Bob Lee, the creator of Cash App and former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Square, has been fatally stabbed in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, according to NBC Bay Area. The San Francisco Police Department confirmed they had responded to a report of a stabbing without naming the victim. However, Lee’s identity was later confirmed by unnamed sources to NBC Bay Area.
The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, but despite the best efforts of medical personnel, he succumbed to his injuries. Lee had joined Square in 2010 as its first CTO and created Cash App, a mobile payment app that competes with Venmo. Lee later became the Chief Product Officer of MobileCoin in 2021, another fintech company that focuses on end-to-end encryption to protect privacy.
MobileCoin CEO Joshua Goldbard described Lee as a “force of nature” who was instrumental in bringing Android and CashApp into the world. The tech community expressed their condolences and grief on Twitter following Lee’s death. Figma CEO Dylan Field described Lee as an “early supporter” of Figma and “one of the best humans” he had ever met. Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, also shared his sadness and said he was glad to have spent time with Lee recently.
