# Rob Solomon

> Rob Solomon is the CEO of H55, a venture advisor at AI Fund and a former GoFundMe CEO. His career includes Yahoo commerce, SideStep, Groupon and venture investing. He co-founded consumer commerce company Kite in 2022; it closed in early 2024. His work now includes commercializing aviation energy storage and electric propulsion systems.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at H55
- **Organizations:** H55, AI Fund, Grindr, GoFundMe.org, Kite, GoFundMe, Groupon, Yahoo, SideStep, Accel, Technology Crossover Ventures, Electronic Arts, Golfweb, HomeAway
- **From:** New York, United States
- **Education:** BA in History, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Earned All-American honors in water polo at UC Berkeley and was a member of two NCAA national championship teams., Led SideStep through its merger with Kayak., Held operational leadership at Groupon during its expansion from roughly 100 employees to several thousand.

## Career timeline

- **1980s** — Attended UC Berkeley, studying history and competing in water polo.
- **Early career** — Tested games and handled customer calls at Electronic Arts; later worked on educational games and at Golfweb.
- **2000-2006** — Held commerce leadership roles at Yahoo, including senior vice president of commerce and vice president/general manager of the Shopping Group.
- **2006** — Became president and CEO of SideStep.
- **2007** — SideStep merged with Kayak in December.
- **2010-2011** — Served as president and chief operating officer of Groupon.
- **2013** — Became a venture partner at Accel.
- **2015** — Became GoFundMe CEO.
- **2020** — Announced the handover of GoFundMe’s CEO role to Tim Cadogan, effective in March, while continuing as chairman.
- **2022** — Co-founded Kite with Juxtapose and Blackstone.
- **2023** — Kite announced a $200 million equity commitment in April.
- **2024** — Kite closed in early 2024.
- **2026** — Public corporate biographies identify him as H55 CEO and AI Fund lists him as a venture advisor.
- **2026** — Joined Grindr’s board in June.

## Achievements

- Earned All-American honors in water polo at UC Berkeley and was a member of two NCAA national championship teams.
- Led SideStep through its merger with Kayak.
- Held operational leadership at Groupon during its expansion from roughly 100 employees to several thousand.
- Led GoFundMe as community fundraising passed $2 billion in February 2016 and $3 billion that October.
- Serves on the board of GoFundMe.org.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Grindr’s official board biography records the start of his directorship.
- **2026-04** — H55 announced conforming battery-module deliveries to BRM Aero for the Bristell B23 Energic and an electric propulsion partnership with Safran.
- **2026-03** — As H55 CEO, commented on the company’s battery work for RTX’s hybrid-electric flight demonstrator.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robsolomon/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/robsolomon1

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rob-solomon
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22