Paul Sciarra is one of the founders of social media outlet Pinterest and was its first CEO; he later became executive chairman of electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation. Sciarra’s time at Pinterest was limited but he maintained a stake in the company and gained wealth when the company went public. Sciarra has continued in venture investing while focusing on Joby Aviation. Paul Sciarra and his wife signed the “Giving Pledge” to donate most of their wealth to charity.

Background and Pinterest

After graduating from Yale University in 2003, Paul Sciarra worked at the venture capital firm Radius Ventures from 2006 to 2008. ¹ In 2008, Sciarra left Radius Ventures and founded Cold Brew Labs with former Yale classmate Ben Silbermann. ² Cold Brew Labs created social commerce apps, most notably its first product Pinterest. ³

Pinterest was launched in March 2011 with Sciarra as the first of many early CEOs. ⁴ In 2012, Sciarra left Pinterest but remained an advisor. ⁵ After Pinterest’s initial public offering in 2019, it was estimated that Sciarra still owned an estimated 8 to 9 percent of Pinterest, earning him between $806 million to just over $1 billion in the IPO. ⁶ As of September 2022, Sciarra is estimated to be worth $1.4 billion. ⁷

Other Ventures

After leaving Pinterest, Sciarra became an entrepreneur-in-residence at the technology venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz. ⁸ Through his work with Andreesen Horowitz, Sciarra became an early investor in Joby Aviation, an electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft startup. ⁹ Since 2014, he has been the executive chairman at Joby Aviation. ¹⁰

Paul Sciarra, through his Sciarra Management Trust, invested in COVID-19 testing diagnostic lab SummerBio in 2020. ¹¹ Through a venture round of funding, Summer Bio received $7.3 million in capital from seven groups including Sciarra Management Trust. ¹² SummerBio had COVID testing contracts in California including a $51.3 million contract from the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2020-2021. ¹³ In February 2022, SummerBio announced opening a new lab and expanding testing facilities only to lay off all its employees and go on “standby” by July 2022. ¹⁴

Philanthropy

Sciarra and his wife Jennifer signed the Giving Pledge in May 2019, announcing they would donate most of their wealth to philanthropy. ¹⁵ In 2014, Sciarra formed the nonprofit Sciarra Family Foundation that has maintained less than $10,000 in assets and makes contributions to medical, education, and scientific nonprofits at Yale University and in the Chicago area. ¹⁶

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13. Stokes, Kyle. “LAUSD Releases Contract with Start-Up Lab Company Behind Its Covid-19 Testing Program.” LAist. October 1, 2020. Accessed September 11, 2022. https://laist.com/news/lausd-coronavirus-covid19-testing-program-summerbio-lab-contract.
14. ^[1] “SummerBio Expands Covid Testing Capabilities to Prepare for Endemic State, New Variants.” SummerBio press release. February 21, 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/summerbio-expands-covid-testing-capabilities-to-prepare-for-endemic-state-new-variants-301486457.html; Herrera, Sonya. “Covid-19 Startup SummerBio Goes on ‘Standby’ As Demand Drops for PCR Tests.” Bay Area Inno. July 25, 2022. Accessed September 11, 2022. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/inno/stories/news/2022/07/25/summerbio-standby-demand-drops-for-pcr-covid-tests.html.
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16. Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2015; Sciarra Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2014.