Vijaye Raji
Vijaye Raji | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Pondicherry University |
| Occupations | Technology executive; entrepreneur; software engineer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Employer | OpenAI (2025–present) |
| Known for | Founder and former CEO of Statsig; creator of Microsoft Small Basic |
| Title | Chief Technology Officer of Applications |
Vijaye Raji is an Indian-origin technology executive and entrepreneur based in the United States. He is the founder and former chief executive of the software experimentation platform Statsig and the original creator of Small Basic. In September 2025, following OpenAI’s agreement to acquire Statsig in an all-stock transaction valued at about $1.1 billion, Raji was appointed OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer of Applications, overseeing engineering for ChatGPT and Codex.[1][2][3][4]
Early life and education
Raji was born into a Tamil family and earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Pondicherry University in 1999.[5]
Career
Microsoft
Raji began his career at Microsoft in the 2000s, working on the Windows Application Framework, SQL Server Modeling Language/Runtime, and the Visual Studio editor. As a side project at Microsoft he created Small Basic, an educational programming language and IDE for beginners.[6]
Facebook/Meta
Raji later joined Facebook (now Meta), where he held senior engineering leadership roles. Facebook's engineering blog profiled him in 2012 while he worked on the Messenger team in Seattle,[7] and regional tech coverage identified him as one of the leaders of Facebook's Seattle engineering office in 2015.[8] Indian business media have also summarized later leadership titles he held at the company.[5]
Statsig
In 2021 Raji founded Statsig, a platform providing A/B testing, feature flags, and real-time decisioning tools used by software teams. Statsig announced a p. $10.4 million Series A funding round in August 2021 led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Madrona Venture Group,[9] followed by a p. $43 million Series B in April 2022,[10][11] and a p. $100 million Series C at a p. $1.1 billion valuation in May 2025 led by ICONIQ Growth, with Sequoia and Madrona participating.[12] Bloomberg reporting noted that Statsig's services were used by employees at OpenAI, Eventbrite and SoundCloud.[13]
OpenAI
On 2 September 2025, OpenAI announced it would acquire Statsig in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.1 billion, and that Raji would become the company's CTO of Applications.[1][2][14] The French wire translation carried by Boursorama likewise confirmed the price and title change,[3] as did Spanish-language Bloomberg coverage.[4] OpenAI stated that Raji would report to Fidji Simo and head product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex, with responsibilities spanning core systems and product lines including infrastructure and integrity; Statsig would continue operating out of its Seattle office.[15][16][17]
Small Basic
While at Microsoft, Raji originated Small Basic, a simplified dialect of BASIC with a minimal keyword set and a beginner-friendly IDE. Microsoft's developer community has featured Raji discussing Small Basic's design goals and educational focus.[6]
See also
References
- ^ abKachwala, Zaheer; Hu, Krystal (2 September 2025). "OpenAI to acquire product testing startup Statsig, appoints CTO of applications". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ abField, Hayden (2 September 2025). "OpenAI shuffles executive roles, acquires Statsig for $1.1 billion". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ ab"OpenAI acquiert la startup Statsig spécialisée dans les tests de produits et nomme le directeur technique des applications". Boursorama. Boursorama. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ abMetz, Rachel (2 September 2025). "OpenAI refuerza su equipo con la compra de la startup Statsig por US$1.100 millones". Bloomberg Línea. Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ abAgarwal, Rishika (3 September 2025). "Who is Vijaye Raji, whose AI startup has been acquired by OpenAI for $1 bn?". Business Standard. Business Standard Private Ltd. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ ab"Interviews with Vijaye Raji, the creator of Small Basic". Microsoft TechCommunity. Redmond: Microsoft. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^"Meet a Facebook Engineer: Vijaye Raji". Engineering at Meta. Seattle: Meta Platforms. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Bishop, Todd (6 November 2015). "Interview: Facebook's big Seattle engineering office prepares for even more growth". GeekWire. GeekWire, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Hall, Christine (5 August 2021). "Former Facebook teammates raise $10.4M in Sequoia-led round to launch features development". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Warren, Justin (20 April 2022). "Statsig Experimentation Product Raises $43 Million Series B". Forbes. Forbes Media. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^"Statsig raises $43M Series B round for rapid, live testing and analysis of new product features". GeekWire. GeekWire, LLC. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Bishop, Todd (6 May 2025). "Statsig lands $100M at $1.1B valuation, aiming to unify product development as AI upends industry". GeekWire. GeekWire, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Metz, Rachel (2 September 2025). "OpenAI to Buy Product Testing Startup Statsig for $1.1 Billion". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Bishop, Todd (2 September 2025). "OpenAI acquires Statsig for $1.1B, names CEO to key role in surprise exit for Seattle-area unicorn". GeekWire. GeekWire, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^"Vijaye Raji to become CTO of Applications with acquisition of Statsig". OpenAI. San Francisco: OpenAI. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^"OpenAI acquires product testing startup Statsig and shakes up its leadership team". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^Crouse, Megan (3 September 2025). "OpenAI Buys Statsig for $1.1B, Names Raji CTO of Applications". TechRepublic. TechnologyAdvice. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
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