
Nat Friedman
Co-founder of Pioneer Labs, who, along with Daniel Gross, originated the strategy of providing portfolio companies with access to a dedicated GPU cluster.
First Mentioned
9/20/2025, 5:16:45 AM
Last Updated
9/20/2025, 5:41:04 AM
Research Retrieved
9/20/2025, 5:41:04 AM
Summary
Nathaniel Dourif Friedman, born August 6, 1977, in Charlottesville, Virginia, is an American technology executive and investor with a strong background in open-source software. He co-founded Ximian in 1999 and Xamarin in 2011 with Miguel de Icaza, serving as CEO of Xamarin until its acquisition by Microsoft in 2016. Following this, he was a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft from 2016 to 2018 before becoming the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GitHub from 2018 to 2021. Friedman also served as chairman of the GNOME Foundation. Currently, he is a board member at the Arc Institute and an advisor for Midjourney. He is also a co-founder of Pioneer Labs with Daniel Gross, an initiative that has notably influenced venture capital strategies, such as Andreessen Horowitz's significant GPU cluster acquisition.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Born
1977-08-06
Gender
Male
Spouse
Stephanie Schatz
Children
1
Education
St. Anne's-Belfield School (graduated 1996), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Full Name
Nathaniel Dourif Friedman
Occupation
Technology executive, Investor, Entrepreneur, Developer, Computer scientist
Nationality
American
Marriage Date
2009
Place of Birth
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
Timeline
- Born Nathaniel Dourif Friedman in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. (Source: wikipedia, web_search_results)
1977-08-06
- Graduated from St. Anne's-Belfield School. (Source: wikipedia)
1996-01-01
- Co-founded and served as chairman of the GNOME Foundation. (Source: web_search_results)
1997-01-01
- Co-founded Ximian with Miguel de Icaza. (Source: web_search_results)
1999-01-01
- Married Stephanie Schatz. (Source: wikipedia)
2009-01-01
- Co-founded Xamarin, Inc. with Miguel de Icaza. (Source: web_search_results)
2011-01-01
- Xamarin was acquired by Microsoft; served as CEO of Xamarin until the acquisition. (Source: web_search_results)
2016-01-01
- Began serving as Corporate Vice President and services developer at Microsoft. (Source: web_search_results)
2016-01-01
- Concluded role as Corporate Vice President at Microsoft and became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GitHub. (Source: web_search_results, wikipedia)
2018-01-01
- Concluded his role as CEO of GitHub. (Source: wikipedia)
2021-01-01
- Became a board member at the Arc Institute (current role, start date not specified). (Source: wikipedia)
2023-01-01
- Became an advisor for Midjourney (current role, start date not specified). (Source: wikipedia)
2023-01-01
- Co-founded Pioneer Labs with Daniel Gross (start date not specified, influenced Andreessen Horowitz's GPU cluster acquisition). (Source: related_documents)
2023-01-01
Wikipedia
View on WikipediaNat Friedman
Nathaniel Dourif Friedman (born 6 August 1977) is an American technology executive and investor. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of GitHub and former chairman of the GNOME Foundation. Friedman is currently a board member at the Arc Institute and an advisor of Midjourney.
Web Search Results
- Nat Friedman - Golden
Nat Friedman is an American entrepreneur and developer who has worked in leadership positions at GitHub and Microsoft and has cofounded several startups. Notably, he cofounded Xamarin, Inc. with Miguel de Icaza in 2011 and served as the company's CEO through the acquisition by Microsoft in 2016. Earlier in his career, Friedman served as CTO for the Linux business at Novell, cofounded Ximian with de Icaza in 1999, and cofounded and served as chairman of the GNOME foundation in 1997.Additionally, [...] Log inEnquire now # Nat Friedman Nat Friedman is an American investor, entrepreneur, and developer. OverviewStructured DataIssuesContributors Overview [...] Microsoft From 2016 to 2018, Friedman served as corporate vice president and services developer at Microsoft, where he was responsible for Visual Studio Team Services and App Center, application lifecycle, and DevOps services with more than a million users. In addition, he was responsible for the internal company-wide engineering systems. Xamarin
- Nat Friedman - The Network
Nat Friedman is an experienced entrepreneur and investor based in San Francisco, California. He has held prominent roles such as Chairman Emeritus and CEO at GitHub, and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, with a strong focus on software development, cloud computing, and open source initiatives. Notable highlights include co-founding Xamarin and serving as Chief Technology Officer at Novell, showcasing his leadership in the tech industry. ### Work Experience #### Investor [...] This article discusses Miguel de Icaza's departure from Microsoft. It heavily features Nat Friedman (de Icaza's Xamarin co-founder and former GitHub CEO), Xamarin (the company they co-founded, acquired by Microsoft), Microsoft's acquisition of Xamarin, and Microsoft's evolving relationship with open-source software. The article also mentions Novell (which acquired Ximian, de Icaza's previous company) and Ximian's work on GNOME and Mono (an open-source .NET implementation). The connection to the [...] Nat Friedman's Wikipedia page discusses his involvement with GitHub (as CEO), Microsoft (as an intern), Xamarin (co-founded Ximian, later acquired by Novell), Novell (Chief Technology and Strategy Officer for Open Source), Ximian (co-founder), and the GNOME Foundation (former chairman). The article details his career progression, highlighting his contributions to open-source software and technology leadership roles. It mentions his education at MIT and his early involvement with Linux and IRC
- Nat Friedman - Wikipedia
Nathaniel Dourif Friedman (born 6 August 1977) is an American technology executive and investor. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of GitHub and former chairman of the GNOME Foundation. Friedman is currently a board member at the Arc Institute and an advisor of Midjourney. ## Early life and education [edit] Friedman attended and graduated from St. Anne's-Belfield School in 1996. [...] | Nat Friedman | | --- | | Friedman in April 2006 | | | Born | Nathaniel Dourif Friedman (1977-08-06) August 6, 1977 (age 48) | | Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) | | Known for | CEO of GitHub (2018–2021) | | Spouse | Stephanie Schatz (m. 2009) | | Children | 1 | | Website | nat.org | [...] Jump to content # Nat Friedman العربية Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Malagasy 日本語 Português Slovenčina Українська اردو 中文 Edit links From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia American technology executive and investor
- Founder Story: Nat Friedman of GitHub - Frederick AI
## Early Life and Influences Born on August 6, 1977, in Charlottesville, Virginia, Nathaniel Dourif Friedman showed an early affinity for technology. His fascination with computers began in his teenage years, coinciding with the rise of the internet and open source software movements. [...] Nat Friedman's journey from a teenage Linux enthusiast to the CEO of GitHub is a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and innovation in the tech world. His career, marked by a series of successful startups and a deep commitment to open source software, culminated in leading one of the most influential platforms for developers worldwide. Friedman's story is not just about professional success, but also about reshaping the landscape of software development and collaboration. [...] Nat Friedman's career embodies the transformative power of technology and the impact of visionary leadership in the digital age. From his early days as a Linux enthusiast to his role in shaping GitHub, Friedman has consistently pushed for innovation, collaboration, and accessibility in software development.
- [PDF] A Tribute to Nat Friedman - SMI 2020
A Tribute to Nat Friedman 15 March 1938 (Chicago, Illinois) - 2 May 2020 (Gloversville, New York) Milena Chilla-Markhoff Nat Friedman received his B.A. and M.A. in Mathematics from U Michigan and his PhD in Mathematics from Brown University in 1964. He was Professor of Mathematics at SUNY Albany 1968-2000. He made an enormous impact in the early years of ergodic theory and measurable dynamics. Nat took his first sculpture course in 1971 with my father, Alex Markhoff, and began carving works in [...] wood and stone, later also working with ceramics and metals. Concurrently, he began collecting works by artists that appealed to his interest in mathematics, surface structures, and “seeing relationships.” In 1992, while teaching at SUNY Albany, Nat Friedman founded the international and interdisciplinary Art and Mathematics Conference. The conference convened annually at SUNY Albany for six years and in 1998 Nat founded ISAMA (The International Society for the Arts, Mathematics, and [...] and I shall miss that joy. George Hart President of Bridges Organization Research Professor, Stony Brook University Nat Friedman was the initial impetus for many of us to take on an academic art/math direction. I have wonderful memories of attending several of his Art and Math conferences at SUNY Albany in the 1990's and then some of the ISAMA and other conferences that followed. The Bridges community grew from the seed Nat planted. The Hyperseeing Magazine is a wonderful resource and archive.
Wikidata
View on WikidataImage
Gender
Educated At
Instance Of
Occupation
Citizenship
Date Of Birth
8/6/1977
DBPedia
View on DBPediaNathaniel Dourif Friedman is an American technology executive and investor. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of GitHub, and former Chairman of the GNOME Foundation. Friedman is currently a board member at the Arc Institute, and an advisor of Midjourney.

Location Data
Friedman's Jewelers, 2745, Washington Road, Windsor Court, Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, 30904, United States
Coordinates: 33.5103894, -82.0273814
Open Map