An interesting story about how an Australian entrepreneur became a public figure in a way he never planned. Lachy Groom is a guy who was supposed to be known for his achievements in the startup world, but instead the first search results show a story about an armed robbery at his house in San Francisco.

First, about the robbery itself. Groom's house was invaded by armed robbers posing as couriers. They forced his roommate to empty a cryptocurrency wallet worth $11 million dollars. Quite dramatic for any day.

But if you dig deeper, Lachy Groom is not just a guy who got lucky. His career is truly impressive. He was the 30th employee at Stripe when the company was still in its early stages. Then he became a leading investor and supported several projects now considered successes — Figma, Notion, Ramp. Not bad for one person.

I was especially interested in his work with Physical Intelligence. This is a company developing robots based on artificial intelligence, and Groom became its co-founder in 2024. Within a couple of years, the company raised $600 million in funding and reached a valuation of $5.6 billion. That’s a level of success most startups can only dream of.

Interestingly, Lachy Groom was previously roommates with Sam Altman. His network in the tech world clearly helped him. But this shows that sometimes the most interesting people in the industry are those working behind the scenes, investing in other projects, and building something new, rather than those constantly in the spotlight.