Cash App Founder Bob Lee Dead at 43 After Being Stabbed in San Francisco Attack

Tech executive Bob Lee, a founder of Cash App and chief product officer of cryptocurrency startup MobileCoin, died in a fatal stabbing April 4. Here’s how a colleague reflected on his life and legacy.

By Corinne Heller Apr 05, 2023 3:51 PMTags
Watch: Cash App Founder Bob Lee Dead at 43 After Being Stabbed

The high tech world has lost one of its own.

Bob Lee, who helped launch Cash App and was chief product officer of cryptocurrency startup company MobileCoin, was killed in a stabbing attack in San Francisco early April 4. He was 43.

The San Francisco Police Department said in a statement that officers responded at about 2:35 a.m. to a report of a stabbing and arrived to find a wounded man. He was treated on the scene and later transported to a hospital, where he died of his life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made in the case, which remains under investigation.

While authorities have not confirmed the man's identity, sources told NBC Bay Area that Lee was the stabbing victim. Josh Goldbard, CEO of MobileCoin, also confirmed the death of his colleague.

"Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators," he said in a statement posted on the website of MobileCoin's recently launched payment app Moby. "Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob was the genuine article."

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Lee was known on Twitter and to his friends as "Crazy Bob." And according to Goldbard, he "got his nickname from water polo, but in a way, it worked for the rest of his life too. He was a person who understood the world in ways I don't even understand myself. He was made for the world that is being born right now. Bob was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real. Bob was made for the new world."

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Goldbard called Lee "the quintessential creator, leader, and consummate hacker," noting that "from large contributions to Android at Google, to being the first CTO of Square, in that time creating CashApp, and working with us here at MobileCoin, Bob surely had an impact that will last far beyond his short time on earth."

He continued, "This may sound impressive, but Bob's real resume is the hearts and minds he touched in his time here. Bob's legacy is the feeling that you can make a difference if you try. Bob's legacy is his children."

Lee is survived by his wife Krista Lee and their two kids, multiple outlets reported. 

"Steve Jobs said that 'Real Artists ship.' Bob was a real artist who shipped. He was proud to work amongst our guild of cryptographic artists at MobileCoin. Here's to the crazy ones. We will miss you Bob. We love you," Goldbard's note concluded. "For now, MobileCoin will mourn. We turn our attention to honoring Bob's legacy by holding his loved ones close."

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