosphere, a Java project-management collaboration startup (acquired by Critical Path)
- **2000** — Co-founded mobile software company Tresidder Networks
- **2002** — Co-founded LinkedIn with Reid Hoffman and others; served as founding CTO
- **2007** — Launched Presdo with $35,000 of his own money; later Presdo Match for conferences
- **2008** — Became a Venture Partner at Munich-based Wellington Partners (through 2011)
- **2016** — Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion
- **2019** — Founded KarmaCheck to modernize background checks and credentialing
- **2024** — KarmaCheck raised a $45M Series B led by Parameter Ventures

## Achievements

- Founding CTO and co-founder of LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired in 2016 for $26.2 billion
- Helped architect LinkedIn's early networking and search algorithms and core product features
- Member of the very first Java team at Sun Microsystems
- Co-founded and exited Netmosphere (acquired by Critical Path)
- Raised a $45M Series B for KarmaCheck in 2024
- Phi Beta Kappa, graduated Stanford with distinction

## Latest updates

- **2024-06** — KarmaCheck raised a $45M Series B led by Parameter Ventures to modernize background checks and credentialing, with a focus on healthcare staffing.
- **2024-08** — Continued public advocacy for AI-forward, candidate-friendly background screening across HR tech and staffing conferences.

## Links

- Website: https://www.karmacheck.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericly/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/karmacheckinc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf713BElj2k
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/KarmaCheckInc/

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