Your banner here? Contact us!

Brendan Eich

Co-Founder & CEO of Brave; Creator of JavaScript, Brave Software

Brave Software website

Bio

Brendan Eich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brave Software, the company behind the Brave Browser and the Basic Attention Token (BAT). He is also the creator of JavaScript, which he designed at Netscape in just 10 days in 1995. Eich later co-founded the Mozilla project and the Mozilla Corporation/Foundation, which produces the Firefox browser.

Eich co-founded Brave Software in 2015 with Brian Bondy. Brave is a privacy-first web browser that blocks ads and trackers by default and optionally allows users to receive BAT rewards for viewing privacy-respecting advertisements through the Brave Rewards program. BAT (Basic Attention Token) is an Ethereum-based utility token that powers the Brave advertising ecosystem.

As of August 2026, Brave Browser has expanded to include Brave Search, Brave Wallet (multi-chain), Brave VPN, and Brave Leo — an AI assistant built with privacy-preserving architecture, including cryptographic verification features for AI query handling. The relationship between Brave Software and BAT remains the advertising rewards program, though the broader BAT ecosystem has evolved significantly since the 2017 ICO.

Profile at a glance

Status: Active

Work & Project Background

Brave Software
Co-founder

Key Contributions

JavaScript Creator

Created JavaScript at Netscape in 1995 — the programming language that became the foundational client-side scripting language of the web and a core technology of the modern internet.

Brave Browser

Co-founded Brave Software and led development of the Brave Browser, a privacy-first browser with built-in ad/tracker blocking used by millions globally.

Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Designed the BAT token model to create a blockchain-based advertising economy where users are compensated for attention, disrupting the surveillance advertising model.

Mozilla & Firefox

Co-founded the Mozilla project and contributed to the development of Firefox, one of the most important open-source web browsers in internet history (historical role).

Brave Leo — Privacy AI

Directed Brave Leo, a privacy-preserving AI assistant integrated into the Brave Browser with cryptographically verifiable privacy guarantees — an early example of privacy-first AI browsing.

Timeline

1995

Created JavaScript at Netscape Communications Corporation in approximately 10 days, originally named Mocha and then LiveScript. Became one of the most widely used programming languages in history.

1998

Co-founded the Mozilla project with Netscape colleagues following Netscape's open-sourcing of the Navigator browser codebase.

2003–2014

Worked at Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla Foundation in technical and executive roles. Served briefly as Mozilla CEO in 2014 before resigning amid controversy.

2015

Co-founded Brave Software with Brian Bondy, launching the Brave Browser with a built-in ad blocker and privacy-first architecture.

2017

Brave Software conducted the Basic Attention Token (BAT) ICO on Ethereum, raising approximately $35M in under 30 seconds.

2019

Brave Rewards launched, enabling users to opt into privacy-respecting ads and earn BAT. Brave Browser hit 10M monthly active users milestone.

2021–2024

Brave added Search, Wallet, VPN, and Talk. Brave reported growing user base. BAT ecosystem continued via Brave Rewards advertising model.

2025–2026

Launched Brave Leo, a privacy-preserving AI assistant, including cryptographically verifiable privacy features. Continued Web3/onchain integrations in the browser.

Previous - Brendan Blumer All Crypto Founders Brent van der Heiden - Next

Your banner here? Contact us!