Chris Larsen
About Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple. He was previously Ripple's CEO and Chairman of the board. He is based in San Francisco. Wikipedia lists his education as a BS from San Francisco State University and an MBA from Stanford.
Before Ripple he co-founded and ran two financial companies. He was co-founder and CEO of Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace. He also co-founded E-Loan, a publicly traded online lender, where he served as Chairman and CEO. Crunchbase notes that E-Loan was the first company to show consumers their FICO scores.
Crunchbase and Wikipedia list board or advisory roles at Credit Karma, Betable and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
Wikipedia describes Larsen as a business executive and angel investor. Crunchbase lists 9 personal investments and 8 portfolio companies. PitchBook classifies him as an angel investor with 14 investments and 3 exits. These counts differ by database, and neither gives investment dates in the pages we reviewed.
The companies named on these profiles include Bluecore Energy (a seed round), Yellow, Aircela and American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation. They span energy and financial software, so his angel activity is not limited to AI.
On the Lounge deals desk, Larsen appears in the Othello seed round of $8M, announced in October 2026. Othello is a New York applied AI lab building real-time sales coaching during live calls. The round was led by a16z speedrun, Owl Capital and Long Journey Ventures. Larsen is named as one of several angels in the round, alongside Andy Fang of DoorDash and Thomas Wolf of Hugging Face.
We found no other AI investments by Larsen in the sources reviewed.
Larsen has not published a stated thesis, preferred stage or check size that we could find. His public record shows participation in a seed round alongside institutional funds. It also shows investments in fintech, financial software and energy. His background is in consumer finance and payments. Check size is not public, so none is given here.
- Othello: applied AI lab building real-time AI sales coaching for live calls; angel in the $8M seed announced October 2026.
- Bluecore Energy: listed on Crunchbase as a seed-round investment; year not public in the sources reviewed.
- Yellow: financial software company; Crunchbase lists Larsen among 13 investors in a round, with the date not shown.
- Aircela: listed by PitchBook among his investments; year not public.
- American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation: Crunchbase shows a raise from Larsen and Lux Capital; date not shown.
- Ripple: co-founded in 2012; he is Executive Chairman.
Investing activity
Chris Larsen appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $8M. The most recent is Othello (Seed, $8M, Oct 2026).
Chris Larsen most often invests alongside Owl Ventures, a16z Speedrun, Thomas Wolf and Ryan King, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Chris Larsen
Who is Chris Larsen the angel investor?
He is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple, and an earlier co-founder of E-Loan and Prosper. He also invests personally as an angel.
Has Chris Larsen invested in AI startups?
Yes. He is named as an angel in Othello's $8M seed round, announced in October 2026. Othello builds real-time AI sales coaching.
What check size does Chris Larsen write?
His check sizes are not public. The Othello announcement gave no individual amounts, so we do not state one.
What stage does Chris Larsen invest in?
The public record shows seed-stage deals, including Othello and Bluecore Energy. He has not published a stage preference.
Does Chris Larsen invest outside AI?
Yes. Profiles list investments in energy (Bluecore Energy, Aircela) and financial software (Yellow), along with his work in fintech and payments.
How can founders contact Chris Larsen?
He is on X as @chrislarsensf, where he describes himself as Ripple's co-founder and Executive Chairman. We found no personal website.
Is Chris Larsen an angel investor?
Yes. Chris Larsen invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Chris Larsen invested in?
Chris Larsen's AI investments include Othello. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Chris Larsen invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Chris Larsen has invested at Seed, with a median round of $8M.
Who does Chris Larsen co-invest with?
Chris Larsen's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Owl Ventures (1 deal), a16z Speedrun (1 deal), Thomas Wolf (1 deal), Ryan King (1 deal) and Andy Fang (1 deal).