David Baszucki is the founder and CEO of Roblox. His vision is to build a platform that enables shared experiences among billions of users.
Every day, tens of millions of people from around the world come to Roblox to play, learn, work, and socialize in millions of immersive, user-generated digital experiences-often referred to as a metaverse. David believes the metaverse is the future of social interaction, and is building Roblox as a safe, civil, and diverse community-one that fosters creativity and positive relationships.
Previously, David founded Knowledge Revolution, where he and his brother Greg created “Interactive Physics,” a leader in educational physics and mechanical design simulation software. David graduated from Stanford University as a General Motors Scholar in Electrical Engineering.
David Baszucki Biography
Name | David Baszucki |
First Name | David |
Last Name | Baszucki |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Birthday | January 20 |
Birth Year | 1963 |
Home Town | California |
Birth Country | United States |
Birth Sign | Capricorn |
Spouse | Jan Ellison |
Children | 4 |
David Baszucki Age & Early Life
Davis was born on the 20th of January, 1963. David Baszucki was born in Canada and subsequently relocated to the United States. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Canada and is of Caucasian origin. His parents’ identities, including his father and mother, remain unknown. He does, however, have a brother called Greg Baszucki.
In terms of his academic career, he attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where he was the captain of his high school TV quiz team. Later, he attended Stanford University and majored in engineering and computer science, graduating in 1985 as a General Motors Scholar in electrical engineering.
Family & Personal Life
- David Baszucki was born on January 20, 1963, in Canada. He attended the ‘Eden Prairie High School.’ Baszucki later studied engineering and computer science at ‘Stanford University,’ from where he graduated in 1985, as a ‘General Motors’ scholar in electrical engineering.
- He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and four children.
Education
David had attended the Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. He was the captain of his school’s TV quiz team. After his high school graduation, he joined Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California. He studied engineering and computer science there.
During his time at Stanford University, David did a summer internship at General Motors (an American multinational automotive manufacturing company) – working in a lab focused on controlling car engines with software. He graduated from Stanford University in 1985 as a General Motors Scholar in electrical engineering.
Career
- In 1989, David Baszucki, founded the company `Knowledge Revolution,’ along with his brother, Greg Baszucki. This happened shortly after they had developed an educational application named `Interactive Physics.’ It was an award-winning program that allowed users to create physics experiments of their own.
- In the early 1990s, they also designed the mechanical software design named `Working Model.’ It could provide a virtual set of mechanical components, such as springs, ropes, and motors, which could be used to create basic physics simulations in a 2D working space.
- In 1998, ‘Knowledge Revolution’ was acquired by ‘MSC Software,’ a company based in California. Baszucki was named the vice president and general manager of ‘MSC Software’ from 2000 to 2002. He eventually left the company to establish his own angel investment firm, ‘Baszucki and Associates.’
- In 2004, that he began working on ‘DynoBlocks,’ which was an early prototype of ‘Roblox.’ After being renamed ‘Roblox,’ the website was eventually launched in 2006. It provided users a platform to design their own games and play the ones made by other users. Baszucki later stated that the idea of ‘Roblox’ was inspired by the success of his earlier ventures, such as `Interactive Physics’ and `Working Model.’
- ‘Roblox’ has received several accolades. It has been listed on the `Inc. 5000’ List of ‘America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.’ It has won an ‘Award of Excellence’ from the `San Mateo County Economic Development Association.’ It has been honored with `Deliotte’s ‘Technology Fast 500’ and the ‘Tech & Innovation Award’ of the `San Francisco Business Times.’
- David Baszucki himself has received multiple honors, such as the `San Mateo Visionary Hero Award’ for ‘Roblox’s contribution to education and encouraging kids to code. In 2017 and 2018, he was named by ‘Goldman Sachs’ as one of its ‘Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.’ He was also recognized by `Comparably’ as one of the best CEOs for diversity in 2018.
- ‘Roblox’ also launched a new digital civility initiative on January 15, 2019, with online safety expert Laura Higgins at the helm. It aimed at creating new programs and identifying trends in technology and behavior that can empower children, teenagers, parents, and caregivers with the skills to create a positive online experience.
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Ethnicity, religion & political views
Many peoples want to know what is David Baszucki ethnicity, nationality, Ancestry & Race? Let’s check it out! As per public resource, IMDb & Wikipedia, David Baszucki’s ethnicity is Not Known. We will update David Baszucki’s religion & political views in this article. Please check the article again after few days.
In December 1998, Knowledge Revolution was acquired by MSC Software, a simulation software company based in Newport Beach, California, for $20 million. Baszucki was named Vice President and General Manager of MSC Software from 2000 – 2002, but he left to establish Baszucki & Associates, an angel investment firm, from 2003 – 2004.
David Baszucki Net Worth
David Baszucki is one of the richest Entrepreneur from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, David Baszucki’s net worth $3-5 Million.
He completed his electrical engineering studies in Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
The ROBLOX Co-Founder, His ROBLOX co-founder, Erik Cassel, died of cancer in 2013. died from cancer in the year 2013.
Net Worth (2024) | $5 Million* |
Net Worth in 2023 | $3 Million* |
Salary | Under Review |
Source of Income | Entrepreneur |
Cars | Not Available |
House | Living In Own House. |
Occupation
Technology Entrepreneur, Engineer, Software Developer
Roblox Career
In 2004, David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, who was working as the Vice President of Engineering for Interactive Physics, collaborated on a prototype for a gaming platform initially called DynaBlocks. They later changed the name to Roblox, combining the words “robots” and “blocks”.
The website officially launched in 2006. Baszucki credits the success of his earlier software applications, Interactive Physics and Working Model, especially among young students, as inspiration for Roblox.
As of 2020, Baszucki owns approximately 13% of the Roblox Corporation, which is estimated to be worth around $470 million. He has committed to donating any future earnings he receives from Roblox’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange to charitable causes.
However, in December 2021, an investigation by the New York Times alleged that Baszucki and his family members used a tax break intended for small business investors to legally avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in capital gains taxes.
Baszucki was named the seventh highest-paid CEO in 2021, earning $232.8 million, according to Business Insider.
Family
Siblings – Greg Baszucki (Brother) (Technology Entrepreneur, Engineer, Inventor)
David Baszucki Wife & Marriage
Jan Ellison – Through his long-term marriage to a novelist named Jan Ellison, David has 4 children – a son and 3 daughters.
Jan Ellison is David Baszucki’s wife. His wife is the successful author of A Small Indiscretion, which was named a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year. The couple has four children, one boy, and three girls. Their name, however, remains unclear. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and children. Furthermore, he normally kept his private life private, hence there are no further data about his personal life accessible.
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David Baszucki Timeline
- 2019 – On January 15, 2019, Roblox launched a new digital civility initiative with online safety expert Laura Higgins at the helm. The initiative is aimed at creating new programs, as well as identifying technology and behavioral trends, that will “empower kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with the skills to create positive online experiences,” according to a press release. Baszucki commented, “Roblox’s mission is to bring the world together through play. As a training ground for life, we are fostering the new behaviors and skills that digital citizens need in this rapidly changing world. I’m pleased Laura will be joining us to guide our efforts in this important area.
- On August 2, 2019, Roblox reached a new community milestone of 100 million monthly active users.
- 2018 – Baszucki believes that Roblox is ushering in a new “human co-experience” category that will become larger than gaming. In a September 2018 interview with Forbes, Baszucki said, “Right when we started, we imagined a new category of people doing things together. A category that involved friends, like social networking; a category that involved immersive 3-D, like gaming; a category that involved cool content, like a media company; and finally a category that had unlimited creation, like a building toy.
- 2016 – In a December 2016 interview with VentureBeat, Baszucki said, “We believe we’re starting to see a network effect. Retention is getting higher as more people come to play with their friends and have a better chance of finding their friends.” During an April 2018 entrepreneurial thought leadership talk at Stanford, Baszucki attributed Roblox’s growth to its adherence to platform principles: it allows users to create viral content that attracts other people to the platform and it enables creators to drive the monetization.
- 2009 – In August 2009, Roblox Corporation raised roughly $2.2 million of funding, led by Altos Ventures and First Round Capital. In June 2011, the company closed its second round of venture financing with $4 million in investment capital from existing investors, including Altos Ventures and First Round Capital. In March 2017, Roblox secured a $92 million investment in a financing round led by Meritech Capital Partners and Index Ventures. In September 2018, Roblox announced that it closed on a $150 million Series F funding round led by Greylock Partners and Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors including Altos Ventures, Index Ventures, and Meritech Capital Partners.
- 2004 – In 2004, Baszucki, along with Erik Cassel – who worked as Baszucki’s VP of Engineering for Interactive Physics – began working on an early prototype of Roblox under the working title DynaBlocks. It was later renamed Roblox, a portmanteau of “robots” and “blocks” in 2005. The website officially launched in 2006. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Roblox Corporation provides a platform that allows users to design their own games and play a wide variety of experiences developed by other users through its proprietary creation engine Roblox Studio. In a June 2016 interview with Forbes, Baszucki stated that the idea for Roblox was inspired by the success of his Interactive Physics and Working Model software applications, especially among young students: “Seeing how kids lit up when they were creating things using our physics software made me think of what would be the ultimate platform for our imagination. Also I like construction toys and I saw the direction 3-D rendering was going. It became clear to me that there was an opportunity to create an immersive, 3-D, multi-player platform in the cloud where people could imagine, create, and share their experiences together.” A December 2017 study conducted by media measurement and analytics company Comscore showed that the platform saw more monthly hours (51.5 million) from visitors under 13 on desktop computers than YouTube (19.4 million). Additionally, the study states that Roblox also received more average monthly visits from users under 18 on desktop computers than YouTube and Netflix.
- 2003 – Baszucki led the angel investment firm Baszucki and Associates from 2003 to 2004. He provided seed funding to Dealix, an automotive internet marketing service that was acquired by The Cobalt Group, and Friendster, a social networking service.
- 1998 – In December 1998, Knowledge Revolution was acquired by MSC Software, a simulation software company based in Newport Beach, California, for $20 million. Baszucki was named Vice President and General Manager of MSC Software from 2000 – 2002, but he left to establish Baszucki & Associates, an angel investment firm, from 2003 – 2004.
- 1990 – As a follow-up to Interactive Physics, Knowledge Revolution launched the mechanical design software Working Model in the early 1990s. Similar to its sister program, Working Model also provided a set of virtual mechanical components, such as springs, ropes, and motors, that could be used to create basic physics simulations in a 2D working space.
- 1989 – In 1989, Baszucki, together with his brother, Greg Baszucki, founded the company Knowledge Revolution following the development of their educational application Interactive Physics. Originally released for Macintosh computers, Interactive Physics was an award-winning engineering simulation software product that allowed users, primarily teachers and students, to create their own physics experiments in a 2D laboratory environment.
- 1963 – David Baszucki (born January 20, 1963), also known as builderman, is a Canadian-born American entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder of Roblox. He previously founded and served as the CEO of Knowledge Revolution, which was acquired by MSC Software in December 1998.
- Baszucki was born on January 20, 1963 in Canada. He attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, MN, where he was the captain of his high school TV quiz team. He later went on to host his own talk radio show for KSCO Radio Santa Cruz from February to July 2003. Baszucki studied engineering and computer science at Stanford University. He graduated in 1985 as a General Motors Scholar in electrical engineering.
Other Business
- Baszucki led Baszucki and Associates, an angel investment company, from 2003 to 2004. Seed funding was given to Dealix, an automotive internet marketing company acquired by The Cobalt Group, and to Friendster, a social networking site.
Awards and Achievements
- In 2015, he was awarded with the “San Mateo Innovative Hero Award” for Roblox ‘s contributions to education and inspiring children to code.
- In 2017 and 2018, Goldman Sachs named him one of its 100 Most Interesting Entrepreneurs.
- In 2018 and 2019, the company’s community and compensation data platform named Baszucki as one of the best Diversity CEOs.
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David Baszucki Facts
- Born in Canada, David moved to the United States with his family when he was quite young. He was primarily raised in Eden Prairie, a city in the American state of Minnesota.
- In the late 1980s, shortly after he graduated from Stanford University, he and his brother Greg founded a company called Knowledge Revolution. Through it, they developed and distributed a simulation called Interactive Physics – an educational supplement that allowed the creation of two-dimensional physics experiments.
- In the early 1990s, Knowledge Revolution launched a mechanical design software called Working Model. In December 1998, Knowledge Revolution was acquired for USD 20 million by MSC Software Corporation, an American technology company that specializes in simulation software.
- David, who had served as the CEO of Knowledge Revolution, was named the vice president and general manager of MSC Software Corporation in 2000. However, in 2002, he left the company and established an angel investment firm called Baszucki & Associates.
- He led the firm until 2004 and was involved in providing seed funding (investment of capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake) to Friendster, a now-defunct social networking service that was launched in March 2003.
- In 2004, inspired by the success of his Interactive Physics and Working Model software applications among young students, David co-started working on an early prototype of an online game platform under the working title DynaBlocks.
- A few months later, it was renamed Roblox – a portmanteau of ‘robots’ and ‘blocks’. Officially released in 2006, Roblox also offered a game creation system.
- David roughly owns a 13% stake in Roblox Corporation, the video game development company that owns Roblox. In 2020, this stake was estimated to be worth approximately USD 470 million.
- In March 2021, after the listing of Roblox Corporation on the New York Stock Exchange (the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization), he and his wife established the Baszucki Group – a philanthropic organization that was primarily aimed at providing grants to medical research programs.
- In December 2021, David pledged USD 6 million over a period of 5 years to the University of California, San Francisco – to fund research on increasing the effectiveness and availability of CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for lymphatic cancer patients.
- As per Business Insider (a New York City-based multinational financial and business news website), he was the 7th-highest-paid CEO in 2021, earning USD 232.8 million.
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