David Friedberg

Friedberg was born in South Africa. At age six, Friedberg moved with his family to Los Angeles, California.{{Cite web |date=3 March 2022 |title=Anything Is Possible with Dave Friedberg {{!}} Where It Happens |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEniolv-GTM |access-date=31 July 2022 |website=YouTube}} In high school, Friedberg was president of the environmental club "Students H.O.P.E." (Students Healing Our Planet Earth).{{Cite magazine |last=Specter |first=Michael |date=3 November 2013 |title=Why The Climate Corporation Sold Itself to Monsanto |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/why-the-climate-corporation-sold-itself-to-monsanto |access-date=1 August 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker}} At age 16, he entered Clarkson University, in Potsdam, New York, where he worked in a pool hall and learned to play poker.{{Cite magazine |last=Specter |first=Michael |date=3 November 2013 |title=Climate by Numbers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/11/climate-by-numbers |access-date=1 August 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker}} After one year in upstate New York, he transferred to University of California, Berkeley, where he had a part-time job doing mathematical modeling at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and received a bachelor's degree in astrophysics in 2001.{{cite web |last=Vahradyan |first=Ani |date=22 February 2017 |title=David Friedberg: Astrophysics, Eatsa, and Everything In Between |url=https://scet.berkeley.edu/david-friedberg-astrophysics-eatsa-everything// |access-date=31 July 2022 |website=Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology}}

After several years in investment banking and private equity, Friedberg joined Google in March 2004 as one of the first 1,000 employees and a founding member of Google's Corporate Development group.{{Cite web |last=Woody |first=Todd |date=28 February 2011 |title=WeatherBill raises $42 million |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/weatherbill-raises-42-million/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=The New York Times}} As Corporate Development and Business Product Manager, Friedberg helped run Google's online advertising platform, AdWords, and negotiated acquisitions and worked with Google co-founder Larry Page.{{Cite web |last=Bunge |first=Jacob |date=4 September 2014 |title=Monsanto, Under Attack for GMOs, Has a New Defender {{!}} Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/monsanto-under-attack-for-gmos-has-a-new-defender-1409777311 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}

In 2006, he founded his first company, WeatherBill, to create and buy custom weather insurance online. Friedberg was still working at Google as a business product manager when the idea for the company came to him.{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Bobby |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DK6pCgAAQBAJ |title=The Hockey Stick Principles: The 4 Key Stages to Entrepreneurial Success |date=24 May 2016 |publisher=Flatiron Books |isbn=978-1-250-06638-1 |pages=131 |language=en}} He was driving past the Bike Hut in San Francisco and seeing sales slump on rainy days{{Cite web |last=Gullickson |first=Gil |date=18 November 2013 |title=How Climate Corporation Built Big Weather Data |url=https://www.agriculture.com/crops/corn/production/how-climate-cpation-built-big-wear_137-ar35532 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Successful Farming}} as the thought occurred to him that the impact of weather on a business must be a big problem.

WeatherBill secured funding from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Index Ventures and Atomico.{{Cite web |last=Arrington |first=Michael |date=15 January 2007 |title=WeatherBill Launches, Announces All Star Investors |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/01/15/weatherbill-launches-announces-all-star-investors/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJe69Lyqi9Ijcevt8qGV5dz8wgh7vQgy2lB6Mve4cRecq3yMrDGno9ZSEMHzEMSx3C0NeE0j7x8DVpsSvenic0Pii8uArAJ_Qp4cWIcJ8Uyd5imfV79Mg-vSKaJccTfZmDo_PF9LM7BhJjl0sTu5R2x32I3QdqwwNzA3F0E5WmZE |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=TechCrunch}} In 2011, Friedberg changed WeatherBill's name to The Climate Corporation.{{Cite web |date=11 October 2011 |title=Weatherbill changes company name to The Climate Corporation |url=https://www.artemis.bm/news/weatherbill-changes-company-name-to-the-climate-corporation/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Artemis}} The Climate Corporation focused on offering farmers weather insurance and the climate.com service to help them track, analyze, and make field-specific decisions on their farms to improve farming outcomes. On 5 October 2011, Friedberg gave his Entrepreneurship Gives Life Meaning lecture{{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_NvDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22David+Friedberg%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA80 |title=The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? |date=24 February 2015 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-59184-770-0 |pages=80 |language=en}} at Stanford.

In October 2013, Monsanto announced that it was acquiring The Climate Corporation for about $1.1 billion.{{cite web |author=Tsotsis |first=Alexia |date=2 October 2013 |title=Monsanto Buys Weather Big Data Company Climate Corporation For Around $1.1B |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/02/monsanto-acquires-weather-big-data-company-climate-corporation-for-930m/ |access-date=31 July 2022 |website=TechCrunch}} Friedberg joined Monsanto's Executive Team after the acquisition and in 2016 shifted to an advisory role.{{Cite web |last=Bunge |first=Jacob |date=23 March 2016 |title=Monsanto Executive David Friedberg Shifting to Advisory Role {{!}} Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/monsanto-executive-david-friedberg-shifting-to-advisory-role-1458763510 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}

In 2016, Friedberg began talking with Larry Page about a way to build and finance more startups focused on food, agriculture, decarbonization and life sciences.{{Cite web |last=Levy |first=Ari |date=20 July 2021 |title=Early Google exec got Larry Page's backing to build a start-up factory focused on saving the planet {{!}} CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/david-friedbergs-alphabet-backed-production-board-raised-300-million.html |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=CNBC}} Through parent company Alphabet, Page agreed to help finance a holding company that Friedberg would operate.{{Cite web |date=30 July 2021|title= David Friedberg's Alphabet-backed Production Board raised $300 million {{!}} Planet Concerns |url=https://planetconcerns.com/david-friedbergs-alphabet-backed-production-board-raised-300-million/|access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Planet Concerns}} Friedberg founded The Production Board (TPB) in 2016.

TPB partners with scientists, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs to solve the world's challenges, such as climate change.{{Cite web |date=19 August 2021 |title=The Production Board's Dave Friedberg: "Technology will save the day - hopefully" |url=https://play.acast.com/s/dannyinthevalley/theproductionboard-sdavefriedberg-technologywillsavetheday-hopefully- |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Danny in the Valley}} TPB portfolio businesses include Pattern Ag, Ohalo, Culture Biosciences, Triplebar Bio, Supergut and Cana.

In July 2021, Friedberg announced that The Production Board raised $300 million from Alphabet, Baillie Gifford, Allen & Co., BlackRock, Koch Disruptive Technologies and Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global.

Friedberg founded car insurance firm Metromile in 2011 and was its chairman during its early years.{{Cite web |last=Sawers |first=Paul |date=21 September 2016 |title=Per-mile car insurance firm Metromile has raised $191.5 million since 2014, now underwrites its own policies |url=https://venturebeat.com/business/metromile-raises-191-5-million-and-acquires-mosaic-insurance-company/ |website=VentureBeat}}{{Cite web|date=30 July 2021|title=SEC Form S-1 {{!}} SEC|url=https://ir.metromile.com/node/6896/html|access-date=30 July 2021|website=SEC|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417023634/https://ir.metromile.com/node/6896/html|url-status=dead}} He is also an angel investor in various technology, food, agriculture, and life sciences startups. In 2014, he purchased Canadian quinoa supplier NorQuin, North America's largest supplier of quinoa.{{Cite magazine |last=Little |first=Amanda |date=17 December 2016 |title=Quinoa is the new Big Mac |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/quinoa-is-the-new-big-mac |access-date=1 August 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker}} In 2022, Above Food Corp. acquired Norquin{{Cite web |last=Danley |first=Sam |date=19 May 2022 |title=Above Food acquires quinoa supplier{{!}} Food Business News |url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/21391-above-food-acquires-quinoa-supplier |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Food Business News}} and appointed Friedberg to its Innovation Advisory Council.{{Cite web |date=2 June 2022|title= Above Food Appoints David Friedberg to Innovation Advisory Council{{!}} Yahoo.com |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/above-food-appoints-david-friedberg-130000817.html|access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Yahoo.com}}

Friedberg is one of the four co-hosts of All-In, a business and investment podcast with Chamath Palihapitiya, David O. Sacks, and Jason Calacanis.{{Cite web |title=All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg |url=https://www.allinpodcast.co/ |access-date=4 February 2023 |website=The All In Podcast |language=en-US}}

Friedberg is a lifelong vegetarian.

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• {{Twitter|id=friedberg|name=David Friedberg}}
• {{Crunchbase|id=david-friedberg|name=David Friedberg|type=person}}
• [https://angel.co/p/david-friedberg David Friedberg's AngelList page]
• {{Cite web |title=Entrepreneurship Gives Life Meaning [Entire Talk] {{!}} Video |url=https://ecorner.stanford.edu/videos/entrepreneurship-gives-life-meaning-entire-talk/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |website=Stanford eCorner |language=en-US}}

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Category:1980 births

Category:Living people

Category:Angel investors

Category:American venture capitalists

Category:American technology chief executives

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:White South African people

Category:People from Los Angeles