Classmate Gives Birth To A Unicorn

The Boston business press proudly announced that “After dry spell, Boston has a new unicorn.”  (A “unicorn” is a startup valued at over a billion dollars.)  The profile is of David Friend, ’69, who founded his company – Wasabi Technologies — in 2017 and just closed a funding round of $250 million at a company value of $1.1 billion.

This is David’s seventh company and his biggest.  He also has been a long-time Yale supporter, most recently making a major donation to the Peabody of his impressive collection of minerals.  (see “David Friend Hall Opens” for the stunning pictures of the major pieces.  Most impressively, David and the leadership of the Peabody installed some revolutionary technology to inspire kids to explore and self-educate themselves.  It’s an impressive exhibit, one you may want to visit on your next New Haven trip.

You can learn more about Wasabi at https://wasabi.com/about/.

David’s 50th Reunion Essay is a great summary of his time since 1969.