Yuri Milner
InvestorFounder at DST Global
Los Altos Hills, CA
Writes $15M – $200M checks · typically $25M
Midas 2011Midas 2012 · #27Midas 2013 · #35Midas 2014 · #35Midas 2015 · #20Midas 2016 · #17Midas 2017 · #15Midas 2018 · #52
Photo: TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons ↗
About
Yuri Milner founded DST Global, whose large late-stage checks into Facebook and Twitter, taken without board seats, changed how growth investing works. The firm went on to back Alibaba, WhatsApp, Spotify, and Stripe. Milner also co-founded the Breakthrough Prize and wrote Eureka Manifesto, a short book on humanity's role in the universe.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Founded DST Global, a technology investment firm. Co-founded science foundations with his wife Julia to support science initiatives. Milner founded the investment firm DST Global to focus on global internet investments. Milner co-founded the internet company Mail.Ru Group (formerly Digital Sky Technologies). Milner co-founded the Breakthrough Prizes and Breakthrough Initiatives.
- Education
- Studied at Moscow State University (BS, Theoretical Physics, 1985) Studied at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (MBA, 1990)
- Charities
- Co-launched the Breakthrough Prizes in 2012 with Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, and Anne Wojcicki. Launched the Breakthrough Initiatives space science programs with Stephen Hawking in 2015, including Breakthrough Listen and Breakthrough Starshot. Signed the Giving Pledge together with his wife Julia. In 2012, Milner and his wife Julia joined the Giving Pledge, directing their philanthropy toward scientific programs and the communication of scientific ideas. In 2015, Milner and Stephen Hawking announced the $100 million Breakthrough Listen initiative to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In 2016, Milner and Stephen Hawking launched Breakthrough Starshot, a $100 million program seeking to develop technology for interstellar travel.
- Communities
- From May 2009 to January 2012, Milner was a member of the Commission on Modernization established by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
- Family
- Married to Julia, with whom he co-founds and runs philanthropic efforts. Milner is married to Julia Bochkova (m. 2004) and has three children. Milner was named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.
- More
- Milner was the commencement speaker for the Wharton Business School's 2017 class.
From Yuri's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE FOUNDATIONFoundercurrent2012 — present
- DST GlobalFoundercurrent2009 — present
Skills & more
Languages English
From Yuri's professional profile.
Investments
Led
Otoy
Investor
AirbnbAlibabaAltos LabsFacebookGrouponHabitoSnapchatSpotifyTwitterWhatsAppZynga
Per curated public sources.
Books by Yuri Milner
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Yuri MilnerFacebook investor Yuri Milner invests in BeReal
This Week in Startups
DST Global Founder Yuri Milner's Winning Method
The Wall Street Journal
Yuri Milner Wants to Talk to Aliens
TechCrunch
DST Global's Yuri Milner at D.Live Asia | DST Global founder Yuri Milner discusses the future of the Internet in 2050 at #WSJDLive in Hong Kong. | By The Wall Street Journal
facebook.com
Yuri Milner — Charlie Rose
charlierose.com
Colleagues at DST Global
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Yuri Milner?
- Yuri Milner founded DST Global, whose large late-stage checks into Facebook and Twitter, taken without board seats, changed how growth investing works. The firm went on to back Alibaba, WhatsApp, Spotify, and Stripe. Milner also co-founded the Breakthrough Prize and wrote Eureka Manifesto, a short book on humanity's role in the universe.
- Where does Yuri Milner work?
- Yuri Milner is Founder at DST Global.
- What check size does Yuri Milner write?
- Yuri Milner typically writes checks of $15M – $200M.
- What companies has Yuri Milner invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Otoy, Airbnb, Alibaba, Altos Labs, Facebook, Groupon, Habito, Snapchat, Spotify, Twitter, WhatsApp, Zynga.
- What podcasts and interviews feature Yuri Milner?
- Tracked appearances include "Facebook investor Yuri Milner invests in BeReal", "DST Global Founder Yuri Milner's Winning Method", "Yuri Milner Wants to Talk to Aliens", and 2 more.
- Does Yuri Milner lead rounds?
- Yes — Yuri Milner has led 1 tracked investment.
Paths to reach Yuri
People who overlapped with Yuri at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
