Cash App creator Bob Lee, 43, is killed in San Francisco

By The Associated Press

Published April 5, 2023 at 5:02 PM EDT

A woman on Wednesday walks past flowers left outside an apartment building in in San Francisco where technology executive Bob Lee was fatally stabbed.

SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco early Tuesday, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police.

The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to a report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday and found a 43-year-old man suffering from apparent stab wounds. The victim died at a hospital.

Police did not identify the victim but MobileCoin confirmed Lee's death in response to an email from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators," MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard said in a statement.

Lee was "made for the new world," Goldbard wrote.

"From large contributions to Android at google, to being the first CTO of Square, in that time creating CashApp, and working with us here at Mobilecoin, Bob surely had an impact that will last far beyond his short time on earth," he said.

Lee came to MobileCoin as an early stage investor and advisor, then became chief product officer and helped launch the Moby app, Goldbard said. Lee was the chief technology officer at digital payments company Square in 2013 when it launched a money transfer application now known as Cash App.

Prominent venture capitalist Ron Conway, founder of the San Francisco-based investment firm SV Angel, tweeted Wednesday that Lee's loss was an immense tragedy.

"Deepest condolences to Bob's family and to the entire tech community," Conway said. "Remembering fondly when Bob gave an inspiring talk at our CEO Summit. We've lost a great innovator, intelligence, and spirit. Praying a suspect is apprehended swiftly."

The police statement did not provide any details on the circumstances of the stabbing.

"This is an open and active investigation. For that reason we are not releasing further information," Officer Niccole Pacchetti, a public information officer, said in an email. "We will provide further details when they become available."