Alumnus Steve Chen

Chicago Inno (April 7) – Whenever someone talks about Chicago’s “brain drain” or tech talent leaving the Midwest for Silicon Valley, Steve Chen inevitably comes up. Chen, who co-founded YouTube in 2005 after graduating from the U. of I., is often lumped in with the likes of Marc Andreessen (Netscape), Larry Ellison (Oracle) and Max Levchin (PayPal) as examples of Illinois’ inability to hang on to founders who eventually create massive, industry-changing technology companies. But in 2013 Chen announced he would give $1 million to his high school alma mater, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, to build an on-campus innovation hub, and last week Chen was in Aurora for the official grand opening.