# Evan Spiegel

> Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, Spectacles, and Bitmoji. He built one of the few social platforms to meaningfully challenge Facebook by betting on ephemeral messaging, augmented reality, and the camera as the primary interface of human communication. At 26, he became the youngest CEO of a newly public major U.S. tech company. He turned down $3 billion from Mark Zuckerberg at 23. He holds dual American and French citizenship, is married to supermodel Miranda Kerr, and completed his Stanford degree six years after dropping out.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Snap Inc.
- **Organizations:** Snap Inc., KKR (board), Gagosian Gallery (board), Berggruen Institute 21st Century Council
- **From:** Los Angeles, USA
- **Nationality:** American, French
- **Education:** High School, Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, BS Product Design, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Built Snapchat from a Stanford dorm idea to 450M+ daily active users, Youngest CEO of a newly public major U.S. tech company at age 26 (2017), Named to Time 100 Most Influential People multiple times

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Enrolled at Stanford University studying Product Design
- **2011** — Co-founded Snapchat (as Picaboo) with Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown; launched July 8
- **2011** — Renamed to Snapchat; ousted co-founder Reggie Brown
- **2012** — Dropped out of Stanford to run Snapchat full-time; reached 1M daily active users
- **2013** — Rejected $3B acquisition offer from Facebook; received $13.5M Series A
- **2013** — Reportedly rejected $4B offer from Google
- **2014** — Settled Reggie Brown lawsuit for $157.5M; FTC privacy settlement
- **2015** — Named youngest billionaire in the world; launched Snapchat Lenses (AR filters)
- **2016** — Acquired Bitmoji; renamed company Snap Inc.; launched Spectacles smartglasses
- **2017** — Snap IPO on NYSE at $17/share, closing at $24.48; youngest CEO of newly public major U.S. tech company at 26
- **2017** — Married Miranda Kerr
- **2018** — Completed Stanford degree; obtained French citizenship; major app redesign sparked user backlash
- **2021** — Snap market cap peaked at ~$116 billion; Forbes #55 with $13.8B net worth; joined KKR board
- **2022** — Laid off 20% of workforce; joined Gagosian Gallery board; settled CA discrimination suit for $15M
- **2024** — Testified before U.S. Senate on child safety; laid off additional 10% of workforce
- **2025** — Co-launched 'Department of Angels' for LA wildfire recovery; pledged $10M; reorganized Snap into startup squads
- **2026** — Expanded Snap-Qualcomm AR Specs partnership; internal restructuring continues

## Achievements

- Built Snapchat from a Stanford dorm idea to 450M+ daily active users
- Youngest CEO of a newly public major U.S. tech company at age 26 (2017)
- Named to Time 100 Most Influential People multiple times
- Pioneered ephemeral messaging and Stories format (widely copied by Instagram/Facebook)
- Launched augmented reality Lenses in 2015, establishing Snap as the leader in mobile AR
- Led Snap IPO in 2017 at ~$24 billion valuation
- Pioneered Spectacles AR glasses for consumer market
- Built Snapchat+ to 15M+ subscribers generating $700M+ annually
- Turned down acquisition offers totaling over $30 billion from Facebook and Google
- Named youngest billionaire in the world in 2015
- Grew Snap to $5.93B annual revenue as of 2025

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Expanded Snap-Qualcomm partnership for next-gen AR Specs with Snapdragon XR integration
- **2026-04** — Internal company restructuring with CFO leadership transition
- **2026-03** — Snap hosted inaugural 'Snappys' awards show celebrating creators and Snap Stars
- **2025-09** — Reorganized Snap into 'startup squads' of 10-15 people to increase agility
- **2025-02** — Co-launched 'Department of Angels' with California Community Foundation; pledged $10M for LA wildfire recovery
- **2024-09** — Snapchat began testing simplified app without Snap Map or Stories tab
- **2024-02** — Announced 10% workforce reduction (~500 employees); third son Pierre born

## Links

- Website: https://newsroom.snap.com/company/leadership/evan-spiegel
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanspiegel
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/evanspiegel

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/evan-spiegel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-28