# Kevin Rose

> Kevin Rose is a serial tech entrepreneur, angel investor, and wellness advocate who founded Digg in 2004 with $1,200 and turned it into a 38-million-user social news juggernaut. A former Google Ventures partner with early bets on Twitter, Square, Uber, and Slack, he has since pivoted toward deep wellness practices - Zen meditation, intermittent fasting, cold exposure - while building the ZERO and OAK apps. In 2025, he re-acquired Digg alongside Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, relaunching it in January 2026 as an AI-powered Reddit alternative. He publishes a widely-read newsletter at kevinrose.com and hosts The Kevin Rose Show podcast.

- **Role:** Founder & Chairman at Digg
- **Organizations:** Digg, True Ventures, Harlan Estate, The Way, Endel, Jocasta, HODINKEE (former), Google Ventures (former), PROOF Collective (former)
- **From:** Redding, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Southeast Career Technical Academy (formerly Vo-Tech High School), Computer Science (dropped out), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
- **Known for:** Founded Digg with $1,200 personal savings; grew to 38M+ monthly users, Named MIT Technology Review TR35 - Top 35 Innovators Under 35 (2007), Forbes Top 25 Web Celebrity

## Career timeline

- **1996** — Landed job at Nevada Test Site (Dept. of Energy) at age 19 due to exceptional computer skills
- **1998** — Co-founded SimpleSearch.com, an early web project
- **2002** — Joined TechTV as production assistant on The Screen Savers; became co-host
- **2003** — Released thebroken, pioneering web video content
- **2004** — Co-founded Revision3 internet TV network (acquired by Discovery for $30M+ in 2012)
- **2004** — Founded Digg with $1,200, launched December 5 - eventually reached 38M+ monthly users
- **2005** — Co-launched Diggnation podcast with Alex Albrecht; 250,000+ viewers per episode
- **2006** — Rejected $60M acquisition offer for Digg from Fox InteractiveMedia
- **2007** — Co-founded Pownce microblogging platform (acquired by Six Apart, shut down 2008)
- **2007** — Named MIT Technology Review TR35 - Top 35 Innovators Under 35
- **2009** — Began angel investing; early stakes in Twitter, Foursquare, Square, Facebook, Zynga
- **2010** — Founded FOUNDATION long-form interview series
- **2010** — Stepped down as Digg CEO
- **2011** — Founded Milk, Inc., a mobile app incubator
- **2012** — Google acquired Milk team; Rose joined as Senior Product Manager
- **2012** — Became Venture Partner at Google Ventures (GV); invested in Ripple, Nextdoor, Medium, Uber, Blue Bottle Coffee, Slack
- **2015** — Left GV; co-founded Watchville watch news app; merged with HODINKEE
- **2015** — Became CEO of HODINKEE
- **2017** — Founded ZERO intermittent fasting tracking app
- **2017** — Founded OAK minimalist meditation app
- **2017** — Became Partner at True Ventures ($3.8B+ AUM)
- **2021** — Co-founded PROOF Collective Web3 media company with Justin Mezzell
- **2022** — PROOF released Moonbirds NFT collection - 10,000 tokens generating $281M-$450M in sales
- **2022** — PROOF raised $50M Series A from Andreessen Horowitz
- **2023** — PROOF Collective acquired by Yuga Labs
- **2025** — Re-acquired Digg alongside Alexis Ohanian; announced AI-powered rebuild
- **2025** — Spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 on reinvention and early-stage investing
- **2026** — Digg open beta launched January 14 with tagline 'The front page of the internet, now with superpowers'

## Achievements

- Founded Digg with $1,200 personal savings; grew to 38M+ monthly users
- Named MIT Technology Review TR35 - Top 35 Innovators Under 35 (2007)
- Forbes Top 25 Web Celebrity
- Time Magazine Top 25 Most Influential People on the Web
- Five-time Webby Award winner
- Bloomberg Top 25 Angel Investor
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
- Early investor in Twitter, Square, Uber, Slack, Nextdoor, Medium
- PROOF Collective Moonbirds NFT: $281M-$450M in sales
- Multiple social media patents (sold to LinkedIn)
- BusinessWeek cover feature
- Co-founded Revision3, sold to Discovery Communications for $30M+
- ZERO app became one of top-rated fasting tracking apps

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Digg open beta launched publicly with tagline 'The front page of the internet, now with superpowers'; actively shipping new features weekly
- **2025-09** — Spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 on reinvention and early-stage investing
- **2025-03** — Re-acquired Digg alongside Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian; announced AI-powered rebuild
- **2026-04** — Publishing weekly newsletter at kevinrose.com covering AI, investing, wellness, and Zen philosophy; hosting The Kevin Rose Show podcast and launching 'Less Than One' Zen/meditation podcast

## Links

- Website: https://www.kevinrose.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrose/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/kevinrose
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekevinroseshow
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinrose/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kevin-rose
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-24