Emmett Shear
Emmett Shear is an American internet entrepreneur and investor who currently serves as CEO of Softmax, an AI alignment startup he co-founded in March 2025. He is best known as the co-founder of Justin.tv and as the CEO of Twitch from its spin-off in 2011 until his resignation in March 2023, leading the company through its acquisition by Amazon. He has also served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator since June 2011, advising startups on product and strategy. In November 2023, he briefly served as interim CEO of OpenAI following the board's removal of Sam Altman.
“When I thought it was money, I thought I'd have to replace their job. Actually, if I could get somebody even like a $10 payout. They felt validated for what they were doing and it kept them going for way longer. So it goes, money, fame, love, and inspiration.”
Source→“He would say simply, he'd go, have you tried solving the problem?... He goes, I'm a partner at YC. And this is the most common advice I give to YC startups.”
Source→AI-extracted from podcast / newsletter / paper summaries. May contain errors.