Gideon Yu

Gideon Yu
Born	Gideon Lee Yu 14 5, 1971
Birthplace	Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	American
Occupation	Technology executive, investor, sports executive
Known for	Former CFO of Facebook and YouTube; co-owner and former president of the San Francisco 49ers
Education	Stanford University (BS) Harvard Business School (MBA)
Spouse(s)	Susie Yu
Children	2
Awards	Treasury & Risk Management 40 Under 40

Gideon Lee Yu (born May 14, 1971) is an American technology, media, and sports investor, executive, and advisor. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yu rose to prominence in Silicon Valley through a series of high-profile finance and executive roles at some of the most consequential technology companies of the early 21st century. He served as the chief financial officer of both YouTube and Facebook during formative periods in each company's history, and earlier held the position of senior vice president and treasurer of Yahoo!. Beyond the technology sector, Yu became a significant figure in American professional sports when he joined the ownership group of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. In 2012, he was named president of the 49ers, becoming the first president of color in the history of the NFL. Yu has also been active as a venture capital investor, most notably through Series X Capital, a fund focused on companies spun out of Alphabet Inc.'s X moonshot factory. His career has spanned corporate finance, technology entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and sports management.

Early Life

Gideon Lee Yu was born on May 14, 1971, in Seoul, South Korea. He later moved to the United States, where he grew up and attended the University School of Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee. Details of his early childhood and family background prior to his education in the United States are not extensively documented in public sources. Yu's trajectory from South Korea to the American South and eventually to Silicon Valley reflects a path common among Korean American professionals who came of age during the technology boom of the 1990s.

Education

Yu attended the University School of Nashville, a private college preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University, one of the leading universities in the heart of Silicon Valley. Yu subsequently attended Harvard Business School, where he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA). His educational background at two of the most prestigious institutions in the United States provided a strong foundation for his later career in corporate finance and technology management. Yu has maintained ties with Stanford as an alumnus and benefactor, establishing scholarships at the university.

Career

Yahoo!

Yu's career in the technology industry began at Yahoo!, where he rose to the position of senior vice president and treasurer. In that role, he was responsible for significant aspects of Yahoo's corporate finance operations during a period when the company was one of the dominant players in the internet industry. His tenure at Yahoo established him as one of the more prominent finance executives in Silicon Valley. In 2003, Yu was recognized by Treasury & Risk Management magazine as part of its "40 Under 40" list, highlighting his standing among the top young finance professionals in the country.

YouTube

In 2006, Yu left Yahoo to join YouTube as its chief financial officer, a move that drew attention in the technology press. At the time, YouTube was a fast-growing but unprofitable startup that had become the dominant online video platform. Yu's hiring signaled the company's ambitions to professionalize its financial operations and prepare for significant strategic developments.

Yu's tenure at YouTube coincided with one of the most consequential acquisitions in technology history. In October 2006, Google acquired YouTube for approximately $1.65 billion in stock, a deal that was widely covered in the technology and financial press. Yu played a key role in the company's financial operations during this transformative period. According to accounts of the acquisition process, the deal nearly encountered an unexpected obstacle when a police officer pulled over YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley for a traffic violation while Hurley was on his way to finalize aspects of the transaction. The Google-YouTube acquisition cemented Yu's reputation as a finance executive who had been at the center of a landmark transaction.

Facebook

Following the Google acquisition of YouTube, Yu moved on to another role that would further raise his profile. In 2007, he was hired as the chief financial officer of Facebook, at a time when the social networking company was still a privately held startup experiencing rapid growth. His appointment was reported by major outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

As CFO of Facebook, Yu oversaw the company's financial strategy during a period of significant fundraising and valuation growth. His time at Facebook placed him at the nexus of what Forbes later described as the "Facebook Keiretsu" — a network of executives, investors, and advisors whose careers intersected through the social media giant and who went on to play influential roles across Silicon Valley. Yu departed Facebook in 2009.

The combination of serving as CFO at both YouTube and Facebook — two of the most transformative internet companies of the 2000s — gave Yu a distinctive profile in Silicon Valley. Business Insider included him on its "Silicon Valley 100" list, recognizing his influence in the technology industry.

Venture Capital and Investing

Following his tenure as a technology executive, Yu transitioned into venture capital and investing. He became involved with a number of startups and investment ventures. Among other activities, Yu joined the board of directors of Square (now Block, Inc.), alongside notable venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

Yu's most significant venture capital undertaking emerged through his connection to Alphabet and its X moonshot factory (formerly Google X). He founded and leads Series X Capital, a venture capital fund focused on investing in companies that have been spun out of Alphabet Inc.'s X Development lab. These spinouts include companies working on ambitious technology projects in areas such as autonomous vehicles, earth observation, and other frontier technologies. In 2024, it was reported that Yu was raising approximately $500 million for Series X Capital to invest in Alphabet X spinouts such as Waymo, 280 Earth, and others. By May 2025, Bloomberg reported that Series X Capital expected to exceed its initial fundraising target of $500 million, reflecting strong investor interest in the fund's strategy of backing ambitious technology projects emerging from Alphabet's incubator.

The fund's approach is closely tied to a broader trend at Alphabet, which has increasingly moved toward launching its moonshot projects as independent companies rather than keeping them as internal divisions. This strategy allows the spinouts to raise their own capital, develop independent governance structures, and move more quickly to market.

San Francisco 49ers

In April 2011, the San Francisco 49ers hired Yu, marking his entry into professional sports management. The hire was noted by local sports media as an unusual move that brought a Silicon Valley technology executive into the front office of an NFL franchise.

In 2012, Yu was named president of the San Francisco 49ers, making him the first president of color in the history of the National Football League. This distinction was noted by multiple organizations and media outlets as a milestone in the league's history. As president, Yu was involved in the team's business operations during a period that included the construction and opening of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and the team's appearance in Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season.

Yu eventually transitioned from the role of team president to co-owner of the 49ers, a position he continues to hold. His ownership stake in the franchise connects his technology and finance background with the business of professional sports, an intersection that has become increasingly common in the NFL and other major sports leagues.

PGA of America

In November 2022, Yu was sworn in as an Independent Director on the PGA of America Board of Directors at the organization's 106th Annual Meeting. His appointment brought his experience in technology, finance, and sports management to the governance of one of the largest sports organizations in the United States.

Personal Life

Gideon Yu is married to Susie Yu. The couple has two children, Jonathan and Emily.

Yu has been active in philanthropy and nonprofit governance. He has served on the board of directors of the UCSF Foundation, supporting the University of California, San Francisco's research and healthcare mission. He has also been involved with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, serving in a leadership capacity with the organization. Additionally, Yu has served on the boards of Tipping Point Community, a Bay Area poverty-fighting organization, and BUILD, an entrepreneurship-based education organization.

Yu has established scholarships at Stanford University, his undergraduate alma mater, to support students.

In April 2024, it was reported that Yu had purchased a home in Malibu, California, in a transaction described as a record-high home sale in the state.

Recognition

Yu has received recognition from multiple organizations throughout his career. In 2003, during his tenure at Yahoo, he was named to the "40 Under 40" list by Treasury & Risk Management magazine, which highlighted him as one of the top young finance professionals in the United States.

Business Insider included Yu on its "Silicon Valley 100" list, recognizing his influence in the technology sector based on his roles at Yahoo, YouTube, and Facebook.

Forbes identified Yu as part of its "Names You Need to Know" feature, citing his membership in the network of executives and investors connected through Facebook and other major technology companies.

His appointment as president of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 was recognized as a historic milestone, as he became the first person of color to hold the title of president of an NFL franchise. The Society for Science has featured Yu in its programming and profiles, recognizing his contributions to technology and sports.

His appointment to the PGA of America Board of Directors in 2022 as an Independent Director further reflected his standing as a leader across multiple industries.

Legacy

Gideon Yu's career spans several of the defining institutions and transactions of the modern technology era. As CFO of YouTube during its acquisition by Google, and as CFO of Facebook during its rapid early growth phase, Yu was a central financial figure at two companies that fundamentally reshaped how people consume media and communicate online. His transition from technology finance to professional sports ownership, and subsequently to venture capital investing through Series X Capital, illustrates a model of career diversification that has become characteristic of Silicon Valley's executive class.

Yu's historic appointment as the first NFL team president of color in 2012 represented a notable moment in the diversification of leadership in American professional sports. His continued role as co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers, combined with his board service at the PGA of America, positions him at the intersection of technology, finance, and sports — sectors that have become increasingly intertwined in the 21st century.

Through Series X Capital, Yu has positioned himself at the forefront of a new model for commercializing ambitious technology research, serving as a bridge between Alphabet's internal innovation efforts and the broader venture capital ecosystem. The fund's strategy of investing in moonshot spinouts reflects Yu's longstanding career pattern of involvement with companies and projects at transformative stages of their development.

His philanthropic activities, including his support of Stanford University scholarships, board service at the UCSF Foundation, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Tipping Point Community, and BUILD, reflect sustained engagement with education, healthcare, environmental conservation, and poverty alleviation in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.