Nat Friedman.

Nat Friedman is a prolific technology entrepreneur and investor who served as CEO of GitHub from 2018 to 2021, leading the world's largest developer platform through its transition from Microsoft acquisition to a central pillar of the Microsoft ecosystem.

Under Friedman's leadership, GitHub launched major products including GitHub Codespaces and laid the groundwork for GitHub Copilot, the AI coding assistant that fundamentally changed software development. Before GitHub, Friedman co-founded Xamarin (mobile app development tools), which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016. He also co-founded Ximian, an early open-source company acquired by Novell. After stepping down from GitHub, Friedman co-founded AI Grant with Daniel Gross, a program that provides funding and resources to AI startups in their earliest stages. He has become one of the most prolific and respected angel investors in AI, with stakes in many leading AI companies. He also personally funded the Vesuvius Challenge, which successfully used AI to decode ancient scrolls burned in Pompeii. His combination of operational leadership at major developer platforms, serial entrepreneurship, and AI investing makes him one of the most influential figures in the current AI era.