Bryan Johnson (born August 22, 1977) is an American entrepreneur,[1][2] venture capitalist,[3] writer and author.[4] He is the founder and former CEO of Kernel, a company creating devices that monitor and record brain activity,[5][6] and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies.[7]
Johnson was also the founder, chairman and CEO of Braintree,[8] a company specializing in mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce companies. Braintree acquired Venmo in 2012 for $26.2 million; the combined entity was acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013.[9][10]
Johnson has received media attention for his anti-aging attempt which he refers to as "Project Blueprint".[11][12]
Johnson launched three startups between 1999 and 2003. The first sold cell phones and helped pay his way through Brigham Young University. Johnson hired other college students to sell service plans and cell phones; Johnson earned about a $300 commission on each sale.[8][15]
He also started two other businesses. Inquist, a VoIP company Johnson co-founded with three other partners, combines features of Vonage and Skype. It ended operations in 2001.[2] After that, he joined his brother and another partner on a $70 million real estate project in 2001. The project did not achieve sales goals.[2]
Braintree
Johnson founded Braintree in 2007.[16][17] The company was 47th on Inc. magazine's 2011 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies[18] and 415th in 2012.[19] That year, Braintree purchased Venmo, an app that allows users to send and receive money from each other electronically, for $26.2 million.[9]
By September 2013 the company announced it was processing $12 billion in payments annually, with $4 billion on mobile.[20] Shortly afterward, on September 26, 2013, the company was acquired by PayPal, then part of eBay, for $800 million.[17][21][22] Time Magazine published that Johnson walked away from the sale of Braintree Venmo with more than $300 million.[23]
OS Fund
In October 2014 Johnson announced the creation of the OS Fund, which he backed with $100 million of his personal capital.[8]
Kernel
Johnson founded Kernel in 2016, investing $100 million of his own money to launch the company.[24] The company later shifted its focus to building hardware that measures electrical and hemodynamic signals produced by the brain. In 2020, Kernel demonstrated a pair of helmet-like devices that can see and record brain activity. Johnson hopes "to bring the brain online with Kernel"[dubious – discuss]. Studies may include Alzheimer's disease, aging, concussions, meditation states, and strokes.[25] The company has said the devices may be used to help paralyzed individuals communicate, or people with mental health challenges access new therapies.[6]
By July 2020 Kernel had raised $53 million from outside investors, following Johnson's investment of $54 million in the company since its inception.[26]
Life extension attempt
Johnson follows a strict dietary and lifestyle regimen in pursuit of life extension.[27]
On October 13, 2021, Johnson announced an anti-aging attempt called "Project Blueprint."[11][12] Johnson underwent a series of six monthly 1-liter plasma transfusions with his son as the donor for one of the transfusions, but he says he will not repeat the transfusions due to lack of benefits.[28][29] The FDA has stated that transfusions such as the kind Johnson had are without benefit and may be harmful.[30]
His attempts have been met with criticism from some experts in fields related to aging. Moshe Szyf, a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at McGill University, has expressed skepticism that science is yet capable of achieving the remarkable results which Johnson claims to be reaching. Andrew Steele, a longevity scientist and author, has stated that genetics plays the largest role in determining a person's life expectancy and that no amount of the practices that Johnson is doing can change genetics.[31]
Johnson was featured in the 2020 documentary I Am Human about brain–machine interfaces.[33]
Published works
Johnson contributed a chapter to the book Architects of Intelligence: The Truth About AI from the People Building It (2018) by the American futurist Martin Ford.[34]
