# Paul Powers

> Paul Powers is the co-founder and CEO of Physna, the Ohio startup teaching computers to understand the physical world by turning 3D geometry into searchable 'Physical DNA.' A homeschooled kid who entered Harvard at 16 and later passed the German bar exam in a foreign language, he turned an intellectual-property obsession into a geometric-search company backed by Sequoia, Tiger Global, and Drive Capital. Physna also runs Thangs, a community platform of tens of millions of 3D models that he describes as the GitHub for hardware. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Powers is one of the most prominent founders building deep-tech outside Silicon Valley.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Physna
- **Organizations:** Physna, Thangs, Cincinnati Tutoring Services, Zoozler
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Astronomy, Astrophysics & English Essay (entered at 16), Harvard University, Geisteswissenschaften (Humanities), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen (LMU Munich), Law degree; passed the German bar exam, Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019), Co-founded Physna, pioneering geometric/3D search and 'codified' 3D data, Built Thangs into a platform with tens of millions of 3D models

## Career timeline

- **16** — Entered Harvard University to study astronomy and astrophysics
- **early career** — Founded Cincinnati Tutoring Services and ran translation and software ventures
- **Germany** — Studied law at Heidelberg and passed the German bar exam in a foreign language
- **2015** — Co-founded Physna with Dennis Demeyere
- **2019** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30
- **2020** — Launched Thangs, a community 3D model platform
- **2021-01** — Sequoia led a $20M Series B in Physna with Drive Capital
- **2021** — Raised additional growth funding led by Tiger Global ($56M), pushing total funding past $86M

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019)
- Co-founded Physna, pioneering geometric/3D search and 'codified' 3D data
- Built Thangs into a platform with tens of millions of 3D models
- Raised over $86M from Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Drive Capital
- TEDx speaker and frequent business-media commentator
- Rang in / appeared with NYSE on entrepreneurship and deep tech

## Latest updates

- **2021-01** — Sequoia led a $20M Series B in Physna; major Thangs update announced.
- **2021** — Raised growth capital led by Tiger Global, with total funding surpassing $86M.

## Links

- Website: https://physna.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/techlab
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Physna3D
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/physna/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-powers
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-08