Yuri Milner

Yuri Milner was born in Moscow and studied at Moscow State University before earning an MBA at the Wharton School. He became a technology investor in Russia through Mail.ru before founding DST Global, which pioneered a new model of late-stage technology investing. Rather than traditional VC approaches, DST made large, minority investments in pre-IPO technology companies at valuations that seemed high at the time but often proved justified. His $200 million investment in Facebook at a $10 billion valuation in 2009 — when the company was not yet profitable — became one of the most profitable investments in venture history. Subsequent investments included Twitter, Groupon, Zynga, Alibaba (early-stage investment via Russian connections), Airbnb, and Spotify. He has also been active in scientific philanthropy through Breakthrough Prize.