Lucy Guo

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Lucy Guo
Born (1994-10-14) October 14, 1994 (age 31)
California, U.S.
Education Carnegie Mellon University (Dropped out)
Known forCo-founder of Scale AI

Lucy Guo is an American entrepreneur and engineer who co-founded Scale AI. [1] In 2022, she founded her second start-up, known as Passes. [2] As of 2025, Guo is the world's youngest female self-made billionaire, due to her stake in Scale AI. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Guo was born in October 1994 and raised in Fremont, California, by Chinese immigrant parents who worked as electrical engineers. [6] [7] She began coding at a young age; as a teenager she taught herself programming and earned money by developing bots for the online game Neopets and selling the in-game assets for profit. [8] Guo enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University where she studied computer science [8] but dropped out in 2014 after being selected for the Thiel Fellowship, [9] [10] a two-year $100,000 grant for young people to pursue entrepreneurial projects instead of completing their studies. [8]

Career

Guo interned at Facebook before joining Snapchat as the company's first female designer. [11] At Snapchat, she helped develop Snap Maps. [12] She then moved to Quora where she met Alexandr Wang. [13] They co-founded Scale AI in 2016, where Guo led operations and product design efforts. [14] She left two years later due to disagreements with Wang, but with a 5% stake in the company. [1] [3] When Meta bought Scale AI for $25 billion in May 2025, Guo replaced Taylor Swift and become the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. [15] [6] She is one of only six self-made female billionaires on Earth, according to Forbes. [4]

In 2018, Guo launched an app called Apply to Date allowing users to create a dating resume. [16] In 2019, she launched Backend Capital, [17] originally called Backend Ventures, [18] a venture capital firm that primarily funds early-stage engineering startups. [19] The firm has funded startups such as the fintech company Ramp. [18] [19]

In 2022, Guo founded Passes, a social platform that allows creators to post content for paid subscribers. [20] It raised a $40 million Series A in 2024. [21]

Guo's Passes platform does not allow nudity or sexual content, and takes a ten percent margin from creator earnings. [22] The platform includes deals with talent ranging from Shaquille O'Neal to gymnast Olivia Dunne. [4]

Personal life

As of 2024, Guo lives in Los Angeles. [23] [24] [25]

She was "living as a digital nomad" for a number of years before buying a $6.7 million apartment in 2020 in Miami where her parties caused conflict with neighbors. [26] [27]

In 2024, she purchased another $4.2 million home in West Hollywood, [28] and then purchased a $30 million home in Hollywood Hills in 2025. [29]

Despite her wealth, Guo has been an advocate for a frugal lifestyle, including early influence from the FIRE movement. [4] She claims to drive a Honda Civic and shop at Shein. [30]

References

  1. 1 2 Weinberg, Cory (June 28, 2024). "Fame, Feud and Fortune: Inside Billionaire Alexandr Wang's Relentless Rise in Silicon Valley". The Information . Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  2. ↑ Martin, Iain. "How Underage Creators Threatened Lucy Guo's OnlyFans Rival Passes". Forbes. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Dolan, Kerry A. (April 17, 2025). "This AI Founder Has Unseated Taylor Swift As The World's Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire". Forbes . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Braun, Sara (April 18, 2025). "A 30-year-old AI founder who followed the FIRE movement to build wealth is now the youngest self-made woman billionaire". Fortune . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ Blum, Sam (April 17, 2025). "Lucy Guo Is Now the World's Yongest Self-Made Woman Billionaire, Beating Taylor Swift". Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Bhaimiya, Sawdah (August 31, 2025). "Billionaire founder Lucy Guo first made money as a kid on the playground". CNBC. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  7. ↑ Ba, Fabienne. "Who is Lucy Guo, the world's youngest billionaire?". MSN. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Muppidi, Sri (August 23, 2024). "Lucy Guo's second act: After the 29-year-old left Scale AI, she has the 'itch to build' something new". Business Insider. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Thier, Jane. "Multimillionaire Lucy Guo's only regret: Investing in 'every startup that's gone to zero'". Fortune Europe. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ Bowman, Wendy (September 20, 2024). "A 29-Year-Old Tech Tycoon Snaps Up a $4.2 Million Designer Abode in L.A." Robb Report. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  11. ↑ NA, NA (June 20, 2022). "Who is Lucy Guo, second richest self-made woman under 40 after Kylie Jenner?". South China Morning Post . Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ Powers, Jacquelynn (May 21, 2022). "How Lucy Guo conquered tech and became Miami's No. 1 party girl". New York Post. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Megía, Carlos (June 10, 2022). "Alexandr Wang is the new youngest self-made billionaire". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  14. ↑ Bhaimiya, Sawdah (August 23, 2025). "Inside billionaire Lucy Guo's intense daily routine: 5:30 a.m. wake-ups, double gym sessions, and no lunch breaks". CNBC. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  15. ↑ "The youngest self-made female billionaire thinks you should take more risks". Newsweek. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  16. ↑ Thompson, Rachel (March 16, 2018). "You can now create a shareable dating resume so anyone can apply to date you". Mashable . Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Who is Lucy Guo? Meet the programmer who surpassed Taylor Swift's billion-dollar fortune". MSN . April 28, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  18. 1 2 Jones, Rachyl. "Exclusive: 29-year-old self-made millionaire Lucy Guo follows up her unicorn Scale AI with a $40 million Series A for new creator economy venture, Passes". Fortune. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  19. 1 2 Thier, Jane. "Multimillionaire Lucy Guo's only regret: Investing in 'every startup that's gone to zero'". Fortune Europe. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  20. ↑ Harmon, Grace (March 25, 2024). "Passes: Bypassing the Brands". Los Angeles Business Journal . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  21. ↑ Jones, Rachyl. "Exclusive: 29-year-old self-made millionaire Lucy Guo follows up her unicorn Scale AI with a $40 million Series A for new creator economy venture, Passes". Fortune. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ Spangler, Todd (December 1, 2023). "Blac Chyna, After Quitting OnlyFans, Joins 'Female Empowerment' Subscription Platform Passes Where Adult Content Is Banned". Variety . Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  23. ↑ Bowman, Wendy (September 20, 2024). "A 29-Year-Old Tech Tycoon Snaps Up a $4.2 Million Designer Abode in L.A." Robb Report. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  24. ↑ Vaziri, Aidin (April 23, 2025). "Lucy Guo on surpassing Taylor Swift, building a billion-dollar fortune". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  25. ↑ "LA500 2024: Lucy Guo". Los Angeles Business Journal . June 3, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  26. ↑ DeLuca, Alex. "Tech Bros, Exotic Animals: HOA Pissed After Silicon Valley Transplant's Wild Party". Miami New Times. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  27. ↑ Staff, T. R. D. (February 9, 2022). "Party poopers? Techie Lucy Guo's wild jamboree at One Thousand Museum riles condo association". The Real Deal. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  28. ↑ Bowman, Wendy (September 20, 2024). "A 29-Year-Old Tech Tycoon Snaps Up a $4.2 Million Designer Abode in L.A." Robb Report. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  29. ↑ Clarke, Katherine. "Exclusive | Billionaire AI Co-Founder Lucy Guo Pays Nearly $30 Million for L.A. Spec House". WSJ. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  30. ↑ Royle, Orianna Rosa. "The youngest self made billionaire on the planet still shops at Shein and pulls up to work in a Honda Civic: 'Act broke, stay rich,' Lucy Guo says". Fortune. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
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