Sunnyvale, US · Founded 2003 · 23,039 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors
Find your way into LinkedIn
4,562 people in our graph share verified history with the LinkedIn team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Deep Nisharunlockedknows Konstantin Guericke · together at Stanford University (overlapped)
×2knows the team · via Massachusetts Institute of Technology
×6knows the team · via Stanford University
knows the team · via Coda
knows the team · via University of Oxford
knows the team · via Earlybird Venture Capital
Acquired by Microsoft December 2016 · $26.2B ($196.00 per share, all cash) · source ↗
LinkedIn is the professional network — profiles, connections, job listings and a feed built around work rather than friendship. Reid Hoffman started it in his living room in late 2002 with four co-founders drawn from PayPal and his earlier company SocialNet, and the site launched in May 2003. It went public on the NYSE in 2011 and Microsoft bought it in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash, still among the largest software acquisitions ever made; it now runs as a Microsoft subsidiary with more than a billion registered members.
Founders & leadership
RH
Reid Hoffmanin𝕏Co-founder & Chairman2003–2016Reid Hoffman is co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn, and has founding and investing experience across companies including PayPal, OpenAI, Airbnb, Meta, Mozilla, and Zynga. He has more recently co-founded Inflection.AI and ManasAI, and works on investing in and building AI companies.
AB
Allen BlueinCo-founder & VP Product ManagementHe has background in product strategy, design, and management for early-stage social internet projects, with expertise in large-scale product development and online community building.
KG
Konstantin GuerickeinCo-founder & VP Marketing2003–2007Konstantin Guericke grew up in northern Germany and studied artificial intelligence and reasoning under uncertainty at Stanford. He was an early employee at Aion, an AI startup, and later co-founded LinkedIn, where he served as VP of Marketing before shifting to philanthropic and community-focused work.
EL
JV
Jean-Luc VaillantinCo-founder & VP Engineering2003–2011Vaillant brings 15+ years of software engineering experience, including work on systems ranging from minicomputers to distributed UNIX platforms, followed by a decade in management roles across startups and established public companies. His expertise spans scalable server systems, web consumer applications, team leadership, and languages including Java, C++, and UNIX.
LH
Lee Howerin𝕏Co-founderLee Hower was an early employee at PayPal and a co-founder of LinkedIn, the professional networking platform. He later worked as an investor at PJC before co-founding NextView Ventures, where he leads seed-stage investments with a focus on hardware, deeper tech, and fintech startups.
MG
Michael GamsonExecutive
ER
Erika RottenberginExecutive
DN
Dipchand NisharExecutive
SJ
Steven J. SordelloExecutive
JK
James Kevin ScottExecutive
JW
Jeffrey WeinerExecutive
Investors · 4
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$119.6M disclosed across 1 round · 2014
▶$119.6MraisedMar 2014 · 25 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$119.6MraisedMar 2014 · 25 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Michael MortizDirector
- Reid HoffmanDirector
- David L. SzeDirector
- Michael GamsonExecutive Officer
- A. George BattleDirector
- Erika RottenbergExecutive Officer
- Dipchand NisharExecutive Officer
- Steven J. SordelloExecutive Officer
- James Kevin ScottExecutive Officer
- Leslie J. KilgoreDirector
- Stanley MeresmanDirector
- Jeffrey WeinerExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $119.6M
- Amount sold
- $119.6M
- First sale
- Feb 2014
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Founder mafia
The LinkedIn mafia →113 people who came through LinkedIn went on to found or lead other companies.
Reid HoffmanCo-founder & ChairmanFounded Manas AI +1Gordon WintrobEngineering ManagerFounded Newfrontinsurance +2Eric RowellSenior Frontend EngineerFounded Uiflow +2Rahul VohraLinkedIn IntroFounded Superhuman +1Joseph LauSoftware Engineer InternFounded Alchemy Insights, Inc. +1Richard MengStaff Software Engineer, Skills and KGFounded Roe AI +1Moody AbdulEnterprise Account ExecutiveFounded Klarify +1Yannis NiebelschuetzSales Leader DACH & NordicsFounded Lizzy Ai +1Sid ViswanathanProduct ManagerFounded Alchemy Health +1Shirshanka DasPrincipal Staff Software EngineerFounded Acryl Data +1Ankita GuptaIntern, Sales Strategy And OperationsFounded Akto +1Yogi GoelGTM @ LinkedIn Sales SolutionsFounded Maxima +1
+ 101 more
Non-dilutive funding · 7 SBIR/STTR awards
Federal grants — no equity taken| Agency | Phase | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Science Foundation | Phase II | 2023 | $996.8K |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2023 | $150K |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase ISTTR | 2023 | $75K |
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Phase I | 2022 | $150K |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health | Phase I | 2021 | $381.8K |
| National Science Foundation | Phase I | 2021 | $255.2K |
| U.S. NavyNavy | Phase I | 2014 | $150K |
Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does LinkedIn do?
- LinkedIn is the professional network — profiles, connections, job listings and a feed built around work rather than friendship. Reid Hoffman started it in his living room in late 2002 with four co-founders drawn from PayPal and his earlier company SocialNet, and the site launched in May 2003. It went public on the NYSE in 2011 and Microsoft bought it in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash, still among the largest software acquisitions ever made; it now runs as a Microsoft subsidiary with more than a billion registered members.
- Who founded LinkedIn?
- LinkedIn was founded by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Lee Hower in 2003.
- Who are LinkedIn's investors?
- LinkedIn's investors include Adaverse, Bixin Capital, Bixin Ventures, Monolith Venture Advisory Limited.
- How much funding has LinkedIn raised?
- LinkedIn has disclosed $119.6M raised across 1 round.
- Who acquired LinkedIn?
- LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft.
- Where is LinkedIn headquartered?
- LinkedIn is headquartered in Sunnyvale, US.