John Wu

John Wu is the President of Ava Labs, a technology company that develops the Avalanche blockchain platform. He has over two decades of experience in finance and technology. As President of Ava Labs, John helped secure major funding from Andreessen Horowitz and led the commercial development of Avalanche, a high-speed, low-cost, eco-friendly blockchain platform. Ava Labs' products include AvaCloud, a service for launching custom blockchains; Core, a secure wallet for managing digital assets; and Owl Explains, an educational platform that offers resources on blockchain and Web3, including core concepts, use cases, and policy developments.
 

Before joining Ava Labs, John served as CEO of the Digital Assets Group at SharesPost, where he built and led a platform that enabled compliant token trading of private shares and funds. In 2019, his team executed the first-ever trade of digital securities with SharesPost acting as the custodian, alternative trading system (ATS), and broker-dealer. Earlier, he founded Sureview Capital, a global technology hedge fund backed by the Blackstone Group. At Sureview, he invested in companies in sectors such as internet, software, fintech, and gaming.
 

John began his career as an analyst at Tiger Management, a hedge fund that managed up to $20 billion in assets. He later worked as a portfolio manager at Kingdon Capital, where he became a top profit-and-loss contributor across technology, media, telecom, and fintech investments.
 

He also serves on several boards and advisory councils. He is a member of the Cornell University Council and sits on the advisory councils of the Dyson School and the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. He is also on the board of the YMCA, where he supports initiatives in youth development and community services. As a Cornell alumnus, he contributes to scholarships and infrastructure projects at the university.
 

John is a frequent speaker at major events and has participated in conferences and interviews with Bloomberg Crypto, CNBC, and The Bridge Conference. He regularly shares insights on blockchain adoption, Web3 development, and regulatory issues. He supports open innovation through blockchain, believes in the potential of decentralised finance, and advocates for broader access to technology.
 

He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University.

John Wu was born in the United States and completed his early education before pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University’s Dyson School. At Cornell, he was actively involved in student leadership, serving on the Dyson Council, the Computer Information Science Council, and the President’s Circle Committee. He was also a member of the varsity sprint football team. A key academic influence during this time was Professor Deborah Streeter, who helped him secure an internship at the New York Cotton Exchange. This internship introduced him to the mechanics of marketplaces and shaped his early interest in financial systems.

After graduating in 1992, Wu began his career as an analyst at Tiger Management, a hedge fund founded by Julian Robertson. At Tiger Management, Wu worked on macroeconomics, foreign exchange, and derivatives. He stayed there until 1996 and gained significant experience in global markets.

Between 2004 and 2010, Wu served as a portfolio manager at Kingdon Capital. He focused on sectors such as technology, media, telecom, and fintech. He led early venture investments in companies such as BillMeLater, which was later acquired by eBay for over $1 billion.

In 2010, Wu founded Sureview Capital, a technology investment firm backed by the Blackstone Group. The firm focused on high-growth opportunities in internet, software, fintech, and gaming. His investments included early stakes in companies such as Google, Facebook, Salesforce, and PayPal. He led Sureview Capital for several years, supporting innovation in the private market sector.
 

In 2018, Wu became CEO of the Digital Assets Group at SharesPost, a platform for private equity and tokenised securities. He oversaw the development of infrastructure to enable compliant trading of digital shares and funds. In January 2019, his team executed the first trade of digital securities where SharesPost acted as custodian, alternative trading system, and broker-dealer.

In 2020, Wu joined Ava Labs as President. The company, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, supports the Avalanche blockchain platform. Ava Labs was founded by Emin Gün Sirer and his PhD students at Cornell University. Wu was invited to join the company to scale its operations and bring his experience in business management and venture investing. He has since led its growth into a major blockchain infrastructure provider and overseen partnerships, product development, and global expansion.

Ava Labs has played a key role in developing Web3 applications across finance, gaming, and enterprise. Wu has contributed to several industry panels, conferences, and interviews, including Bloomberg Crypto, CNBC, Sky Business Live, and SALT iConnections. He often speaks on regulatory developments, tokenised assets, and the impact of blockchain on financial services. He also delivered a TEDx talk titled "Web3: Never Bet Against Innovation", sharing insights into the evolution from Web1 and Web2 to decentralised networks.
 

As of 2025, Wu remains actively involved in regulatory discourse and industry developments. He frequently appears in media discussing market shifts, digital asset regulation, and blockchain policy in Washington D.C. He has commented on Bitcoin volatility, Ethereum ETFs, Avalanche upgrades, and tokenised real-world assets.

He also continues to support Cornell University as a member of the University Council and advisory boards of the Dyson School and Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. He mentors students, supports the Cornell Blockchain Club, and participates in university events and lectures. In addition, he and his wife established the John and Stephanie Wu Scholarship to support Cornell students.
 

John Wu currently serves as President of Ava Labs, board member at Alussa Energy (NYSE: ALUS), and advisor to various blockchain initiatives. He is focused on expanding access to financial services through blockchain infrastructure and supporting open, decentralised innovation globally.

John Wu’s vision is to make financial services open, fair, and accessible to everyone by using blockchain technology. He believes that Web3 and decentralised systems can help reduce barriers in traditional finance and give more people the chance to take part in the global economy. Through his work at Ava Labs and the Avalanche platform, he aims to build tools that allow faster, safer, and cheaper financial transactions. He supports open innovation, where people can build freely without relying on large central companies. His long-term goal is to create a more inclusive and transparent financial world through technology.

As President of Ava Labs, he helped secure major funding from Andreessen Horowitz and launched Avalanche, now one of the leading blockchain platforms. In 2019, under his leadership at SharesPost, the company executed the first-ever fully compliant trade of digital securities involving a custodian, ATS, and broker-dealer. He was invited to speak at TEDx Cornell on “Web3: Never Bet Against Innovation” and regularly appears on Bloomberg Crypto, CNBC, and SALT iConnections. At Cornell, he was honoured through appointments to the Dyson Advisory Council and University Council.