1. James W Breyer was born on July 1961 and is an American venture capitalist, founder and chief executive officer of Breyer Capital, an investment and venture philanthropy firm, and a former managing partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm.
Jim Breyer was born in 1961 in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Hungarian immigrants.
Jim Breyer's father, John P Breyer, was an engineer and executive at International Data Group; his mother Eva was an executive at Honeywell.
Jim Breyer spent his junior year studying in Florence, Italy, and is active in what is Stanford's Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence.
In 2005, Jim Breyer led Accel Partners' $12.7 million deposit at a $98 million valuation in the then ten-employee startup Facebook.
In 2000, Jim Breyer established Accel-KKR, a joint venture between Accel Partners and the private equity firm KKR.
Jim Breyer led the 2004 management buyout of BBN Technologies from Verizon.
Jim Breyer has led several Series A investments, including Etsy, Clinkle and Circle Internet Financial.
Jim Breyer has led investments in Legendary Pictures and Spotify.
In 2006, Jim Breyer founded Jim Breyer Capital, a global equity investor focused on providing capital to help catalyze high impact social and for-profit entrepreneurs.
Jim Breyer Capital has participated in a number of investments including Harvard's Experiment Fund, Brightcove, Marvel Entertainment and Legendary Pictures.
In 2014, Jim Breyer joined the Wickr board of directors, pledging $30 million in funding.
In July 2016, Jim Breyer joined the board of the alternative investment firm The Blackstone Group, the largest such firm in the world according to a 2013 New York Times piece.
In 2020, Jim Breyer established a second office for Jim Breyer Capital in Austin, Texas.
Since establishing its Austin office, Jim Breyer Capital has backed startups including Sana Benefits, Bestow, ClosedLoop.
Since 2016, Jim Breyer Capital has prioritized investments in opportunities at the intersection of artificial intelligence, healthcare, and life sciences.
In 2005, Jim Breyer helped establish a joint venture between Accel Partners and China-based IDG Capital Partners, a pioneering Chinese investment firm behind Baidu and Tencent.
Jim Breyer is active in the Chinese investment community and continues to invest in the country through Jim Breyer Capital and partnerships with IDG.
In June 2016, the Wall Street Journal published a piece on what is one of the largest ever China-focused venture capital funds raised, $1 billion in capital commitments for the IDG Capital Fund III of Jim Breyer and IDG Capital.
Since 2017, Jim Breyer Capital has suspended its investments in China.
In February 2013, Jim Breyer was elected a fellow of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University's senior governing board.
Jim Breyer serves on the Board of the Dean's Advisors of the Harvard Business School and is a founding member of the Harvard University Global Advisory Council.
In December 2005, Jim Breyer was appointed an honorary professor at the Yuelu Academy, Hunan University, China.
Jim Breyer is the past chairman and remains a board member of the Tsinghua University Advisory Board for the School of Economics and Management.
Jim Breyer is a member of the University of Texas President's Innovation Board.
Jim Breyer is a member of various World Economic Forum committees, and a member of the Lead Director Network, an organization of directors dedicated to improving the performance of their corporations and earning the trust of their shareholders through more effective board leadership.
Additionally, Jim Breyer serves as the Chairman of the Stanford University Engineering Venture Fund and is on the board of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.
In 2019, Jim Breyer helped found the Stanford HAI program which focuses on the future of AI.
Jim Breyer previously served on the boards of Etsy, Legendary Entertainment, Circle Financial, and 21st Century Fox where he was Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee.
Jim Breyer is a minority owner of the Boston Celtics.
Jim Breyer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Community Ventures, and TechNet.
Jim Breyer is a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where his wife, Angela Chao, was a Member of the Chairman's Council, and a Trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Jim Breyer has previously held a number of other leadership positions, including: Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association ; President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists; Member of the Board of the Associates of the Harvard Business School; Chairman of the Harvard Business School California Research Center; and Chairman of the Silicon Valley region committee for Stanford University's Campaign for Undergraduate Education.
Jim Breyer received the Silicon Valley Forum's Visionary Award in 2012.
Jim Breyer was named to the Vanity Fair New Establishment Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 2014, Jim Breyer was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Venture Capital Journal.
Jim Breyer was at a time mistakenly registered as a member of the American Independent Party, and has since re-registered as an independent.
Jim Breyer was married to the CEO of Foremost Group, philanthropist Angela Chao, the youngest sister of Elaine Chao and the widow of Bruce Wasserstein, until her death in February 2024.
Jim Breyer was previously married to his college sweetheart and impressionist artist Susan Zaroff, with whom he had three children, Emily, Daniel, and Theodore.