Neel Somani Departs Eclipse To Focus on Charitable Giving
The Founder & CEO of Eclipse Labs, Neel Somani, has left the company to focus on philanthropy and personal health. Former Chief Growth Officer Vijay Chetty will assume the role of the company’s new CEO.
Eclipse Labs announced the departure of Somani and the promotion of Chetty to CEO via a social media post on X.
Eclipse Labs Announces New CEO
Eclipse Labs stated that Chetty brought a decade of experience in crypto, and held leadership positions at dYdX Trading, Uniswap Labs, and Ripple Labs, and significant investing experience at BlackRock.
“Effective immediately, Vijay Chetty will be named CEO of Eclipse Labs, taking over for Neel Somani, who is departing. Chetty will be elevated from Chief Growth Officer and will assume all responsibilities of CEO. Chetty brings over a decade of crypto-native experience to the helm, having held leadership positions at Uniswap Labs, dYdX Trading, and Ripple Labs in addition to his investing experience at BlackRock.”
Chetty also announced the news to his followers, stating that he would be stepping into the role of CEO of Eclipse Labs immediately.
“Effective immediately, I will be stepping into the role of CEO of Eclipse Labs. As Chief Growth Officer, I’ve seen firsthand the promise of Eclipse’s technology and the excitement from our employees, partners, investors and community towards the project.”
Neel Somani's Philanthropy
Somani intends to increase involvement with his undergraduate alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley, where he attained a triple major in mathematics, computer science, and business administration in 2019.
"UC Berkeley gave me a lot of support when I was a student, and I want to pay it forward," says Somani. During his time at UC Berkeley, he was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lipson Essay Prize, Accel Scholarship, Cal Alumni Association Leadership Award, and Haas Leadership Award.
Somani has a history of mentorship within UC Berkeley, through which he has advised dozens of students. He has held a board position within the Berkeley-Haas Alumni Network San Francisco chapter.
It is rumored that Somani anticipates issuing seven-figure donations to UC Berkeley and to his former high school school district, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. These donations might take the form of named endowments, scholarships, or research funding. Somani has co-authored papers with Berkeley faculty in the fields of optimization, privacy, and type systems.
Somani intends to stay active within the cryptocurrency space, since he has invested in several well-known blockchain startups.
Aside from philanthropy, Somani says he intends to focus on his "personal health."
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