Bob Lee, the founder of the mobile payment company Cash App and former Chief Technology Officer of Square, died on April 4th, 2022 after being stabbed near downtown San Francisco.[0] According to his family, Lee was 43 years old. The San Francisco Police Department responded to a report of a stabbing at approximately 2:35 a.m. and found Lee suffering from apparent stab wounds.[1] Despite efforts by first responders and medical personnel, Lee was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.[2] As of Wednesday morning, no arrests had been made and no description of a suspect had been released.[3]
Lee was a well-established figure in the tech industry, having worked in corner offices and invested in companies such as SpaceX, Clubhouse, and Figma.[4] He began his career at Google, where he led the core library team for Android.[5] He later served as the Chief Technology Officer of Square, where he helped create Cash App, a mobile payment and banking platform that launched in 2013.[0] Lee most recently worked as the Chief Product Officer of the cryptocurrency company MobileCoin, a position he held since 2021.[6]
Lee’s death has been mourned by many in the tech industry, including Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter and owner of Square, who called Lee’s death “heartbreaking” and described him as instrumental to Square and Cash App. Joshua Goldbard, the CEO of MobileCoin, called Lee a “force of nature” and a “dynamo” who helped to birth Android and Cash App into the world.[7]
The San Francisco District Attorney, Brooke Jenkins, tweeted her condolences to Lee’s family members and loved ones, adding that San Francisco does not tolerate these “horrific acts of violence.”[8] Meanwhile, Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, denounced both Lee’s killing and the state of violent crime on San Francisco’s streets, tweeting that he knows many people who have been severely assaulted and that even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately.[0]
Lee’s father, Rick Lee, confirmed the news of his son’s passing on Facebook, writing that he had lost his best friend and that Bobby (as he called him) worked harder than anyone and was the smartest person he had ever known.[0] Lee’s death is a tragic loss for the tech industry and his family and loved ones.
0. “Tech executive Bob Lee dead after apparent stabbing attack in San Francisco” CNN International, 5 Apr. 2023, https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/05/tech/bob-lee-tech-executive-death/index.html
1. “Cash App founder Bob Lee reportedly killed in San Francisco stabbing, sources say” KPRC Click2Houston, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.click2houston.com/news/2023/04/05/cash-app-founder-bob-lee-reportedly-killed-in-san-francisco-stabbing-sources-say
2. “The Creator Of Cash App Was Stabbed To Death In San Francisco” BuzzFeed News, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/bob-lee-cashapp-stabbed-dead
3. “Cash App founder Bob Lee killed in San Francisco stabbing” Dexerto, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.dexerto.com/tech/cash-app-founder-bob-lee-killed-in-san-francisco-stabbing-2105347/
4. “Cash App Creator Bob Lee Stabbed to Death in San Francisco” Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/cash-app-creator-bob-lee-stabbed-death-san-francisco-1234710170/
5. “Bob Lee dies in San Francisco stabbing – San Francisco Business Times” The Business Journals, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2023/04/05/bob-lee-murder-san-francisco.html
6. “Cash App founder Bob Lee sold Bay Area home just months before death” New York Post , 5 Apr. 2023, https://nypost.com/2023/04/05/cash-apps-bob-lee-sold-his-bay-area-home-months-before-death
7. “Update: Cash App founder, MobileCoin CPO Bob Lee stabbed to death in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood” CBS News, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/fatal-stabbing-bob-lee-mobile-coin-san-francisco-main-street-rincon-hill
8. “Cash App founder Bob Lee dies at 43” POLITICO, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/05/cash-app-founder-bob-lee-dead-00090581