He started Tumblr at 20. 💻 Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion. Today David Karp is a quiet tech investor. From a high school dropout to a billionaire — this is the updated story.
David Karp Then 🌱
David Karp was born on July 6, 1986, in New York City. His mother was a teacher. His father was a film composer.
He went to Bronx Science — one of NYC’s top high schools. He was a math prodigy. But he dropped out at 15. He was bored. He wanted to work.
He taught himself to code. He started doing freelance work. He built websites for companies. He was making money by 16.
In 2006, he started Davidville. It was a consulting company. It built software for clients. One client wanted a blogging platform.
Karp had an idea: what if blogging was simpler? What if you could post photos, quotes, and short text without writing long essays?
That idea became Tumblr.
The Middle: Building Tumblr 👑
Karp launched Tumblr in 2007. He was 20. The site was simple. You could post anything — photos, text, videos, quotes. You could follow other blogs. You could reblog.
Tumblr grew fast. By 2010, it had 10 million users. By 2012, it had 50 million blogs. By 2013, it had 100 million blogs.
It was the platform for creative people. Artists. Photographers. Writers. Fandoms. Memes. Tumblr culture was everywhere.
In 2013, Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Karp was 26. He became a multimillionaire. He stayed as CEO.
Yahoo promised not to “screw it up.” But Tumblr struggled under Yahoo. The company tried to monetize it with ads. Users hated it. Growth slowed.
Karp stayed for 4 years. In 2017, he left Tumblr. He said he wanted to do something new.
Like Garrett Camp, Karp built a platform that changed how people create. He was a young founder who sold to a big company.
David Karp Now 📈
Today, David Karp is 40 and worth around $200 million. He’s a tech investor and advisor.
After leaving Tumblr, he started investing in startups. He backs young founders. He focuses on creative tools, AI, and social media.
Tumblr has changed hands twice. Verizon bought Yahoo in 2017. Then Automattic (WordPress’s parent) bought Tumblr in 2019 for just $3 million — a fraction of what Yahoo paid.
Karp doesn’t run Tumblr anymore. But his creation still has millions of users. It’s still a home for artists and creators.
He lives in New York City. He keeps a low profile. He doesn’t do many interviews. He focuses on investing and advising.
He’s married. He has children. He enjoys photography and design.
From a high school dropout to a billionaire founder. From a bedroom coder to the creator of Tumblr.
David Karp didn’t just build a blogging platform. He built a creative movement — and proved that dropping out can be the smartest move. 💪