Chamath Palihapitiya—Palihapitiya fired Social Capital partners amid AI investment dispute, most staff departed
In March 2024, Palihapitiya fired Social Capital partners Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku in a dispute over a Groq AI investment SPV. The firings appeared to center on whether Zaveri had properly sought approval to raise outside capital for a follow-on investment. Former employees alleged the dispute was a pretext to deny carried interest. Subsequently, the firm's CFO and general counsel resigned, and almost all staff departed. Reporting by Newcomer revealed Palihapitiya boasted about having no HR department at companies where he has majority control, instead directing employees to third-party law firms.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Worker Rights | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.483 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.64)
Evidence (2 signals)
Newcomer investigation: 'The Dictator' - Palihapitiya's broken professional relationships and no-HR policy
Newcomer published an in-depth investigation into Palihapitiya's management style, revealing that almost all staff had left Social Capital, including the CFO and general counsel. The piece reported Palihapitiya boasted about having no HR department at companies he controls, and former employees alleged the partner firings were a pretext to deny carried interest.
Axios reported Palihapitiya fired two Social Capital partners over AI investment dispute
Axios reported that Social Capital fired partners Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku in March 2024. The dispute centered on a Groq AI investment SPV that Zaveri sought to raise outside capital for. Palihapitiya posted cryptically on X confirming terminations.