Lachy Groom: $11M Crypto Heist Victim Built $5.6B AI Company

Lachy Groom, a 31-year-old Australian entrepreneur and Sam Altman’s former roommate, gained public attention after an $11M crypto heist at his San Francisco home. Beyond the robbery, Lachy Groom was Stripe’s 30th employee, backed Figma, Notion, and Ramp early, and co-founded AI robotics firm Physical Intelligence.

The $11 Million Crypto Heist That Made Headlines

The incident that thrust Lachy Groom into public spotlight involved armed robbers disguised as delivery workers targeting his San Francisco home. The perpetrators forced Groom’s roommate to empty his cryptocurrency wallet, stealing approximately $11 million in digital assets. The robbery highlighted both the security vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency holdings and the high-profile nature of Silicon Valley’s crypto-wealthy elite.

This heist represents one of the largest physical cryptocurrency robberies in recent years. Unlike remote hacking incidents, this attack required knowing Groom’s address, understanding he held substantial crypto assets, and coordinating a sophisticated physical operation. The targeting suggests the robbers had specific intelligence about Lachy Groom’s wealth, possibly from monitoring his public profile as a successful investor and tech executive.

The incident raised awareness about crypto security practices. Many high-net-worth individuals store cryptocurrency in hot wallets—internet-connected wallets convenient for transactions but vulnerable to coercion. Security experts recommend cold storage solutions like hardware wallets or multi-signature setups requiring multiple parties to authorize transactions, making physical robberies less effective.

Despite the traumatic experience, Lachy Groom continued his entrepreneurial and investment activities without public disruption. This resilience demonstrates the mental fortitude characteristic of successful Silicon Valley operators who view setbacks as temporary obstacles rather than permanent defeats.

From Stripe Employee #30 to Angel Investing Legend

Lachy Groom joined Stripe in 2014 as one of the company’s early employees—specifically the 30th hire. He spent several years in various roles, eventually leading growth initiatives that helped Stripe scale from small startup to multi-billion dollar payments giant. This operational experience gave Lachy Groom a front-row seat to how elite companies build scalable businesses.

In 2018, Lachy Groom left Stripe to focus on angel investing full-time. His portfolio quickly became legendary, including some of the fastest-growing B2B companies of recent years. What’s distinctive is that Lachy doesn’t run a traditional fund—he invests his own capital, stays super selective, and focuses on being genuinely helpful to founders rather than deploying massive capital amounts.

Lachy Groom’s Investment Portfolio Highlights

Figma: Design collaboration tool acquired by Adobe for $20 billion (deal later cancelled)

Notion: Productivity workspace valued at $10+ billion

Ramp: Corporate card and expense management platform valued at $8.1 billion

Lattice: Performance management software serving thousands of companies

Physical Intelligence: AI robotics firm he co-founded, valued at $5.6 billion

What makes Lachy Groom’s track record extraordinary is not just the companies he backed, but the timing. He invested in Figma, Notion, and Ramp during seed or Series A rounds when valuations were tens of millions, not billions. His ability to identify future giants at earliest stages demonstrates pattern recognition few investors possess.

Lachy Groom’s Investment Thesis Decoded

Looking at Lachy Groom’s portfolio, clear patterns emerge separating him from typical angel investors. He invests in tools that developers and operators love first, then monetize later. Figma started as a design tool that designers loved using before enterprises paid for it. Notion was a productivity tool individuals adopted before companies subscribed. Lachy Groom understands this bottom-up adoption model better than most investors because he lived it at Stripe.

He backs technical founders solving painful workflow problems. Almost every company in Lachy Groom’s portfolio builds software making knowledge workers more productive. These aren’t consumer apps or marketplaces—they’re tools that save people time and improve their work. This focus on productivity software reflects deep understanding of what drives enterprise software adoption in modern companies.

He gets in early and writes meaningful checks. Lachy Groom isn’t writing $5k angel checks to 100 companies. He writes $100k-$500k checks to a handful of companies where he can actually add value. This approach means he’s selective, but it also means founders take his involvement seriously. His capital commitment signals genuine conviction rather than spray-and-pray portfolio construction.

He specializes in what he knows. Lachy Groom built his entire investing strategy around insights from working at Stripe. He understands B2B SaaS, bottom-up adoption, and how companies scale. He doesn’t pretend to have expertise in areas he doesn’t, staying focused on industries where he has unfair advantages from his career.

Physical Intelligence: Lachy Groom’s $5.6B Robotics Venture

In 2024, Lachy Groom co-founded Physical Intelligence, an AI robotics firm developing general-purpose AI systems for robots. The company recently raised $600 million in funding and achieved a $5.6 billion valuation, marking Lachy Groom’s transition from pure investor to founder-investor hybrid. This move demonstrates his willingness to return to operational roles when opportunities align with his vision and expertise.

Physical Intelligence represents the convergence of AI and robotics, developing software enabling robots to perform diverse physical tasks through general-purpose intelligence rather than task-specific programming. This ambitious goal addresses a fundamental challenge in robotics: creating systems that can adapt to new situations rather than requiring reprogramming for each specific task.

The $600 million funding round attracted top-tier investors, validating the company’s technical approach and market potential. The $5.6 billion valuation places Physical Intelligence among the most valuable AI robotics startups globally, despite being less than two years old. This rapid valuation growth reflects investor enthusiasm for general-purpose AI applications and confidence in the founding team’s execution capabilities.

Lachy Groom’s involvement as co-founder rather than mere investor signals his deep conviction in the opportunity. Returning to full-time operational roles requires significantly more commitment than writing checks as angel investor. This hands-on involvement suggests Lachy Groom views Physical Intelligence as potentially his most impactful venture, surpassing even his angel investing successes.

What Early-Stage Investors Can Learn From Lachy Groom

Lachy Groom’s success isn’t magic—it’s pattern recognition from operating experience, discipline to stay focused on what he knows, and genuine helpfulness to founders. These are principles early-stage investors can learn and apply regardless of whether they have Stripe backgrounds.

Key Lessons From Lachy Groom Investments

Specialize in What You Know: Invest in industries where you have unfair advantages from your career

Look for Organic Adoption: Focus on products spreading through word-of-mouth rather than paid marketing

Value Access Over Brand: Invest where you can genuinely help rather than for ego or portfolio decoration

Write Meaningful Checks: Better to make substantial investments in few companies than tiny bets across many

Focus on End-User Love: Back products that individual users adopt before companies mandate

The reality check: Lachy Groom has unfair advantages most angel investors lack. His Stripe experience gave him credibility, network, and pattern recognition that takes years to build. However, the principles still apply even without that background. Focus on industries where you have expertise, look for organic adoption, be helpful to founders, and write meaningful checks to companies where you can add value.

For angel investors, Lachy Groom’s approach demonstrates that operator experience translates into investing edge. Understanding how businesses actually scale, what drives adoption, and where friction points emerge in growth provides insights theoretical investors struggle to match. If you’ve built companies and want to back the next generation of founders, studying Lachy Groom’s playbook offers valuable lessons.

The Altman Connection And Silicon Valley Network

Lachy Groom’s relationship with Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and former Y Combinator president, provided access to Silicon Valley’s most influential networks. As former roommates, their relationship extends beyond professional connections into personal trust. This proximity to Altman positioned Lachy Groom to observe and learn from one of tech’s most successful operators and investors.

The Silicon Valley network effects are real. Lachy Groom’s early success at Stripe opened doors to deal flow most investors never see. Founders who knew him from Stripe reached out for advice and capital. Other Stripe alumni making transitions to investing or founding companies naturally included Lachy Groom in their networks. This compounding advantage explains how some investors consistently access the best deals while others struggle to see quality opportunities.

FAQ

How did Lachy Groom make his money?

Lachy Groom made his wealth primarily through early equity in Stripe as employee #30 and successful angel investments in Figma, Notion, Ramp, and other startups that achieved billion-dollar valuations. He also co-founded Physical Intelligence, valued at $5.6 billion.

What happened in the Lachy Groom robbery?

Armed robbers disguised as delivery workers targeted Lachy Groom’s San Francisco home, forcing his roommate to empty crypto wallets containing approximately $11 million. The incident highlighted cryptocurrency security vulnerabilities for high-profile individuals.

What companies has Lachy Groom invested in?

Major Lachy Groom investments include Figma (design collaboration), Notion (productivity workspace), Ramp (corporate cards), Lattice (HR software), and Physical Intelligence (AI robotics), among others. His portfolio focuses on B2B SaaS and productivity tools.

Does Lachy Groom run a venture capital fund?

No, Lachy Groom doesn’t run a traditional VC fund. He invests his own capital as angel investor, writing $100k-$500k checks to select companies where he can add operational value rather than deploying institutional capital.

What is Physical Intelligence?

Physical Intelligence is an AI robotics company co-founded by Lachy Groom in 2024, developing general-purpose AI systems for robots. The company raised $600 million in 2024 and is valued at $5.6 billion.

How is Lachy Groom connected to Sam Altman?

Lachy Groom and Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) were former roommates in San Francisco. This personal relationship provided Lachy Groom access to Silicon Valley’s most influential networks and deal flow from elite founder circles.