Emmett Shear — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Currently CEO of AI alignment startup Softmax.
Co-founded Justin.tv (launched 2007) and Twitch (spun off 2011), which Amazon acquired for $970 million in 2014.
Served as interim CEO of OpenAI in November 2023.
Part-time partner at venture capital firm Y Combinator since 2011.
Graduated from Yale University in 2005 with a computer science degree.

Biography

Emmett Shear is an American Internet entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded the live video platform Justin.tv and later became the chief executive officer of Twitch when it was spun off.

He briefly served as the interim CEO of OpenAI in November 2023 and is currently the CEO of AI alignment startup Softmax. Shear grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he attended the Evergreen School for Gifted Children and the Transition School at the University of Washington.