Career Timeline of Vivek Ramaswamy: Major Achievements and Milestones

How Vivek Ramaswamy built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur and politician known for founding Roivant Sciences, a biotech pharma company, in 2014. He entered the political arena as a candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, but later withdrew and endorsed Donald Trump. Subsequently, he launched a campaign for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election, securing endorsements from both Trump and the Ohio Republican Party. Ramaswamy's background spans both the business world and Republican politics.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements

2007: Worked at QVT Financial

From 2007, Ramaswamy worked at the hedge fund QVT Financial.

2007: Co-founded Campus Venture Network

In 2007, Ramaswamy and Travis May co-founded Campus Venture Network, which published a private social networking website for university students.

2009: Campus Venture Network Sold

In 2009, Campus Venture Network, co-founded by Ramaswamy, was sold to the nonprofit Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

December 2014: Axovant Purchased Intepirdine Patent

In December 2014, Axovant, a Roivant subsidiary, purchased the patent for intepirdine from GlaxoSmithKline for $5 million.

2014: Founded Roivant Sciences

In 2014, Ramaswamy founded the biotechnology firm Roivant Sciences, incorporating it in Bermuda and receiving almost $100 million in start-up capital.

2014: Left QVT Financial

In 2014, Ramaswamy left QVT Financial where he was a partner and co-managed the firm's biotech portfolio.

March 2015: Chairman of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals

In March 2015, Ramaswamy maintained his position as chairman at Tekmira Pharmaceuticals after merging with OnCore Biopharma.

2015: Raised Millions for Roivant Subsidiary

In 2015, Ramaswamy raised $360 million for Roivant subsidiary Axovant Sciences in an attempt to market intepirdine as a drug for Alzheimer's disease. Ramaswamy appeared on the cover of Forbes and took a massive payout after selling a portion of his shares in Roivant to Viking Global Investors.

September 2017: Intepirdine Failed Clinical Trial

In September 2017, Axovant Sciences announced that intepirdine had failed in its large clinical trial, causing the company's value to plunge.

2017: Roivant Partnered with CITIC and SoftBank

In 2017, Roivant partnered with CITIC Private Equity of the Chinese state-owned CITIC Group to form Sinovant. In 2017, Ramaswamy also struck a deal with Masayoshi Son in which SoftBank invested $1.1 billion in Roivant.

2018: Ramaswamy's Statement on Intepirdine

In 2018, Ramaswamy said he had no regrets about how Axovant handled the drug intepirdine, but later expressed regret over the outcome due to criticism.

2018: Created the Roivant Foundation

In 2018, an earlier iteration of Roivant Social Ventures (RSV), the Roivant Foundation, was created.

2019: Roivant Sold Stake in Subsidiaries

In 2019, Roivant sold its stake in five subsidiaries, including Enzyvant, to Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma; Ramaswamy made $175 million in capital gains from the sale.

2020: Co-founded Chapter Medicare

In 2020, Ramaswamy co-founded Chapter Medicare, a Medicare navigation platform.

2020: Supported Donald Trump

In 2020, Ramaswamy supported Donald Trump for the 2020 presidential election, marking a shift from being largely apolitical.

2020: Established Roivant Social Ventures

In 2020, Roivant Sciences, under Ramaswamy's leadership as CEO, established a nonprofit social-impact arm, Roivant Social Ventures (RSV).

January 2021: Ramaswamy Stepped Down as CEO

In January 2021, Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO of Roivant Sciences and assumed the role of executive chairman.

August 2021: Publication of 'Woke, Inc.'

In August 2021, Vivek Ramaswamy's book, the New York Times bestseller, "Woke Inc" was published, describing his view of the modern woke-industrial complex.

2021: Published 'Woke Inc.'

In 2021, Ramaswamy wrote his first book, "Woke, Inc.", and appeared on cable networks arguing against leftist "woke" policies and became an active donor to the Republican Party.

2021: Stepped down as CEO of Roivant Sciences

In 2021, Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO of Roivant Sciences.

September 2022: Published 'Nation of Victims'

In September 2022, Ramaswamy published a second book, "Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence", a few months before announcing his presidential candidacy.

Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence

Check it on Amazon

October 2022: Meetings with South Carolina Lawmakers

In October 2022, Ramaswamy held closed-door meetings with South Carolina lawmakers, pitching Strive to manage South Carolina pension funds.

2022: Considered Running for U.S. Senate

In 2022, Ramaswamy briefly considered running in the U.S. Senate election in Ohio.

2022: Launched Strive's Flagship Fund

In 2022, Strive's flagship fund, the exchange-traded fund DRLL, launched as an "anti-woke" energy sector index fund.

2022: Co-founded Strive Asset Management

In 2022, Vivek Ramaswamy co-founded an investment firm, Strive Asset Management.

February 2023: Resigned as Executive Chairman

In February 2023, Ramaswamy resigned as Strive's executive chairman to focus on his presidential campaign.

February 2023: Ramaswamy Resigned as Chair of Roivant

In February 2023, Ramaswamy stepped down as chair of Roivant to focus on his presidential campaign.

February 21, 2023: Presidential Candidacy Announcement

On February 21, 2023, Vivek Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2024 on Tucker Carlson Tonight. He also released 20 years of his income tax returns and challenged his rivals to do the same.

June 2023: Criticism of Meetings with Lawmakers

In June 2023, after The Post and Courier reported on Ramaswamy's October 2022 meetings with South Carolina lawmakers, the sessions were criticized as a form of unregistered lobbying.

2023: Axovant Dissolved

In 2023, Axovant, which had attempted to reinvent itself as a gene therapy company, dissolved.

2023: Anti-Woke Candidate

In 2023, The New York Times described Vivek Ramaswamy as an anti-woke candidate. He gained recognition by opposing corporate E.S.G. programs that advance political, social and environmental causes in businesses. During his presidential campaign, he asserted that faith, patriotism, and hard work are being replaced by new secular religions.

2023: Support for Trump after Indictment

In 2023, after Donald Trump was indicted on federal criminal charges, Vivek Ramaswamy immediately rallied behind him. He promised to pardon Trump if elected president, along with Julian Assange, Ross Ulbricht, and Edward Snowden.

2023: Ramaswamy Discussed Martin Shkreli

In 2023, in a speech and in his book Woke Inc., Ramaswamy called Martin Shkreli "brilliant" and a pathological liar and criticized the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecuting Shkreli.

May 2024: Acquired Stake in BuzzFeed

In May 2024, Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, later increased to 8.4%, making him the second-largest Class A shareholder in the company.

2024: Appointment to Department of Government Efficiency

A week after the 2024 election, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk had been tasked to lead the newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, Ramaswamy never worked with the DOGE team during the Trump administration.

2024: Presidential Candidate

In 2024, Ramaswamy entered national politics as the youngest presidential candidate in the Republican primaries but withdrew his bid and endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election.

2024: Campaign Endorsement of Trump

In January 2024, after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses, Vivek Ramaswamy ended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. For the remainder of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Ramaswamy served the Trump campaign as a political surrogate, representing the Trump campaign and attending campaign events in place of the candidate.

February 15, 2025: Filing for Ohio Gubernatorial Election

On February 15, 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy filed to enter the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election.

May 9, 2025: Endorsement from Ohio Republican Party

On May 9, 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy received the official endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party's State Central Committee for his Ohio gubernatorial campaign, marking the earliest the state Republican Party has ever endorsed a non-incumbent gubernatorial candidate.

2025: Campaign for Ohio Gubernatorial Election

In 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy launched his campaign for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election and received endorsements from both President Trump and the Ohio Republican Party.

2026: Ohio Gubernatorial Election

In 2026, Vivek Ramaswamy plans to run for the Ohio gubernatorial election, having launched his campaign in 2025.

2026: Withdrawal from DOGE and Gubernatorial Campaign

On Inauguration Day in 2024, Vivek Ramaswamy withdrew from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to focus on a potential 2026 Ohio gubernatorial campaign. The departure was reportedly due to friction between Ramaswamy and other DOGE leadership and staff.

2026: Ohio Gubernatorial Election Announcement

Vivek Ramaswamy officially announced his run for the 2026 Ohio governorship on February 24. On the same day, he got an endorsement from President Donald Trump.