Steve Case - Founder of AOL
Steve Case is an American investor, entrepreneur and businessman. Case is the founder, chairman and CEO of Revolution Ventures, an investment firm located in Washington D.C. He is best known as the co-founder and former chairman and CEO of America Online (AOL). Steve Case is recognized as a pioneer of the tech industry, incorporating the internet into everyday life.
About Steve Case
Steve Case was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiiwhere he graduated from the private Punahou School in 1976. He attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, receiving a political science degree in 1980. In later years, he relocated to Washinton, D.C., where he has been living for over three decades.
Case co-founded AOL (then known as Quantum Computer Services) in 1985. He became CEO in 1991 and renamed it AOL. This online messaging service reached 1 million subscribers by 1994, eventually reaching 26.7 million users by 2002. In 2001, AOL merged with Time Warner in a $164 billion acquisition.
Revolution Ventures
In 2003, Case retired as AOL chairman, refocusing his efforts towards creating his Washington-based venture capital firm called Revolution Ventures. The company backs entrepreneurs at every stage of their development and has invested in more than two dozen venture-stage companies, including Framebridge, Policygenius and Bloomscape.
Revolution Growth invested in Sweetgarden restaurant chain, wine retailer Vinfolio and fantasy sports firm DraftKings. In 2009, American Express purchased Revolution Money for $300 million.
Steve is married to businesswoman Jean Case.
Achievements
In 2010, Steve and his wife Jean joined The Giving Pledge and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to giving away the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Steve was also instrumental in passing the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act and the Investing in Opportunities Act.
In 2011, Steve Case was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership. He launched the initiative at the White House as a way to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the U.S.
Steve Case in the News
Fortune.com published an article in early 2022 about Case traveling across the U.S. to connect with the next generation of internet entrepreneurs. The article focused on the three funds Revolution Ventures is actively investing through; Rise of the Rest Seed Funds, Revolution Ventures, and Revolution Growth.
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