# Kun Gao

> Kun Gao is a serial entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and original CEO of Crunchyroll, the platform that turned anime from a niche US curiosity into a billion-dollar streaming giant (acquired by Sony/AT&T WarnerMedia for $1.2 billion). Now he's doing it again as Co-Founder and CEO of Forge (forge.gg), a San Francisco-based game marketing and loyalty platform that hit 1 million users within its first year. Alongside co-founders Dennis 'Thresh' Fong (the world's first professional esports player) and George Ng, Gao is building the infrastructure layer that indie game developers desperately need: no-code loyalty programs, player analytics, and direct community channels - without the walled gardens.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Forge
- **Organizations:** Forge, GGWP, Crunchyroll, Frappr
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, B.A. Applied Mathematics, UC Berkeley, PhD candidate in Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Crunchyroll (2006) and grew it to 13+ million subscribers before $1.175B acquisition by Sony, Pioneer in legal anime streaming in Western markets, shifting the industry from piracy to licensed content, Raised $11M seed round for Forge from top gaming investors including Riot Games and Sony Innovation Fund

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Graduated UC Berkeley with degrees in EECS and Applied Mathematics
- **2005** — Co-founded Frappr, a location-based social network (later acquired)
- **2006** — Co-founded Crunchyroll with UC Berkeley classmates as an anime streaming platform
- **2009** — Crunchyroll secured Series A funding and pivoted to licensed anime content
- **2013** — Crunchyroll reached 200,000 paid subscribers
- **2017** — Crunchyroll surpassed 1 million paying subscribers and 20 million registered users
- **2018** — Stepped down as CEO of Crunchyroll after 12+ years
- **2020** — Crunchyroll acquired by AT&T/WarnerMedia, then Sony Pictures for $1.175 billion
- **2020** — Co-founded GGWP, an AI-powered game toxicity moderation platform
- **2023** — Co-founded Forge (forge.gg) with Dennis 'Thresh' Fong and George Ng
- **2023** — Forge raised $11M seed round led by Makers Fund and BITKRAFT Ventures
- **2024** — Forge surpassed 1 million registered users and 25 million player engagements
- **2025** — Launched Forge Direct, a gamified hub for community-powered game growth
- **2025** — Speaker at Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore

## Achievements

- Co-founded Crunchyroll (2006) and grew it to 13+ million subscribers before $1.175B acquisition by Sony
- Pioneer in legal anime streaming in Western markets, shifting the industry from piracy to licensed content
- Raised $11M seed round for Forge from top gaming investors including Riot Games and Sony Innovation Fund
- Grew Forge to 1 million users within its first year of operation (2023-2024)
- Generated 25 million player engagements across 60+ partner games within Forge's first year
- Co-founded GGWP, addressing toxic behavior in online gaming with AI moderation
- Angel investor and advisor to multiple gaming and consumer tech startups
- Speaker at Milken Institute Asia Summit 2025
- Built one of the earliest and most successful anime streaming platforms from a college dorm room problem

## Latest updates

- **2025-03** — Launched Forge Direct, a gamified hub enabling developers to build community portals with customizable loyalty programs
- **2025-01** — Featured on Naavik Gaming Podcast discussing lessons from Crunchyroll, GGWP, and Forge's growth strategy
- **2024-09** — Forge surpassed 1 million registered users and announced expanded partnerships with 60+ games
- **2024-07** — Launched Forge Season 2 with expanded self-service tools for game developers
- **2024-03** — Forge launched developer API for deeper platform integrations
- **2023-10** — Announced $11M seed funding round for Forge, led by Makers Fund and BITKRAFT Ventures

## Links

- Website: https://forge.gg
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kungao
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/kunoag
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ForgeGG

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kun-gao
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13