# Jason Tan

> Jason Tan is the San Francisco-based founder and executive chairman of Sift, the machine-learning fraud prevention company he co-founded after early engineering roles at Zillow, Optify, and BuzzLabs. Born in Taipei, raised across Japan, Singapore, and Seattle, and admitted to the University of Washington at 16, Tan built Sift from a 2011 Y Combinator company into a global enterprise platform. His more recent public writing reframes that journey around culture, self-knowledge, succession, and the hidden cost of fear-driven decisions.

- **Role:** Founder & Executive Chairman at Sift
- **Organizations:** Sift, Zillow, Optify, BuzzLabs, Y Combinator, University of Washington
- **From:** Taipei, Taiwan
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Summer 2011 batch, Y Combinator, Leadership program, Leaders In Tech
- **Known for:** Co-founded Sift in Y Combinator's Summer 2011 batch., Helped turn an initial fraud-detection API into an enterprise digital trust and fraud prevention platform., Led Sift through multiple major funding rounds, including a $53 million Series D in 2018.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Worked as an intern at Boeing while studying at the University of Washington.
- **2006-2008** — Worked as a software design engineer at Zillow in Seattle.
- **2008-2010** — Worked as a software engineer at Optify.
- **2010-2011** — Served as chief technology officer at BuzzLabs.
- **2011** — Moved to San Francisco, joined Y Combinator's Summer 2011 batch and co-founded Sift Science with Brandon Ballinger.
- **2013** — Sift launched its publicly available fraud-detection product.
- **2014** — Announced an $18 million Series B, taking Sift's reported funding at the time to roughly $24 million.
- **2018** — Announced a $53 million Series D, bringing Sift's reported total funding to $107 million.
- **2021** — Announced a transition from chief executive to founder and executive chairman, with responsibility for board alignment and long-term direction.
- **2026** — Marked Sift's 15th anniversary with a public reflection on fraud, trust, culture and the company's next chapter.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Sift in Y Combinator's Summer 2011 batch.
- Helped turn an initial fraud-detection API into an enterprise digital trust and fraud prevention platform.
- Led Sift through multiple major funding rounds, including a $53 million Series D in 2018.
- Built Sift from an idea into a company that he says reached roughly $100 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 400 employees during his CEO tenure.
- Established an early machine-learning approach to fraud detection when much of the market relied on static rules.
- Managed a founder succession and remained involved as executive chairman.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Joined Sift CEO Marc Friend in reflecting on the company's 15-year history and the future of fraud, trust and AI.
- **2026-03** — Published candid essays on leadership, hard work and costly founder decisions through LinkedIn, Inc. and his Scar Tissue newsletter.

## Links

- Website: https://substack.com/@jasontan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jas0ntan
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jasontan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jason-tan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27