Most people don’t realize the massive impact Persian/Iranian-origin venture capitalists and executives have had on shaping modern tech and Silicon Valley! These immigrants and their descendants arrived with little, yet built or backed companies worth hundreds of billions from food delivery to ride-sharing, social media, AI, and space exploration. Here are some standout stories: • @pejmannozad came to the US with almost nothing, started by selling Persian rugs, and co-founded @pearvc, managing ~$800M in assets. He was an early seed investor in @DoorDash (now ~$75-85B+ market cap) and @GustoHQ (~$10B), plus many others like Guardant Health and SoundHound. A true rags-to-riches legend in early-stage VC! • @justinmateen co-founded @Tinder (with fellow Persian-Jewish entrepreneur @seanrad), revolutionizing dating. He then became a top early-stage investor via Jam Fund, with early bets on unicorns like @Kalshi, @Deel (~$17B+ valuation at peaks), Hadrian, and 20+ others. One of the era’s most prolific angels! • @apartovi (Ali Partovi, Iranian-American) is an angel investor who backed some of the biggest: Facebook, Airbnb, Dropbox, Uber, and more (often alongside his brother Hadi). He also co-founded and runs Neo, a mentorship/VC community investing in next-gen AI stars like Cursor. • @ShaunMaguire, partner at @Sequoia, has led major investments into Elon Musk’s ecosystem: SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), xAI, The Boring Company, and more. Backing some of the most ambitious moonshots out there! • Omid Kordestani (Iranian-born) was one of Google’s first key executives (#11-ish), scaling it into a global giant as SVP of Worldwide Sales, then became Executive Chairman of Twitter (2015-2020), helping steer it through massive growth phases. • @Shervin Pishevar made early bets on Uber (seed/Series B, board member), Airbnb, Slack, Lyft, Snap, plus Facebook, Robinhood, SpaceX, and many more—over 200 investments shaping the sharing/on-demand economy. This is just a glimpse Persian/Iranian talent has disproportionately influenced tech through grit, networks, and bold vision. Immigrants fueling America’s innovation engine! 🇺🇸🚀