Jed McCaleb

Jed McCaleb is a prominent American programmer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who has made significant contributions to the technology and cryptocurrency industries. He is currently the founder of Vast, an aerospace company focused on developing artificial gravity space stations.13

Career Highlights

Vast

McCaleb founded Vast in December 2021 with the ambitious goal of expanding humanity across the solar system by building artificial gravity space stations.1 The company has made significant progress, including:

• Announcing plans to launch its first single-module space station, Haven-1, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than August 2025.3
• Acquiring space startup Launcher in February 2023.3
• Partnering with SpaceX for the Vast-1 crewed mission to Haven-1.3

Previous Ventures

Stellar Development Foundation: McCaleb co-founded the Stellar Development Foundation in June 2014, where he continues to serve as the Chief Technology Officer. The foundation aims to create a universal financial network and promote financial inclusion.12

Ripple: Prior to Stellar, McCaleb founded Ripple in August 2011 and served as its CTO until July 2013.12

Mt. Gox: In 2010, McCaleb repurposed the Mtgox.com domain to create one of the first and largest Bitcoin exchanges.2

eDonkey and MetaMachine: From 2000 to 2005, McCaleb founded and served as CTO of MetaMachine, which created the eDonkey2000 file-sharing application and the eDonkey network.12

Philanthropy and Investments

McCaleb is known for his philanthropic efforts, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence research:

• He has donated significantly to the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) and serves on its advisory board.2
• In 2018, he became a donor to OpenAI.2

Recognition

McCaleb's contributions to the blockchain and technology industries have been widely recognized:

• In 2018, The New York Times named him one of the top 10 people leading the blockchain revolution.2
• As of March 2023, Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.4 billion.2

Jed McCaleb's career demonstrates a pattern of pioneering new technologies and creating innovative platforms that have had significant impacts on file sharing, cryptocurrency, and now space exploration. His current focus on Vast represents an ambitious leap into the aerospace industry, aiming to push the boundaries of human presence in space.