Current Role | Co-Founder & CEO, DoorDash |
Previous Position | Strategy roles at McKinsey, eBay, Square |
Key Recognition | Forbes Self-Made List | TIME 100 | Business Insider Silicon Valley Power 100 |
Background and Early Foundations
Born in Nanjing, China, Tony Xu immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of 5. His mother, a medical doctor in China, worked minimum wage jobs — even washing dishes at a local restaurant — to support their family. That experience shaped Tony’s deep empathy for small business owners and frontline workers.
He earned degrees from UC Berkeley and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business before launching DoorDash from his dorm room in 2013 with two classmates.
Today, the Tony Xu story is a definitive self-made immigrant journey — from delivery boy to the boardroom of a public tech giant.
Career Milestones and Impact
Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
2013 | Co-founded DoorDash with Andy Fang and Stanley Tang in Palo Alto |
2020 | Took DoorDash public (NYSE: DASH) with a valuation of $71 billion |
2022 | Joined Meta’s Board of Directors |
2024 | Expanded DoorDash into grocery, alcohol, retail, and drone delivery services |
- Market Cap (2025): ~$32 billion
- Employees: Over 10,000 globally
- Merchants Served: 550,000+ worldwide
- Platform Reach: United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany (new pilot market)
Leadership Style and Influence
Tony Xu is known for his customer-first product thinking, frugality, and long-termism:
- Advocates for the “merchant-first” principle — empowering small businesses with digital tools
- Practices data-informed empathy — blending hard metrics with human stories
- Grew DoorDash with no marketing budget in early years, relying solely on product-market fit
He has also been a strong supporter of immigrant entrepreneurship and gig worker protections.
Legacy and Future Focus
Tony Xu’s legacy is one of inclusive technology scaling — showing that logistics, AI, and platform power can uplift underserved communities.
His next priorities include:
- Expanding autonomous delivery through robotics and AI
- Building DoorDash Drive as an enterprise fulfillment arm for retailers
- Advocating for sustainable gig worker policies and flexible benefit models
He continues to prove that grit, vision, and immigrant perspective can reshape an industry.
