Редактирование: Bryan Johnson

'''Bryan Johnson''' (born August 22, 1977) is an American [[entrepreneur]]
<ref>{{cite web|last1=Altucher|first1=James|title=How To Go From $0 To $1,000,000 In Two Years|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/04/how-to-go-from-0-to-1000000-in-two-years/|publisher=TechCrunch|date=May 4, 2013}}</ref>
<ref name=Where>{{cite web|last1=Kravitz|first1=Seth|title=How Bryan Johnson has Taken Braintree to Explosive Growth in Three Years|url=http://technori.com/2010/12/116-how-bryan-johnson-has-taken-braintree-to-explosive-growth-in-three-years/|publisher=Technori}}</ref> and [[venture capitalist]].<ref name=WSJ>{{cite web|last1=Mims|first1=Christopher|title=Humanity’s Last Great Hope: Venture Capitalists|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/humanitys-last-great-hope-venture-capitalists-1413817498|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=October 20, 2014|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He is founder and CEO of [[Kernel (neurotechnology company)|Kernel]], a company developing advanced neural interfaces,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/28/elon-musk-brain-interfaces/|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Elon Musk's latest target: Brain-computer interfaces|work=Statnews|agency=Associated Press|date=2017-03-28|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref> and [[OS Fund]], a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=279565373|title=OS Fund LLC: Private Company Information|publisher=Bloomberg|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref> 

He was also founder, chairman and CEO of [[Braintree (company)|Braintree]],<ref name=Founder>{{cite web|last1=Mangalindan|first1=JP|title=Crazy, insane start-ups are this tech investor’s meat and potatoes|url=http://fortune.com/2014/10/20/crazy-fund-startups/|publisher=Fortune}}</ref> a company which specializes in mobile and web payment systems for ecommerce companies. Braintree was acquired by [[eBay]] for $800 million in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/09/26/ebay-buys-payments-startup-braintree-for-800m-yet-another-win-for-paypal/|title=Ebay buys payments startup Braintree for $800M, yet another win for PayPal|last1=Hardawar|first1=Devindra|publisher=VentureBeat|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>

Johnson lives in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/bryan_johnson|title=Twitter|access-date=27 January 2016}}</ref>

==Early life==

Johnson was born in [[Provo, Utah]],<ref name=Johnson>{{cite web|url=http://www.bryanjohnson.co|title=Bryan Johnson|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> and raised in [[Springville, Utah]],<ref name=Founder /> the middle child of three brothers and a sister. After his parents divorced, Johnson lived with his mother and his stepfather, the owner of a trucking company. At 19, Johnson became a [[Mormon missionary]], customary for young men in [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). He spent two years in [[Ecuador]], where he proselytized and performed service projects in impoverished communities.<ref name=Where />

Johnson says that his time as a missionary was transformative: Rather than helping impoverished individuals find a better life in heaven, he says he decided  it would be better to improve their lives now.<ref name=Wired17>{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-race-to-build-a-brain-machine-interface/|title=Inside the Race to Hack the Human Brain|last1=Richardson|first1=John|publisher=Wired|date=November 16, 2017|access-date=2018-03-11}}</ref> To do that, he planned to build a company, earn enough money to retire by the time he turned 30, and use his resources to pursue that goal.<ref name=Built>{{cite web|url=http://www.builtinchicago.org/2014/10/21/departed-braintree-founder-bryan-johnson-starts-100-million-venture-fund|title=Departed Braintree founder starts $100 million venture fund|last1=Dameron|first1=Emerson|date=October 21, 2014|publisher=Built In Chicago|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>

Johnson graduated with a BA in International Studies from [[Brigham Young University]] in 2003 and an MBA from the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]] in 2007.<ref name=Johnson /> Booth awarded its 2016 Young Alumni Award to Johnson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagobooth.edu/daa/2016_honorees/bryan-johnson|title=Bryan Johnson|publisher=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business|access-date=28 June 2016}}</ref>

==Career==

===Early Ventures===

Johnson, who has been described as a “serial tech entrepreneur,” <ref name=Founder /> launched three startups, whilst at university, between 1999 and 2003. The first, which sold cell phones, helped pay his way through [[Brigham Young University]]. In that business, Johnson hired other college students to sell service plans along with cell phones; Johnson earned about a $300 commission on each sale.<ref name=Ferriss>{{cite podcast|url=http://traffic.libsyn.com/timferriss/TFS_Bryan_Johnson_Edited_Final.mp3|title=The Rags to Riches Philosopher: Bryan Johnson's Path to $800 Million|website=fourhourworkweek.com|host=Tim Ferriss|date=June 12, 2015|accessdate=October 6, 2015}}</ref>

Johnson also started two other businesses. Inquist, a [[VOIP]] company Johnson co-founded with three other partners, combined features of [[Vonage]] and [[Skype]]. It ended operations in 2001. Johnson has attributed the failure to an inability to secure funding following [[9/11]] as well as errors made by him and his co-founders.<ref name=Where />

After that, Johnson joined his brother and another partner on a $70 million real estate project later in 2001. The project did not achieve sales goals and required additional capital. Johnson and his two co-founders moved on.<ref name=Where />

===Braintree===

Johnson formed the idea for Braintree while he was working at a part-time job selling credit card processing services to businesses, work that he took to help pay his bills while the real estate venture encountered difficulty.<ref name=Stories>{{cite web|title=Founder Stories at 1871: Braintree's Bryan Johnson|url=http://doejo.com/blog/founder-stories-at-1871-braintrees-bryan-johnson/#.VGTuPfnF9EM|publisher=Doejo|date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> Johnson became the top salesperson out of 400 nationwide, breaking previous sales records.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2800-bootstrapped-profitable-proud-braintree|title=Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud: Braintree|last1=Linderman|first1=Matt|date=March 8, 2011|publisher=Signal v. Noise|access-date=1 May 2015}}</ref>

When Johnson moved from Utah to Chicago to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, he continued working for the same card-processing company. Nine months after accepting a management position at [[Sears]], Johnson formed Braintree and approached some of his old customers to solicit their business.<ref name=Where />

Johnson has said his goal was to improve customers’ payment experiences—something he saw lacking—and to build an “exceptional” company that both his team and their customers would love.<ref name=Where /><ref name=Stories /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://osfund.co/about|title=About|publisher=OS Fund|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>

Braintree’s rapid growth was spurred by clients in the technology industry including [[OpenTable]], [[Uber (company)|Uber]], [[Shopify]],<ref name=Stories /> [[Airbnb]],<ref name=USAT>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/09/26/paypal-braintree-acquisition/2874891/|title=PayPal agrees to acquire Braintree for $800 million|last1=Barr|first1=Alistair|date=September 26, 2013|publisher=USA Today|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> and others. The company was 47th on [[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]] magazine’s 2011 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2011/|title=The 2011 Inc. 5000|publisher=Inc.|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> and 415th in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2012/400/|title=The 2012 Inc. 5000|publisher=Inc.|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> That year, Braintree purchased Venmo, a startup that lets users send and receive money from each other electronically, for $26.2 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/payments-start-up-braintree-buys-venmo-for-26-2-million/?_r=0|title=Braintree, a Payments Company, Buys Venmo for $26.2 Million|last1=Wortham|first1=Jenna|date=August 16, 2012|publisher= The New York Times|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>

While Johnson received $25,000 to start the company after winning a business plan competition from the University of Chicago in 2007,<ref name=Startup>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110629/NEWS08/110629815/startup-braintree-gets-funding-from-accel-partners|title=Startup Braintree gets funding from Accel Partners|last1=Pletz|first1=John|date=June 29, 2011|publisher=Crain’s Chicago Business|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> he otherwise [[bootstrapped]] the company before raising venture capital — $34 million in a Series A investment from Accel Partners — in June 2011.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Ryan|title=With $35M in new funding, Braintree wants to take payments global|url=https://gigaom.com/2012/10/17/with-35m-in-new-funding-braintree-wants-to-take-payments-global/|publisher=Gigaom|date=October 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|last1=King|first1=Rachel|title=Digital payments platform Braintree raises $35M in VC funding|url=http://www.zdnet.com/digital-payments-platform-braintree-raises-35m-in-vc-funding-7000005938/|publisher=ZDNet|date=October 17, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lynley|first1=Matthew|title=Q&A With Payments Start-Up Braintree, Flush With $35 Million|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/online-payments-service-braintree-acquires-venmo-for-26-2m/|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> At the time, Braintree was processing about $3 billion in credit card payments annually and generating $10 million in revenue.<ref name=Startup />

By September 2013, the company announced it was processing $12 billion in payments annually, with $4 billion of that on mobile.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pando.com/2013/09/20/mobile-payments-are-one-third-of-braintrees-business/|title=Mobile payments are one-third of Braintree’s business|last1=Deamicis|first1=Carmel|date=September 20, 2013|publisher=Pando Daily|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> Shortly afterward, on Sept. 26, 2013, the company was acquired by eBay for $800 million.<ref name=USAT /> 
<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chowdhry|first1=Amit|title=eBay Buys Braintree For $800 Million To Accelerate Its Mobile Payments Revenue|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2013/09/26/ebay-buys-chicago-based-braintree-for-800-million/|publisher=Forbes|date=September 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bomkamp|first1=Samantha|title=EBay buying Chicago-based Braintree|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-26/business/chi-ebay-buying-braintree-20130926_1_online-payments-pioneer-mobile-payments-braintree|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=September 26, 2013}}</ref>

===OS Fund===

In October 2014, at 37, Johnson announced his creation of OS Fund, which he backed with $100 million of his personal capital.<ref name=Founder /> The venture capital firm invests in early-stage science and technology companies led by "inventors and scientists who aim to benefit humanity through quantum leap discoveries at the operating system, or OS, level,” Johnson said.<ref name=Medium>{{cite web|URL=https://medium.com/the-os-fund/rewrite-the-os-68fb43ddc95f|title=Rewrite the OS, Change the World|last1=Johnson|first1=Bryan|date=October 20, 2014|publisher=Medium|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref> In 2016 he launched an online video series, “Explorations,” featuring interviews with leaders of some of the companies backed by OS Fund.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bryanjohnson.co/explorations/|title=Explorations|publisher=Bryan Johnson|access-date=28 June 2016}}</ref>

In an article on Medium announcing the fund, Johnson wrote:

“We are at one of the most exciting moments in history. At no other time has the distance between imagination and creation been so narrow. We now have the power to build the kind of world we could previously only dream of. With new tools such as 3D printing, genomics, machine intelligence, software, synthetic biology and others, we can now make in days, weeks or months things that previous innovators couldn’t possibly create in a lifetime. Where da Vinci could sketch, today we can build. And yet, there are still so many problems that we haven’t begun to solve, so many rich opportunities that lie in wait.”<ref name=Medium />

In 2015, in an effort to spark investment in emerging sciences, the fund publicly released the methodology it uses to evaluate whether to invest in companies involved in synthetic biology.<ref>{{cite web|url=
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2015/09/15/braintree-cofounder-unveils-open-source-playbook-for-science-investors/|title=Braintree Founder Unveils Open Source Playbook For Science Investors|last1=Knapp|first1=Alex|publisher=Forbes|date=September 15, 2015|access-date=October 8, 2015}}</ref>

Johnson – who has said he wants to take companies from “crazy to viable”<ref name=WSJ /> - expects future problem-solvers to come his direction. “I think the winds will shift,” he said. “There will be a shift in the kinds of things people aspire to do. Funding and supporting hard problems will become cool in a company in a couple of years.”<ref name=Founder />

===Kernel===

Johnson started Kernel in 2016, making a personal investment of $100 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/20/bryan-johnson-invests-100-million-in-kernel-to-unlock-the-power-of-the-human-brain/|title=Bryan Johnson invests $100 million in Kernel to unlock the power of the human brain|last1=Mannes|first1=John|date=October 20, 2016|publisher=TechCrunch|access-date=October 31, 2016}}</ref> The company's goal is to build an implantable device to improve brain function in humans, such as memory, while interfacing with [[artificial intelligence]] (AI). Initially, the company is focusing on applications for patients with [[neurodegenerative diseases|neurodegeneration]] such as memory loss.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2109868-100-million-project-to-make-intelligence-boosting-brain-implant/|title=$100 million project to make intelligence-boosting brain implant|last1=Hamzelou|first1=Jessica|date=October 20, 2016|publisher=New Scientist|access-date=October 31, 2016}}</ref>

Patients with [[epilepsy]] are among the first to test the technology, which relies on [[algorithm|algorithms]] that mimic the brain's natural electrical signals to improve communication between brain cells. Kernel refers to itself as a "human intelligence (HI) company"; Johnson, who has written that the combination of HI and AI will prove to be of great importance for the future of humanity, says his longterm objective is to improve both intelligence and quality of life as human lifespans grow longer.<ref name=WaPo>{{cite web|last1=Dwoskin|first1=Elizabeth|title=Putting a computer in your brain is no longer science fiction|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/08/15/putting-a-computer-in-your-brain-is-no-longer-science-fiction/|date=August 15, 2016|publisher=Washington Post|access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=Kernel>{{cite web|url=http://kernel.co|title=Kernel|publisher=Kernel|access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref>

The industry has attracted investment from technology notables such as [[Elon Musk]] and [[Mark Zuckerberg]]. But some in the scientific community, noting the complexity of the effort and humans' limited knowledge of the brain, have questioned whether the effort will succeed.<ref name=Wired17 /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2109868-100-million-project-to-make-intelligence-boosting-brain-implant/|title=$100 million project to make intelligence-boosting brain implant|last1=Hamzelou|first1=Jessica|publisher=New Scientist|date=October 20, 2016|access-date=2018-03-11}}</ref>

==Personal life==

Johnson has three children.<ref name=Johnson /> Johnson was raised in the Mormon faith, but has said he left the LDS Church when he was 34.<ref>{{cite podcast|url=http://thisweekinstartups.com/bryan-johnson-os-fund/|title=Episode 579: Founder Bryan Johnson sold Braintree to build an extraordinary world with OS Fund and next-level synthetic biology, A.I., space tools, transportation, and more|website=This Week in Startups|host=Jason Calacanis|date=September 18, 2015|access-date=October 8, 2015}}</ref>He is an experienced [[outdoor enthusiast]]: Johnson has climbed [[Mount Kilimanjaro]], the highest mountain in Africa, as well as [[Toubkal]], the highest peak of North Africa.<ref name=Johnson />  He is also a pilot and has written a children’s book, Code 7.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanrjohnson|title=Bryan Johnson|publisher=LinkedIn|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>

"If humanity were to identify a singular thing to work on, the thing that would demand the greatest minds of our generation, it's human intelligence," he has said. "Specifically, the ability to co-evolve with artificial intelligence."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/22/14631122/kernel-neuroscience-bryan-johnson-human-intelligence-ai-startup|title=Kernel is trying to hack the human brain-but neuroscience has a long way to go|last1=Statt|first1=Nick|publisher=The Verge|date=February 22, 2017|access-date=2018-03-11}}</ref>

On March 17, 2018, he became engaged to his girlfriend, Youtuber and model [[Taryn Southern]].<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bggc4ThnKSx/?hl=en&taken-by=tarynsouthern</ref>

Bryan is also friends with Lincoln Cannon (a Mormon transhumanist) and has spoken at and attended Transhumanist conferences and organization meetings.  While not publicly talking about himself as a transhumanist, his work is focused exclusively on the human brain from a 'transhuman' perspective.

==Boards and other posts==
* Board member, Planetary Resources<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bryan-johnson/after-the-biofuel-fail-do_b_7166268.html|title=After the Biofuel Failure, Does Synthetic Biology Have A Future?|last1=Johnson|first1=Bryan|date=April 29, 2015|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>
* Member, Innovation Board, [[X Prize Foundation|XPRIZE]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xprize.org/benefactors/innovation-board|title=Innovation Board|publisher=XPRIZE|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>
== External links ==
* {{wikipedia|Bryan Johnson (entrepreneur)}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Refbegin}}
==See also==
* Sweeney, Brigid(2011). [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/40under40-2011#_Johnson "Crain's 40 Under 40"]. Chicago Business
* Edwards, Jim (December 14, 2012). [http://www.businessinsider.com/braintrees-hammock-filled-treehouse-office-2012-12?op=1 "We're Jealous Of This Startup's Hammock-Filled Treehouse Office"]. Business Insider.
* Mitroff, Sarah (October 17, 2012). [https://www.wired.com/2012/10/braintree/ "Braintree Seeks Online Payment Domination"]. Wired.

==External links==
* [http://www.sbnonline.com/article/bryan-johnson-founder-and-chairman-braintree-inc/ "Bryan Johnson, founder and chairman, Braintree Inc."]. SBNOnline.com. July 1, 2012.
* [http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2012/400 "The 2012 Inc. 5000 List"].
* [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20111001/PAGES/110929913/crains-tech%E2%80%A6 "Crain's Tech 25"]. Chicago Business.
* [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120922/ISSUE02/120929941/meet-chic%E2%80%A6 "Crain's Tech 50"]. Chicago Business.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Johnson_(entrepreneur) "wiki reference"]
* [http://bryanjohnson.co  "bryanjohnson.co"]
* [http://OSFund.co  "OSFund.co"]
* [https://www.braintreepayments.com/  "www.braintreepayments.com"]

[[Category:American transhumanists]]
[[Category:Transhumanists]]