NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

By Scott Bade

In 2004, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, set aside some of the wealth they acquired after the online marketplace went public and created Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm “dedicated to harnessing the power of markets,” according to an official overview.

Since then, the firm — which operates a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an LLC — has committed $839 million in nonprofit grants and $735 million in for-profit investments. Today, 60 employees in Mumbai, London, Washington D.C. and Redwood City look for opportunities to invest and contribute across four main areas: Reimagining Capitalism, Beneficial Technology, Discovering Emergent Issues, and Expanding Human Capability.

In 2018, coinciding with a strategic shift that saw Omidyar Network spin out several of its initiatives, the firm elevated to CEO Mike Kubzansky, who had started the firm’s Intellectual Capital arm. In a wide-ranging discussion, Scott Bade spoke to Kubzansky about Omidyar Network’s origins and evolution, and his approach to venture philanthropy.

Photo courtesy of Martin Fisch.