# Jed McCaleb

> Jed McCaleb is an American programmer, founder, investor, and philanthropist whose projects have repeatedly changed how people move things through networks: files through eDonkey, bitcoin through Mt. Gox, value through Ripple and Stellar, and now people and research through commercial space stations. He founded Vast in 2021 and serves as its founder and executive chairman, while also remaining a co-founder and Chief Architect of the Stellar Development Foundation and leading work at the Astera Institute.

- **Role:** Founder and Executive Chairman at Vast; Co-Founder and Chief Architect at Stellar Development Foundation; Co-Founder and CEO - Neuro & AGI at Astera Institute
- **Organizations:** Vast, Stellar Development Foundation, Astera Institute, Ripple, Mt. Gox, MetaMachine, eDonkey Network, Lightyear, Interstellar
- **From:** Fayetteville, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Attended; left without completing a degree, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Created eDonkey2000 and helped build a network that reached more than four million concurrent users at its height., Created Mt. Gox as one of the first major marketplaces for trading bitcoin, then sold it in 2011 before its later collapse under different management., Co-created the Ripple protocol and co-founded the company that became Ripple Labs.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Founded MetaMachine and released eDonkey2000, a peer-to-peer file-sharing application.
- **2006** — MetaMachine agreed to stop distributing eDonkey software and settled with the RIAA for $30 million.
- **2007** — Registered the Mtgox.com domain for a planned Magic: The Gathering card exchange.
- **2010** — Repurposed Mtgox.com as an early Bitcoin exchange.
- **2011** — Sold Mt. Gox to Mark Karpelès and began work on the consensus-based system that became Ripple.
- **2012** — Co-founded OpenCoin, later renamed Ripple Labs, and served as chief technology officer.
- **2013** — Left his active role at Ripple.
- **2014** — Co-founded the nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation with Joyce Kim to develop an open network for cross-border value transfer.
- **2017** — Launched Lightyear, a commercial company building on Stellar.
- **2018** — Lightyear merged with Chain to form Interstellar; McCaleb also became a publicly announced donor to OpenAI.
- **2019** — Moved from executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation to Chief Architect.
- **2020** — Founded the Astera Institute to support high-leverage science and technology work.
- **2021** — Founded Vast to develop commercial space stations and, over the longer term, artificial-gravity habitats.
- **2023** — Moved from Vast CEO to Founder, Board Chair, and Tech Fellow, appointing Max Haot as CEO.
- **2025** — Vast's uncrewed Haven Demo spacecraft reached orbit and began testing technologies for Haven-1.
- **2026** — Vast completed the Haven Demo mission, raised $500 million in equity and debt, and expanded its plans into high-power satellites and lunar programs.

## Achievements

- Created eDonkey2000 and helped build a network that reached more than four million concurrent users at its height.
- Created Mt. Gox as one of the first major marketplaces for trading bitcoin, then sold it in 2011 before its later collapse under different management.
- Co-created the Ripple protocol and co-founded the company that became Ripple Labs.
- Co-founded the nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation and served first as executive director and later as Chief Architect.
- Founded the Astera Institute to support ambitious science and technology work underserved by conventional funding.
- Founded Vast, whose Haven Demo test spacecraft completed an orbital mission in 2025-2026 and whose roadmap targets commercial stations and later artificial-gravity habitats.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Vast established a lunar programs division to apply its station technologies to power, communications, and habitats on the Moon.
- **2026-08** — Vast published details of its human-in-the-loop design process for Haven-1 as the station moved toward launch readiness.
- **2026-05** — Vast expanded into high-power satellite buses using technology and experience developed for its station program.
- **2026-03** — Vast announced $500 million in new equity and debt financing; McCaleb participated as founder and first investor.
- **2026-03** — The Haven Demo orbital mission ended with a successful deorbit after validating systems intended for Haven-1.
- **2025-10** — In a long-form Core Memory interview, McCaleb discussed his path from eDonkey and crypto to financing space, AI, and brain-computer-interface research.

## Links

- Website: https://jedmccaleb.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-mccaleb-4052a4/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/JedMcCaleb
- GitHub: https://github.com/jedmccaleb

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jed-mccaleb
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26