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David Baszucki[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Career[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Knowledge Revolution[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

In the late 1980s, Baszucki, together with his brother Greg Baszucki, founded the company Knowledge Revolution and developed and distributed a simulation called "Interactive Physics", which was designed as an educational supplement that would allow the creation of 2D physics experiments.[1][2]

Originally released for Macintosh computers, Interactive Physics went on to win multiple awards.[3][4]

As a follow-up to Interactive Physics, Knowledge Revolution launched the mechanical design software Working Model in the early 1990s.[5]

MSC Software and investing[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

In December 1998, Knowledge Revolution was acquired by MSC Software, a simulation software company based in Newport Beach, California, for $20 million.[6] Baszucki was named vice president and general manager of MSC Software from 2000 to 2002, but he left to establish Baszucki & Associates, an angel investment firm. Baszucki led Baszucki & Associates from 2003 to 2004.[7] While an investor, he provided seed funding to Friendster, a social networking service.[8]

Roblox[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Lo stesso argomento in dettaglio: Roblox.

In 2004, Baszucki, along with Erik Cassel – who worked as Baszucki's VP of Engineering for Interactive Physics – began working on an early prototype of Roblox under the working title DynaBlocks. It was later renamed Roblox, a portmanteau of "robots" and "blocks", in 2005. The website officially launched in 2006.[9] In a June 2016 interview with Forbes, Baszucki stated that the idea for Roblox was inspired by the success of his Interactive Physics and Working Model software applications, especially among young students.[6]

In a December 2016 interview with VentureBeat, Baszucki said, “We believe we’re starting to see a network effect. Retention is getting higher as more people come to play with their friends and have a better chance of finding their friends.”[10] Baszucki believes that Roblox is ushering in a new “human co-experience” category that will become larger than gaming.[10]

Baszucki owns a roughly 13% stake in the Roblox Corporation, the company that owns Roblox, a stake estimated to be worth roughly $4.2 billion.[11] He intends to use donate any net proceeds he earns from Roblox's listing on the New York Stock Exchange to philanthropic purposes.[12] In December 2021, a New York Times investigation alleged that he and his relatives used a tax break intended for small business investors in order to legally avoid tens of millions of dollars in capital gains taxes.[13] According to Business Insider, Baszucki was the seventh-highest-paid CEO in 2021, making $232.8 million.[14]

Other activities[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Baszucki spoke at the 2018 Disrupt - San Francisco conference.[15] In 2020, Baszucki funded a study on the effect of hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19, which showed no evidence of it preventing or treating the virus.[16]

In March 2021, after Roblox's listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Baszucki and his wife launched the Baszucki Group, a philanthropic organisation.[17] One of the organization's first projects was the Baszucki Brain Research Fund, which partnered with the Milken Institute to launch a program that provides $2 million in research grants to support research into bipolar disorder treatment options.[18] In December 2021, the University of California, San Francisco launched the Baszucki Lymphoma Therapeutics Initiative, with $6 million in donations from Baszucki over five years, to increase the effectiveness and availability of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for lymphoma patients.[17]

Awards and recognition[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Baszucki's "Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs" award alongside a Roblox patent under the name of co-founder Erik Cassel

Baszucki has received the following awards and honors:

Personal life[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Baszucki lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Jan Ellison, and their four children.[23] In a 2020 blog post after the murder of George Floyd, Baszucki expressed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, expressing dismay at the large amounts of racial inequality in the United States.[24]

Roblox Corporation[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

A "series G" funding round in February 2020, led by Andreessen Horowitz, raised Template:US$ for Roblox Corporation and valued the company at Template:US$.[25] By October 2020, Roblox Corporation had begun planning to become a public company, evaluating whether to perform a regular initial public offering (IPO) or using the less common method of a direct listing.[25] Later that month, the company filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prepare an IPO worth Template:US$, looking to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol "RBLX".[26] By this time, the company had more than 830 full-time employees and 1,700 "trust and safety agents".[27] The company acquired Loom.ai, a company that creates 3D avatars from photographs, in December 2020.[28] In January 2021, Roblox Corporation announced that it would pursue a direct listing instead of an IPO.[29] The SEC had also requested that Roblox Corporation changes how it reports the sales of its virtual currency, Robux.[30] In the same month, Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group led a "series H" round of funding that valued the company at Template:US$.[29] The NYSE approved the direct listing of Roblox Corporation's class A shares by February 2021.[30][31] The shares began trading on March 10 that year, with the initial buys giving the company an estimated Template:US$ valuation.[32][33] In August 2021, Roblox Corporation acquired the online communication platforms Bash Video and Guilded, paying Template:US$ in cash and stock for the latter.[34][35][36]

Reception[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Accolades[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Roblox Corporation has been ranked on Pocket Gamer.biz's top lists of mobile game developers, placing sixth in 2018,[37] eighth in 2019,[38] and sixth in 2020.[39] Fortune featured it as one of the best small and medium-sized workplaces in the San Francisco Bay Area, placing it sixteenth in 2019 and fortieth in 2021.[40][41] In 2016 and 2017, Inc. ranked Roblox Corporation on its "Inc. 5000" list of fastest-growing privates companies in the United States.[42][43] In 2020, Fast Company regarded it as the ninth-most innovative company in the world, as well as the most innovative in the gaming sector.[44][45]

Criticism[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Template:External media On August 19, 2021, YouTube channel People Make Games released the results of their investigation into the Roblox Corporation.[46] In their video report, they allege the company exploits young video game developers by taking an outsized share (75.5%) of revenue made from games on their platform.[46][47][48][49] In a discussion with Axios, Roblox chief product officer (CPO) Manuel Bronstein responded by saying that Roblox's intent is to give more money to its community developers.[50]

After the report's publication, Roblox asked People Make Games to retract the video.[51][52] Instead, they released a follow-up video report which further outlined several child safety issues they felt were present in Roblox.[51][53]

Legal disputes[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

In June 2016, Cinemark Theatres filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation over trademark infringement. The plaintiff cited several user-created games within Roblox that recreated Cinemark locations, including the trademarked branding.[54]

In February 2018, YouTuber Kerstin Hoffmann, known as Keisyo, claimed that Roblox Corporation owed her Template:US$ because the company had stopped her from converting her 42 million Robux balance into real-world money for no given reason. In response, Roblox Corporation stated that she could not transfer her Robux because she had earned them through "fraudulent activities".[55]

In May 2021, an unnamed litigant filed a class-action lawsuit against Roblox Corporation, accusing the company of ripping off players with bogus purchases. Stating "The company's decision to sell first and 'moderate' later has obvious monetary benefit for Roblox, by the time defendant has deleted items from the Avatar Shop and users' inventories, it has already taken its 30% commission from the sale." Roblox Corporation said that they review all content submitted by developers through a multi-step review process before it appears on the platform.[56]

In June 2021, the National Music Publishers' Association filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation for Template:US$, accusing the company of infringing copyright laws. The complaint states, "Roblox actively preys on its impressionable user base and their desire for popular music, teaching children that pirating music is perfectly acceptable."[57] Roblox Corporation responded to the lawsuit by contending that they "do not tolerate copyright infringement", and expressing an intent to contest the lawsuit.[58] On September 27, 2021 Roblox and NMPA announced they had reached an agreement which "settles claims filed by NMPA members [and] offers an industry-wide opt-in open to all eligible NMPA publishers," settling the lawsuit. [59]

In November 2021, Roblox Corporation filed a $1.65 million lawsuit against YouTuber Benjamin Robert Simon, also known online as Ruben Sim. The complaint states a breach of contract, "cyber-bullying and harassing Roblox employees and executives" and "posting false and misleading terrorist threats" during the Roblox Developer Conference 2021 which led to it being temporarily shutdown.[60][61] On January 16, 2022, the judgement was agreed upon both parties which requires Simon to pay $150,000 to Roblox Corporation. With the judgement, Simon is permanently banned from accessing Roblox due to it not creating a legal precedent for other users who may evade IP bans or violate a game's terms of service.[62]

  1. ^ (Dutch) Gaming as a learning revolution, su tijd.be, October 17, 2020. URL consultato il October 27, 2020. Lingua sconosciuta: Dutch (aiuto)
  2. ^ John S., Orlando Exhibit Brings News of Educational Software Advances, in Computers in Physics, vol. 6, n. 2, 1992, pp. 111–112, DOI:10.1063/1.4823052.
  3. ^ (EN) Interactive Physics - Physics Simulation Software for the Classroom, su design-simulation.com. URL consultato il May 10, 2018 (archiviato dall'url originale il May 10, 2018).
  4. ^ InfoWorld, InfoWorld Media Group, Inc., May 14, 1990, p. 68.
  5. ^ (EN) Working Model 2D - 2D Kinematics & Dynamics Software - Engineering Simulation, su design-simulation.com. URL consultato il May 10, 2018 (archiviato dall'url originale il February 3, 2018).
  6. ^ a b Errore nelle note: Errore nell'uso del marcatore <ref>: non è stato indicato alcun testo per il marcatore :1
  7. ^ 'Roblox' Has Been Captivating Players for Over 13 Years, and It All Started With Two Men, su distractify.com, March 6, 2020. URL consultato il September 10, 2020.
  8. ^ (EN) Pete Cashmore, Digg Trademark, Singing News, $5.8 Billion Video Market, Roblox, More, su mashable.com, February 23, 2007. URL consultato il May 10, 2018 (archiviato dall'url originale il May 10, 2018).
  9. ^ (EN) Jack Fennimore, Roblox: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, in Heavy.com, July 12, 2017.
  10. ^ a b (EN) At 10, Roblox surpasses 30 million monthly users and 300 million hours of engagement, in VentureBeat, December 20, 2016. URL consultato il May 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Roblox Cofounder Dave Baszucki Needs To See This Magic Number To Become A Billionaire, su forbes.com, November 20, 2020. URL consultato il December 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Roblox Creator's Wealth Soars to $4.6 Billion as Shares Jump, in Bloomberg, March 10, 2021.
  13. ^ (EN) A Lavish Tax Dodge for the Ultrawealthy Is Easily Multiplied, in The New York Times, 28 dicembre 2021.
  14. ^ The 12 highest-paid CEOs, including Amazon's Andy Jassy and Roblox's David Baszucki, each earned over $100 million last year, in Business Insider, June 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Goldman Sachs CFO Martin Chavez and Roblox CEO David Baszucki to hit up Disrupt SF, su techcrunch.com, May 2, 2018. URL consultato il September 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Hydroxychloroquine, a drug promoted by Trump, failed to prevent healthy people from getting coronavirus, su oregonlive.com, June 3, 2020. URL consultato il September 29, 2020.
  17. ^ a b $6M Gift from Family of Roblox Creator Launches New Initiative to Advance CAR T Therapy, in University of California, San Francisco, December 8, 2021.
  18. ^ Milken Institute and Baszucki Brain Research Fund Launch New Funding Program for Bipolar Disorder Research, in Business Wire, May 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Errore nelle note: Errore nell'uso del marcatore <ref>: non è stato indicato alcun testo per il marcatore :2
  20. ^ Best CEOs for Diversity 2018, su comparably.com, June 6, 2018.
  21. ^ (EN) Best CEOs for Diversity 2019, su comparably.com.
  22. ^ Olga Kharif, David Baszucki, Roblox's 'Builderman', su bloomberg.com, December 1, 2021.
  23. ^ (EN) Local author Jan Ellison's debut novel, A Small Indiscretion, is spotlighted at Kepler's, su inmenlo.com, January 26, 2015. URL consultato il May 10, 2018.
  24. ^ David Baszucki, founder and CEO of Roblox sends a heartfelt message in a recent blog post, su entertainment-focus.com, June 3, 2020. URL consultato il June 26, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Exclusive: U.S. gaming platform Roblox prepares to go public – sources, su reuters.com, October 1, 2020.
  26. ^ Anirban Sen, Roblox IPO filing shows revenue surge as gaming thrives during pandemic, su reuters.com, November 19, 2020.
  27. ^ Rebekah Valentine, Roblox files for IPO, su gamesindustry.biz, November 20, 2020.
  28. ^ Dean Takahashi, Roblox acquires Loom.ai for realistic avatars and delays IPO to 2021, su venturebeat.com, December 14, 2020.
  29. ^ a b Gaming site Roblox valued at $30 bln, plans direct listing, su reuters.com, January 6, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Eric Van Allen, Roblox to begin trading shares in March, su gamesindustry.biz, February 22, 2021.
  31. ^ Sam Chandler, Roblox (RBLX) direct listing set for March after two IPO delays, su shacknews.com, February 22, 2021.
  32. ^ Michael Grothaus, Roblox goes public: What to know as RBLX stock debuts on the NYSE, su fastcompany.com, March 10, 2021.
  33. ^ Dean Takahashi, Roblox goes public at $41.9 billion valuation in direct listing, su venturebeat.com, March 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Dean Takahashi, Roblox acqui-hires Jim Greer's Bash Video platform, su venturebeat.com, August 11, 2021.
  35. ^ Bryant Francis, Roblox now owns online communications platform Guilded, su gamasutra.com, August 16, 2021.
  36. ^ Form 10-Q (PDF), su d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net, Roblox Corporation, 30 June 2021.
  37. ^ Top 50 Mobile Game Developers of 2018, su pocketgamer.biz, August 21, 2018.
  38. ^ The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2019, su pocketgamer.biz, October 1, 2019.
  39. ^ The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2020, su pocketgamer.biz, September 8, 2020.
  40. ^ The 70 Best Companies to Work For in the Bay Area, su fortune.com, February 28, 2019.
  41. ^ Working at Roblox, su greatplacetowork.com, 2021.
  42. ^ Inc. 5000 2016, su inc.com, 2016.
  43. ^ Inc. 5000 2017, su inc.com, 2017.
  44. ^ The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2020, su fastcompany.com, 2020.
  45. ^ The 10 most innovative gaming companies in 2020, su fastcompany.com, 2020.
  46. ^ a b Template:Cite magazine
  47. ^ (EN) Here's everything you need to know about Roblox, the gaming megaplatform making its own rules, in PC Gamer, 11 October 2021.
  48. ^ Template:Cite magazine
  49. ^ (EN) It's Shocking Just How Shady Roblox Actually Is, su kotaku.com, August 19, 2021.
  50. ^ (EN) Roblox outlines future for the virtual platform, in Axios, October 15, 2021.
  51. ^ a b (EN) Roblox accused of being an unsafe environment for children, in Eurogamer, 14 December 2021.
  52. ^ (EN) Roblox is facing accusations of being unsafe for children, in USA Today, Gannett, 15 December 2021.
  53. ^ (EN) YouTubers Are Making Roblox Sound Even Shadier Than Before, su kotaku.com, 13 December 2021.
  54. ^ Tim Cushing, Cinemark Files Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Roblox Over User-Generated Content, su techdirt.com, June 22, 2016.
  55. ^ Vic Hood, YouTuber claims Roblox owe her $150,000 – they disagree, su pcgamesn.com, February 27, 2018.
  56. ^ Robert Burnson, Roblox Accused in Suit of Cheating Kids With Bogus Purchases, su msn.com, Bloomberg News, May 26, 2021.
  57. ^ Anne Steele, Music Publishers Sue Roblox for Letting Game Creators Use Unlicensed Songs, su wsj.com, May 26, 2021.
  58. ^ Todd Spangler, Roblox Responds to Music Publishers $200 Million Copyright-Infringement Lawsuit, su variety.com, June 10, 2021.
  59. ^ Jem Aswad, Roblox and National Music Publishers Association Settle $200 Million Copyright Lawsuit, su variety.com, September 27, 2021.
  60. ^ Adi Robertson, Roblox sues YouTuber for temporarily shutting down conference with fake terrorist threat, su theverge.com, November 24, 2021.
  61. ^ Nicole Carpenter, Roblox sues banned 'cybermob leader' for terrorizing the platform, its developers, su polygon.com, November 24, 2021.
  62. ^ Jack Grimshaw, US court bans Youtuber accused of harassing 'Roblox' staff and terrorist threats, su nme.com, January 24, 2022.
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