Bryan Johnson

Bryan Johnson (born August 22, 1977) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, writer and author. He is the founder and former CEO of Kernel, a company creating devices that monitor and record brain activity, and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies.

Johnson was also the founder, chairman and CEO of Braintree, a company specializing in mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce companies. Braintree acquired Venmo in 2012 for $26.2 million; the combined entity was acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013.

Johnson has received media attention for his anti-aging attempt that he refers to as "Project Blueprint".

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Provo, Utah, and raised in Springville, Utah, as a middle child with a brother and a sister. After his parents divorced, Johnson lived with his mother and his stepfather, who owned a trucking company. At 19, Johnson became a Latter-day Saint missionary, customary for young men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and spent two years in Ecuador.

Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Brigham Young University in 2003 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2007.

Career

Early ventures

Johnson launched three startups between 1999 and 2003. The first sold cell phones and helped pay his way through Brigham Young University. Johnson hired other college students to sell service plans and cell phones; Johnson earned about a $300 commission on each sale.

He also started two other businesses. Inquist, a VoIP company Johnson co-founded with three other partners, combines features of Vonage and Skype. It ended operations in 2001. After that, he joined his brother and another partner on a $70 million real estate project in 2001. The project did not achieve sales goals.

Braintree

Johnson founded Braintree in 2007. The company was 47th on Inc. magazine's 2011 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies and 415th in 2012. That year, Braintree purchased Venmo, an app that allows users to send and receive money from each other electronically, for $26.2 million.

By September 2013 the company announced it was processing $12 billion in payments annually, with $4 billion on mobile. Shortly afterward, on September 26, 2013, the company was acquired by PayPal, then part of eBay, for $800 million. Time Magazine published that Johnson walked away from the sale of Braintree Venmo with more than $300 million.

OS Fund

In October 2014, Johnson announced the creation of the OS Fund, which he backed with $100 million of his personal capital.

Kernel

Johnson founded Kernel in 2016, investing $100 million of his own money to launch the company. The company later shifted its focus to building hardware that measures electrical and hemodynamic signals produced by the brain. In 2020, Kernel demonstrated a pair of helmet-like devices that can see and record brain activity. Studies may include Alzheimer's disease, aging, concussions, meditation states, and strokes. The company has said the devices may be used to help paralyzed individuals communicate, or people with mental health challenges access new therapies.

By July 2020, Kernel had raised $53 million from outside investors, following Johnson's investment of $54 million in the company since its inception.

Use of confidentiality agreements

A New York Times investigation revealed that Johnson used confidentiality agreements to control his public image and that of his companies. Some of his workers have joined forces to challenge those agreements.

Anti-aging attempts

On October 13, 2021, Johnson announced an anti-aging attempt called "Project Blueprint". Johnson underwent a series of six monthly 1-liter plasma transfusions with his son as the donor for one of the transfusions, but he says he will not repeat the transfusions due to lack of benefits. The FDA has stated that transfusions such as the kind Johnson had are without benefit and may be harmful. Johnson follows a strict dietary and lifestyle regimen in pursuit of life extension.

His attempts have been met with criticism from some experts in fields related to aging. Moshe Szyf, a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at McGill University, has expressed skepticism that science is yet capable of achieving the remarkable results that Johnson claims to be reaching. Andrew Steele, a longevity scientist and author, has stated that genetics plays the largest role in determining a person's life expectancy and that no amount of the practices that Johnson is doing can change genetics.

Recognition

In 2016, Johnson received the University of Chicago Booth's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Johnson was featured in the 2020 documentary ''I Am Human'' about brain–machine interfaces, and is the subject of the 2025 Netflix documentary '' Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.''

Personal life

Johnson has three children from a previous marriage. After that marriage ended he had a relationship with internet personality Taryn Southern. The two were engaged but broke up after she won a battle against breast cancer. Following the breakup, Southern filed a civil lawsuit making various claims, including breach of contract and emotional distress. Because of a contract signed when she was employed by Johnson's company Kernel, the claims had to go through arbitration. The arbitrator dismissed her employment-related claims and ordered Southern to pay Johnson's legal fees. Johnson denied the allegations and addressed the case in a YouTube video released in December 2023.

He was raised and remained a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until he was 34.

Bryan Johnson follows a vegan diet.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIlPPC6sV9U&t=2512

Published works

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* Johnson contributed a chapter to the book ''Architects of Intelligence: The Truth About AI from the People Building It'' (2018) by the American futurist Martin Ford.
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See also

* Personal science
* Human enhancement
* Quantified self
* Seth Roberts
* N of 1 trial
* Self-experimentation in medicine

References

External links

Personal website
* Sweeney, Brigid (2011)
"Crain's 40 Under 40"
Chicago Business.
* Mitroff, Sarah (October 17, 2012)
"Braintree Seeks Online Payment Domination"
Wired.
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Living people
American venture capitalists
Brigham Young University alumni
1977 births
University of Chicago alumni
Former Latter Day Saints
American transhumanists
Life extensionists
People from Provo, Utah