Vanessa Nakate to Open Giving Black Conference 2026 With Climate Justice Keynote
1 week ago
United States Mark Pincus is a technology entrepreneur known for founding Zynga, a mobile social gaming company, and for his significant investments in various technology ventures.
Mark Pincus co-founded Reinvent Capital in 2018, an investment firm, with Reid Hoffman and Michael Thompson, focused on internet, software, and media companies.
Mark Pincus founded Zynga, a mobile social gaming company, serving multiple stints as CEO. Zynga went public with a $1 billion initial public offering in 2011.
Pincus served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tribe.net from 2003 to 2007, a social network he launched.
From 1997 to 2000, Pincus served as Chairman of Support.com, Inc., a help desk automation software company he founded, also serving as its Chief Executive Officer and President from December 1997 to July 1999.
From 1996 to 1997, Pincus served as Chief Executive Officer of FreeLoader, Inc., a web-based news company he co-founded.
Mark Pincus made a founding investment in Napster.
Mark Pincus made a founding investment in Twitter (NYSE: TWTR).
Mark Pincus made a founding investment in Facebook (NASDAQ: FB).
In 2014, he founded superlabs, a San Francisco-based product lab focused on developing products that connect and empower people, which was acquired by Zynga in 2015.
Mark J. Pincus, W'88, founder of Zynga, pledged a visionary $5 million gift to elevate The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mark Pincus contributed insights on product frameworks, platform risk, and public market investing to Flexcapital.
Mark Pincus shared lessons on product management, raising capital, and building Zynga as one of the luminaries at VillageGlobal's event.
Mark Pincus, CEO and Founder of gaming company Zynga, encouraged fast and frequent new ideas for video game development in an appearance at Stanford eCorner.
Mark Pincus was a founding investor in Friendster.
Mark Pincus was a founding investor in Snapchat.
Mark Pincus was a founding investor in Xiaomi.
Mark Pincus was an early investor in JD.com.
Mark Pincus was an early investor in Brightmail, which was later acquired by Symantec for $400 million.
Mark Pincus was an early investor in Buddy Media, which was acquired by Salesforce for $800 million.
In 2015, Mark Pincus invested in the nootropics company HVMN (formerly Nootrobox).
Mark Pincus invested in the man-made diamond company Diamond Foundry.
In 2014, Mark Pincus invested in the automated investment service firm Wealthfront.
In 2017, Pincus, alongside Reid Hoffman and Adam Werbach, launched Win the Future, a movement within the Democratic Party.
In February 2021, Reinvent Technology Partners (RTP), a SPAC co-founded by Pincus, announced a merger with electronic vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft pioneer Joby Aviation, valuing the company at $5 billion.
In March 2021, Reinvent Technology Partners Z (RTPZ), a SPAC co-founded by Pincus, announced a merger with insurance technology company Hippo Insurance.
In July 2021, Reinvent Technology Partners Y (RTPY), a SPAC co-founded by Pincus, announced a plan to merge with Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation, which is developing Level 4 self-driving technology.
Mark Pincus served as a member of the board of the Presidio Trust, a federal agency appointed by President Obama in 2017.
Pincus started Zynga.org in October 2009, which has raised over $20 million for more than 50 international nonprofits through sales of virtual goods for charitable causes.
During his time at Zynga, Pincus created features that allowed players to donate to the San Francisco SPCA.
Zynga.org raised $427,000 in less than three weeks for two organizations in Haiti, FATEM and Fonkoze, in October 2009.
On March 11, 2011, Zynga announced that 100 percent of the proceeds from the purchase of virtual goods from more than seven of its games would go toward Japan's Save the Children Earthquake Emergency Fund, raising $2 million.
During the 2012 holiday season, Zynga.org partnered with Toys for Tots in its largest charitable campaign not related to disaster relief, raising $745,000.
In 2014, Zynga raised $1 million for Water.org, a charity that funds clean water projects in developing countries.
In May 2020, Pincus donated $700,000 to the Oakland Undivided Campaign to help eliminate the digital gap in Oakland.
In February 2020, Pincus donated $3 million to Roden Crater, a large-scale Land artwork by James Turrell.
In April 2020, Pincus organized and financed community-wide COVID-19 testing in Bolinas, California, donating the first $100,000.
Pincus donated over $100,000 to Canal Alliance in June 2020 to provide relief from COVID-19 to families in need.
Pincus co-hosted a fundraiser for Kamala Harris's 2016 Senate campaign.
In 2020, Pincus, along with other Silicon Valley tech billionaires, donated the legal maximum dollar amount to support Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Mark Pincus was born on February 13, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, graduating summa cum laude. Following this, he pursued an MBA from Harvard Business School. Before his entrepreneurial career, Pincus spent six years in venture capital and financial services, including two years as an analyst at Lazard Freres & Co. and two years as a Vice President for Asian Capital Partners in Hong Kong. After obtaining his MBA in 1993, he worked at Tele-Communications, Inc., and then as a Vice President at Columbia Capital, where he focused on investments in new media and software startups.
Pincus embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 1995 by founding Freeloader, Inc., which was acquired by Individual, Inc. for $38 million within seven months. He then established Support.com in August 1997, a help desk automation software company that went public in July 2000 with a $1.5 billion valuation. In 2003, he founded Tribe.net, an early social network, and notably co-purchased the Six Degrees patent with Reid Hoffman to protect innovation in social networking. His investing activities include early stakes in significant companies such as Napster, Twitter, and Facebook.
In July 2007, Pincus founded Zynga Inc., a mobile social gaming company named after his American bulldog. Zynga became a pioneer in the social gaming industry, launching an initial public offering (IPO) of $1 billion in 2011. Pincus served as CEO of Zynga from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2016. He later transitioned to Executive Chairman and eventually to a non-executive chairman role, voluntarily reducing his voting rights. In 2018, he co-founded Reinvent Capital, an investment firm, and has been involved in launching several Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to facilitate mergers with companies like Joby Aviation, Hippo Insurance, and Aurora Innovation. Throughout his career, Pincus has been actively involved in philanthropy, establishing Zynga.org and supporting various charitable initiatives.
Curious about our offerings or have inquiries? We're eager to assist!
Just complete the form, and we'll respond promptly.
