Bob Lee, a tech executive who created Cash App and is currently MobileCoin’s chief product officer, was stabbed to death in San Francisco earlier Tuesday, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police.
Officers received reports of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday and found a 43-year-old man with apparent stab wounds, the San Francisco Police Department said in a release. The victim died in hospital.
Police have not identified the victim, but MobileCoin confirmed Lee’s death Wednesday in response to an email from The Associated Press.
“Our dear friend and colleague Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, leaving behind a loving family and a group of close friends and collaborators,” MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard said in a statement.
Lee “was born for a new world,” Goldbard wrote.
“From his huge contribution to Android at Google, to becoming Square’s first CTO, to founding CashApp, to working with us at Mobilecoin, Bob’s impact will certainly far outweigh his brief time on earth time,” he said.
Lee came to MobileCoin as an early investor and advisor, then became chief product officer and helped launch the Moby app, Goldbard said. In 2013, Lee was chief technology officer at digital payments company Square, when the company launched a remittance app now called Cash App.
Ron Conway, a prominent venture capitalist and founder of San Francisco-based investment firm SV Angel, tweeted Wednesday that Lee’s passing is a great tragedy.
“My deepest condolences to Bob’s family and the entire tech community,” Conway said. “I remember fondly when Bob gave an inspiring speech at our CEO Summit. We lost a great innovator, intelligence and spirit. Pray that the suspect is apprehended quickly.”
The police statement did not provide any details about the circumstances of the stabbing.
“This is an open and active investigation. For this reason, we will not be releasing additional information,” Public Information Officer Sergeant Niccole Pacchetti said in an email. “We will provide further details as they become available.”
Associated Press
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