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Patrick Collison
Article

Patrick Collison

Co-Founder and CEO of Stripe

Noah Smith, 2021


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

A better tomorrow seems a near reality thanks to scientific and technological developments, says Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of the internet payment behemoth Stripe. Advancements in fields such as medicine and green technology could bring immeasurable benefits to all humankind. So what’s holding society back? Collison discusses the limits of innovation and the scope of future opportunities with his friend Noah Smith in this interview for Smith’s substack newsletter.

Summary

The internet, scientific research and energy technology can provide a bright future, if people can make the most of them.

Since Patrick Collison and his brother John Collison founded Stripe in 2009 in Palo Alto, California, the value of their internet payment processing company has grown to $36 billion. Its influential backers included Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Andreesen Horowitz, SV Angel, Sequoia Capital and Irish entrepreneur Liam Casey.

Collison, drawing conclusions from his company’s rocketing progress, finds that one of the most exciting aspects of the technological advances of the 2020s is the opportunity for content creators to become startup founders. 

Collison lists promising progress in new vaccine developments, energy technology, and research into RNA and neurons as particularly exciting areas of development. Synthesizing hydrocarbons from atmospheric CO2, powered by solar electricity, could neutralize the carbon load of fossil fuels...

About the Author

Patrick Collison and his brother John Collison founded the internet payment company Stripe in 2009. Noah Smith writes the Substack newsletter Noahpinion.


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