Ben Silbermann
About Ben Silbermann
Ben Silbermann was born in Iowa in 1982 and studied at Yale University. He worked at Google as a product specialist from 2006 to 2008. Pinterest was his first company, which he co-founded and ran for over a decade.
He was Pinterest's CEO from the company's early years until June 2022, and Pinterest went public in April 2019. In June 2022 he moved to executive chairman, and Bill Ready, formerly of Google, became CEO. Crunchbase also lists him as a co-founder of Cold Brew Labs, as an expert at Y Combinator since 2015, and as an adviser to OpenInvest.
Crunchbase counts 11 personal investments for Silbermann. PitchBook lists 17 investments, 12 portfolio companies and 4 exits, and classes him as an angel investor. The two sources count differently, so treat these figures as approximate.
Crunchbase's activity timeline shows him in funding rounds for Pace (January 2021) and OpenSea (March 2021), and in rounds for Dex and Dr. Treat. The Dex and Dr. Treat entries have no dates in the data we saw. His most recent listed investment is Drafted, in May 2026.
Eigen raised a $15M seed round in April 2026. Benchmark led it, and Silbermann was one of several angels, alongside Gustav Söderström, Akshay Kothari, David Singleton and Will Wu. Eigen was founded by Paul Scherer and is building what it calls a "mutual friend" AI, meant to help people connect with each other.
Drafted raised a $16M seed round in May 2026. Its investors include Buckley Ventures, Y Combinator, Silbermann and musician Ryan Tedder. Drafted, founded by Nick Donahue, uses AI to turn home-design ideas into floor plans and 3D layouts.
Both AI deals on the Lounge desk are seed rounds, and in both he joined other investors rather than leading. Eigen is an AI product about human connection. Drafted is an AI tool for home design. Both are consumer-facing products aimed at everyday users.
Silbermann has not publicly stated a check size, and we found no public statement from him on what he looks for in a pitch. We have left both out rather than guess.
- Eigen: AI "mutual friend" platform for human connection; joined the $15M seed led by Benchmark in April 2026.
- Drafted: AI home-design and floor-plan startup; joined the $16M seed in May 2026.
- Pace: listed on Crunchbase with a January 2021 funding round; we did not confirm what the company does.
- OpenSea: listed on Crunchbase with a March 2021 funding round that includes him.
- BuildForever: listed on Crunchbase and PitchBook as a seed-stage investment; date not confirmed.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Silbermann
- crunchbase.com/person/ben-silbermann
- crunchbase.com/person/ben-silbermann/person_overview_investor/timeline
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/221667-94
- investor.pinterestinc.com/governance/board-of-directors/person-details
- pulse2.com/eigen-15-million-seed-funding-raised-to-build-mutual-friend
- finsmes.com/2026/04/eigen-raises-15m-in-seed-funding.html
- app.dealroom.co/news/note/drafted-raises-16m-seed-for-ai-powered-home-
Investing activity
Ben Silbermann appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $31M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $16M. The most recent are Drafted (Seed, $16M, May 2026) and Eigen (Seed, $15M, Apr 2026).
Ben Silbermann most often invests alongside Charlie Songhurst, Ryan Tedder, Pinterest cofounder Ben Silbermann and OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ben Silbermann
Who is Ben Silbermann?
He is the co-founder of Pinterest and has been its executive chairman since June 2022. Before that he was CEO. He also invests personally as an angel.
Has Ben Silbermann invested in AI startups?
Yes. He took part in Eigen's $15M seed round in April 2026 and Drafted's $16M seed round in May 2026.
What stage does Ben Silbermann invest in?
His two most recent AI deals are seed rounds, where he joined as an angel next to institutional investors. No broader stage preference has been stated publicly.
What is Ben Silbermann's angel check size?
It is not public. We found no stated check size and have not estimated one.
Does Ben Silbermann lead rounds?
In the Eigen and Drafted rounds, other investors led or co-invested. Benchmark led Eigen, and Drafted's other investors include Buckley Ventures and Y Combinator.
How can founders find out what Ben Silbermann looks for?
He has no public investor thesis that we found. Founders can look at the rounds he has joined, and a warm introduction through co-investors or mutual contacts is the more practical route.
Is Ben Silbermann an angel investor?
Yes. Ben Silbermann invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Ben Silbermann invested in?
Ben Silbermann's AI investments include Drafted and Eigen. The 2 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Ben Silbermann invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Ben Silbermann has invested at Seed, with a median round of $16M.
Who does Ben Silbermann co-invest with?
Ben Silbermann's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Charlie Songhurst (2 deals), Ryan Tedder (1 deal), Pinterest cofounder Ben Silbermann (1 deal), OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder (1 deal) and Samsung Next (1 deal).