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{{Short description|Ukrainian-born American software engineer}}
{{Family name hatnote|Rafailovych|Levchin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Max Levchin
| native_name = Максиміліан Левчин
| native_name_lang = uk
| image = Max Levchin (2013).jpg
| caption = Levchin at [[TechCrunch Disrupt]] SF 2013 in San Francisco, California
| birth_name = Maksymilian Rafailovych Levchyn
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1975|7|11}}
| birth_place = [[Kyiv]], [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], [[Soviet Union]] (now [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]])
| education = [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
| occupation = CEO of [[Affirm (company)|Affirm]]<br/>Co-founder and former CTO of [[PayPal]]
| spouse = Nellie Minkova (m. 2008)
| children = 2
| website = {{url|www.levchin.com}}
| footnotes =
}}

'''Maksymilian Rafailovych''' "'''Max'''" '''Levchin'''{{efn|{{langx|uk|Максиміліан Рафаїлович Левчин|{{transliteration|uk|ukrainian|Maksymilian Rafailovych Levchyn}}}}}} (born July 11, 1975) is a software engineer and businessman who was born in the Ukraine. In 1998, he co-founded the company that eventually became [[PayPal]]. Levchin made contributions to PayPal's anti-fraud efforts<ref name="fradbisnessweek" /> and was the co-creator of the Gausebeck-Levchin test, one of the first commercial implementations of a [[CAPTCHA]] challenge response human test.

He founded or co-founded the companies Slide.com, HVF, and [[Affirm (company)|Affirm]]. He was an early investor in [[Yelp]] and was their largest shareholder in 2012. He left a leadership role in Yelp in 2015.<ref name="yelp" />

Levchin was a producer for the movie ''[[Thank You for Smoking (film)|Thank You for Smoking]]''.

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Kyiv]], then part of the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], to a [[Ukrainian-Jewish]] family,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohan |first=Peter |title=Yelp Chair Max Levchin's Trek from Kiev to San Francisco |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/14/yelp-chair-max-levchins-trek-from-kiev-to-san-francisco/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> Levchin moved to the United States and settled in Chicago in 1991.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10345403|title=BBC News – Start-Up Stories: Max Levchin|work=BBC News|date=June 23, 2010|access-date=May 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/one-day-in-silicon-valley-1.305642 Hareetz: "One day in Silicon Valley" by Guy Rolnick] August 3, 2010 |''"Levchin, 32, Jewish of course and born in Kyiv, refused to discuss money."''</ref><ref name=NYT1>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/business/28invent.html?pagewanted=all New York Times: "After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again" By GARY RIVLIN] October 28, 2007</ref> In an interview with Emily Chang of ''[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]'', Levchin discussed his overcoming adversity as a child. He had respiratory problems and doctors doubted his chance of living. With guidance from his grandmother and his parents he took up the clarinet to expand his lung capacity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldheadway.com/max-levchin-how-is-he-so-successful/ |title=Max Levchin, how is he so successful |publisher=worldheadway.com |access-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618052940/http://worldheadway.com/max-levchin-how-is-he-so-successful/ |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He attended [[Mather High School]], and then the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]], where he earned a [[bachelor's degree]] in computer science in 1997.

==Business career==
In the summer of 1995, Levchin and fellow University of Illinois students [[Luke Nosek]] and [[Scott Banister]] founded SponsorNet New Media.<ref name="CNBC"/>

===PayPal===
In 1998, Levchin and [[Peter Thiel]] founded ''Fieldlink'', a security company that allowed users to store encrypted data on their [[PalmPilot]]s and other [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]] devices for handheld devices to serve as "[[digital wallet]]s".<ref name="paypalhistory">{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.paypal-media.com/history|publisher=[[PayPal]]|access-date=March 30, 2015}}</ref> After changing the company name to [[Confinity]], they developed a popular payment product, calling it ''PayPal'' and focusing on digital funds transfer by PDA.<ref name="CNBC">{{cite web |url= http://plotkin.com/cnbcs029/ |title= Beam Me Up Some Cash |author=Hal Plotkin |author-link=Hal Plotkin |date= September 8, 1999 |work= [[CNBC]].com|access-date=March 30, 2015}}</ref> The company merged with [[X.com (bank)|X.com]] in 2000, and in 2001, the company adopted the name [[PayPal]] after its main product.<ref name="paypalhistory"/> PayPal, Inc. went public in February 2002, and in July 2002 was acquired by [[eBay]]. Levchin's 2.3% stake in PayPal was worth approximately $34 million at the time of the acquisition.

Levchin is widely known for his contributions to PayPal's anti-fraud efforts and is also the co-creator of the Gausebeck-Levchin test, one of the first commercial implementations of a [[CAPTCHA]].<ref name="fradbisnessweek">{{cite web|title=Max Levchin: Online Fraud-Buster|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2002-09-30/max-levchin-online-fraud-buster|publisher=Bloomberg|first=Jane|last=Black|date=30 September 2002|access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The 'PayPal Mafia' formed in the early 2000s, and includes everyone from Elon Musk to the Yelp founders. Here's where the original members have ended up.
|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-mafia-members-careers-elon-musk-peter-thiel-reid-hoffman-2019-11|publisher=[[Business Insider]]|first=Tami|last=Brehse|date=24 November 2019|access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref>

In 2002, he was named to the ''[[MIT Technology Review]]'' [[TR35|TR100]] as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35, as well as Innovator of the Year.<ref name="innovator">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=224 |title=2002 Young Innovators Under 35: Max Levchin, 26 |magazine=[[Technology Review]] | year=2002 | access-date=August 14, 2011}}</ref>

Levchin is one of a group of roughly twenty founders and former employees of PayPal who have become referred to as the "[[PayPal Mafia]]", due to their success in founding and investing in tech companies after leaving PayPal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Times of Startups |date=2019-03-01 |title=Max Levchin, PayPal Cofounder and an Internet Entrepreneur |url=https://timesofstartups.com/famous-entrepreneurs/max-levchin-paypal-cofounder-internet-entrepreneur/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2014-03-07 |title=Russland stellt ukrainische Bank unter Zwangsverwaltung |url=https://www.diepresse.com/1571479/russland-stellt-ukrainische-bank-unter-zwangsverwaltung |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Die Presse |language=de}}</ref>

===Slide===
[[File:Max Levchin the Guitar Hero.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Max Levchin seen playing ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' at a conference]]

In 2004, Levchin founded Slide,<ref>[http://www.slide.com Slide – slideshows, slide shows, photo sharing, image hosting, widgets, MySpace codes, web publishing, music – Slide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827144316/http://slide.com/ |date=August 27, 2005}}</ref> a personal media-sharing service for social networking sites such as [[Myspace]] and Facebook. Slide was sold to Google in August 2010 for $182 million<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/google-buys-slide-for-182-million-getting-more-serious-about-social-games/ Google Buys Slide for $182 Million, Getting More Serious about Social Games*]. TechCrunch (August 4, 2010). Retrieved on January 14, 2014.</ref> and, on August 25, Levchin joined the company as vice president of engineering.<ref>[http://mashable.com/2010/08/26/max-levchin-google/ PayPal and Slide Co-founder Becomes a Google VP of Engineering]. Mashable.com (August 26, 2010). Retrieved on January 14, 2014.</ref> On August 26, 2011, Google announced it was shutting down Slide, and that Levchin was leaving the company.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/google-to-shut-down-slide-apps-as-slide-founder-departs/?ref=technology | work=The New York Times | title=Google to Shut Slide Apps as Slide Founder Departs | date=August 26, 2011}}</ref>

===HVF and Affirm===
In late 2011, Levchin started a company called HVF (standing for "Hard, Valuable, and Fun") that was intended to explore and fund projects and companies in the area of leveraging data, such as data from analog sensors.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://hvf.cc/|title = HVF|access-date = May 13, 2013|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028103324/http://hvf.cc/|archive-date = October 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/21/dld13-max-levchin-hvf/|title = Geeking out on data: Max Levchin talks about his HVF project at DLD13|publisher = The Next Web|date = January 2, 2013|access-date = May 13, 2013|last = Wauters|first = Robin}}</ref>

In early 2012, the [[financial technology]] company [[Affirm (company)|Affirm]] was spun out of HVF, with the goal of building the next-generation credit network. Affirm was created by Levchin, [[Palantir Technologies]] co-founder Nathan Gettings, and Jeff Kaditz of [[First Data]]. The company is based in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2014/12/10/affirm-ceo-max-levchin-young-people-dislike-banks/20146633/ |title=Max Levchin: Young people 'dislike big banks' |publisher=Usatoday.com |date=December 1, 2014|access-date=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

In 2013, HVF launched [[Glow (app)|Glow]], a fertility app that helps couples conceive naturally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glowing.com/about|title = Glow – About|publisher = Glow|access-date = August 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://qz.com/111398/the-founder-of-paypal-wants-to-put-a-baby-in-you/|title = The co-founder of PayPal wants to put a baby in you|last = Feltman|first = Rachel|date = August 2, 2013|access-date = August 3, 2013|work = [[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]}}</ref>
After Affirm had its initial public offering, Levchin's stake was estimated at about $2.5 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Inside The Billion-Dollar Plan To Kill Credit Cards |work= Forbes |date= February 8, 2021 |author= Jeff Kauflin |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/02/08/inside-the-billion-dollar-plan-to-kill-credit-cards/ |access-date= August 4, 2021 }}</ref>

==Board memberships and investments==
Levchin was a key early investor in [[Yelp]], an online [[social network]]ing and review service that started in 2004. He was the company's largest shareholder, owning more than 7 million shares as of 2012.<ref name="yelp">[https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2012/03/30/who-got-rich-this-week-chief-yelper-levchin-an-ohio-barrel-heiress-and-more/ Who Got Rich This Week: Chief Yelper Levchin, An Ohio Barrel Heiress And More]. Forbes (March 30, 2012). Retrieved on January 14, 2014.</ref> Levchin served as chairman of Yelp's board of directors from its founding,<ref>[https://archive.today/20130920184841/http://www.yelp-ir.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=250809&p=irol-govBio&ID=219700 Corporate Governance – Biography | Investor Relations | Yelp]. Yelp-ir.com. Retrieved on January 14, 2014.</ref> until July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Somerville|first1=Heather|title=Max Levchin steps down from Yelp's board, a sign Affirm is taking off|url=http://www.siliconbeat.com/2015/07/29/max-levchin-steps-down-from-yelps-board-a-sign-affirm-is-taking-off/|website=Silicon Beat|access-date=January 18, 2016|archive-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205225343/http://www.siliconbeat.com/2015/07/29/max-levchin-steps-down-from-yelps-board-a-sign-affirm-is-taking-off/|url-status=dead}}</ref> An angel investor in [[Mixpanel]], its founder Suhail Doshi credits Levchin for Mixpanel's survival and subsequent success.<ref>{{cite web |title=How a PayPal 'Mafia' member helped this 26-year-old build an $865 million startup |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and-max-levchin-2015-3 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230612182907/https://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and-max-levchin-2015-3 |date=March 2015 |archive-date=12 June 2023 |work=[[Business Insider]] |last=Kim |first=Eugene }}</ref>

Levchin is an investor in [[Evernote]]. He served on the company's board of directors from August 7, 2006, to 2016.<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060807005223/en/Esther-Dyson-Max-Levchin-Join-EverNote-Board#.VC1Z_fldXm6|title=Esther Dyson, Max Levchin Join EverNote Board of Directors|publisher=[[Business Wire]] |date =August 7, 2006}}</ref>

In December 2012, Levchin joined [[Yahoo]]'s board of directors,<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121213006216/en/Yahoo%21-Appoints-Entrepreneur-Max-Levchin-Board-Directors#.VC1Z7PldXm6|title=Yahoo! Appoints Entrepreneur Max Levchin to Board of Directors|publisher=[[Business Wire]] |date =December 13, 2012}}</ref> and remained until December 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/max-levchin-resigns-yahoos-board-directors-2217726 |title=Max Levchin Resigns From Yahoo's Board Of Directors |publisher=ibtimes.com |date=December 9, 2015}}</ref>

In 2015, Levchin was appointed to the U.S. [[Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]] (CFPB) advisory board for a three-year term, making him the first executive from Silicon Valley to be appointed to the board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-announces-new-members-of-the-consumer-advisory-board-community-bank-advisory-council-and-credit-union-advisory-council/|title = CFPB Announces New Members of the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council| date=September 18, 2015 }}</ref> In 2021, Levchin, after his experience on the advisory board at the CFPB, called for the necessity for the tech industry to engage more with regulators.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Detrixhe |first1=John |title=Max Levchin on how Affirm plans to survive the land grab in "buy now pay later" |url=https://qz.com/1995468/affirm-ceo-levchin-is-open-to-regulation-as-travel-spending-rises/ |publisher=Quartz |date=April 17, 2021}}</ref>

As of 2021 Levchin had an estimated net worth of US$3 billion.<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-25 |title=#1444 Max Levchin |website=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/max-levchin/?sh=5689b01bb681}}</ref>

==In the media==
Levchin appeared as a speaker at the 2007 Startup School organized by [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]], where he described his own journey as an entrepreneur and the mistakes he made and lessons he learned.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://venturebeat.com/2007/03/26/start-up-advice-for-entrepreneurs-from-y-combinator-startup-school/|title = Start-up advice for entrepreneurs, from Y Combinator Startup School|date = March 26, 2007|access-date = September 4, 2017|archive-date = June 25, 2017|archive-url = https://archive.today/20170625051849/https://venturebeat.com/2007/03/26/start-up-advice-for-entrepreneurs-from-y-combinator-startup-school/|url-status = dead}}</ref> Levchin was also featured in "Brilliant Issue" of ''Portfolio'' by [[Condé Nast Publications]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allthingsd.com/20080423/max-levchin-becomes-the-internets-new-wacky-pix-guy/ |title=Max Levchin Becomes the Internet's New Wacky Pix Guy! |publisher=allthingsd.com |date=April 2, 2008|access-date=January 25, 2016}}</ref> In 2022 Levchin was interviewed in an [[NPR]] podcast called "[[How I Built This]]" where he spoke about his early life and business endeavors including his role in PayPal.

==Politics==
Levchin was listed as one of the contributors to [[FWD.us]], a Silicon Valley–based lobbying group spearheaded by [[Mark Zuckerberg]] and [[Joe Green (entrepreneur)|Joe Green]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zuckerberg And A Team Of Tech All-Stars Launch Political Advocacy Group FWD.us|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/11/fwd-us/|access-date=2020-11-21|website=TechCrunch|date=April 11, 2013 |language=en-US}}</ref> The group is intended to concentrate on immigration liberalization for high-skilled immigrants to the United States, improvements to education, and facilitating technological breakthroughs with broad public benefits.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413230948/http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters|url-status = dead|archive-date = April 13, 2013|title = Our Supporters|publisher = FWD.us|access-date = May 13, 2013}}</ref> Levchin also narrated his personal experience as an immigrant in a video released by the group.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fwd.us/stories|publisher = FWD.us|title = Stories|access-date = May 13, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413231013/http://www.fwd.us/stories|archive-date = April 13, 2013|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 2013, amidst the controversy over [[mass surveillance]] and [[NSA]] [[espionage]] activities, Levchin defended the NSA in opposition to views of many other tech entrepreneurs. According to him, the agency was designed to protect the US from [[terrorism]], so even if it oversteps its bounds, the public should support it.<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/10/nsa-evil/ The NSA Isn’t Evil, It’s Trying To Protect Us, Says PayPal’s Max Levchin]. ''[[TechCrunch]]'', September 10, 2013.</ref>

==Other activity==
Levchin arranged and financed the [[Levchin Prize]] which since 2016 rewards advancements in [[cryptography]] with a real-world impact.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levchin |first1=Max |title=Establishing the Levchin Prize for Real World Cryptography |work=Tumblr |url=https://max.levch.in/post/136769831563/establishing-the-levchin-prize-for-real-world |access-date=9 April 2024 |date=2016-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chemparathy |first1=Augustine |title=Cryptographers honored with Levchin Prize at Real World Cryptography Conference |url=https://stanforddaily.com/2016/01/06/cryptographers-honored-with-levchin-prize-at-real-world-cryptography-conference/ |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=The Stanford Daily |date=2016-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Affirm CEO Max Levchin Awards First Annual Prize for Advancements in Real-World Cryptography |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160106005630/en/Affirm-CEO-Max-Levchin-Awards-First-Annual-Prize-for-Advancements-in-Real-World-Cryptography |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=BusinessWire |date=2016-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Etienne |first1=Stefan |title=A prize for "real-world cryptography" was given to programmers behind AES and the Signal app |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/05/a-prize-for-real-world-cryptography-was-given-to-programmers-behind-aes-and-the-signal-app/?guccounter=1 |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=TechCrunch |date=2017-01-06}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 2008, Levchin married his longtime girlfriend, Nellie Minkova.<ref name=NYT1 /><ref>[http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/technology/2008/09/29/mid-day-bytes-aol-max-levchins-wedding-packetvideo-triumphs.html Upstart Business Journal: "Mid-day Bytes: AOL, Max Levchin's Wedding, PacketVideo Triumphs" by Andrea Chalupa] September 29, 2008</ref> He has two children. He lived in San Francisco from 2007 to 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Im |first=Jimmy |date=2019-04-15 |title=PayPal co-founder is selling his $7.25 million San Francisco home — take a look inside |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/photos-paypals-max-levchins-san-francisco-home-is-for-sale.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> In 2019, he listed his home in San Francisco for $7.25 million, which he originally purchased in 2007 for $5.3 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Im |first=Jimmy |date=2019-04-15 |title=PayPal co-founder is selling his $7.25 million San Francisco home — take a look inside |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/photos-paypals-max-levchins-san-francisco-home-is-for-sale.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/business/28invent.html?_r=1&ex=1351224000&en=955d89f1af988cd4&ei=5090 After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again] — ''New York Times'' profile on Levchin

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.levchin.com/ Personal Website]

{{PayPal Mafia}}
{{Yahoo! Inc.}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:American chief technology officers]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in the computer industry]]
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[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American chief executives in technology]]
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[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in information technology]]
[[Category:PayPal people]]
[[Category:Engineers from Kyiv]]
[[Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Ukrainian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Mather High School alumni]]
[[Category:Grainger College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Directors of Yahoo!]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century Ukrainian engineers]]
[[Category:Financial technology company founders]]

Max Levchin - Revision history

~2025-32902-30 at 23:25, 11 November 2025