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. He founded the biotech company Roivant Sciences in 2014 and served as its CEO until 2021. In 2023, he ran for the Republican presidential nomination, withdrawing after the Iowa caucuses in January 2024 and endorsing Donald Trump. He launched a campaign for Ohio governor in February 2025, receiving Trump's endorsement.

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Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements

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 who aspired to launch a business.

2007: Graduation from Harvard University

In 2007, Ramaswamy graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in biology, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. During his time at Harvard, he was known as a confident libertarian, led the Harvard Political Union, performed Eminem covers as "Da Vek", interned for Amaranth Advisors and Goldman Sachs, and wrote a senior thesis on human-animal chimeras, earning a Bowdoin Prize.

2007: Joined QVT Financial

In 2007, Ramaswamy joined the hedge fund QVT Financial.

2009: Sale of Campus Venture Network

In 2009, Campus Venture Network was sold to the nonprofit Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

December 2014: Axovant Purchased Intepirdine Patent

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

2014: Founded Roivant Sciences

In 2014, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences, a biotechnology firm incorporated in Bermuda. The company received almost $100 million in start-up capital from QVT and other investors, and aimed to purchase patents for underdeveloped drugs from larger pharmaceutical companies and bring them to the market.

2014: Departure from QVT Financial

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

March 2015: Chairman of OnCore Biopharma/Tekmira Pharmaceuticals

In March 2015, Ramaswamy was chairman of OnCore Biopharma, a position he maintained at Tekmira Pharmaceuticals when the two companies merged.

2015: Ramaswamy's Forbes Cover and Axovant IPO

In 2015, Ramaswamy appeared on the cover of Forbes and stated that his company would "be the highest return on investment endeavor ever taken up in the pharmaceutical industry." He engineered Axovant's initial public offering (IPO), raising $315 million and leading to a market value of almost $3 billion.

2017: Partnership with CITIC and Investment from SoftBank

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

2018: Creation of Roivant Foundation

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

2019: Sale of Subsidiaries to Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma

In 2019, Roivant sold its stake in five subsidiaries to Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Ramaswamy made $175 million in capital gains from the sale, and Sumitomo Dainippon gained a 10% stake in Roivant.

2020: Co-founded Chapter Medicare

In 2020, Ramaswamy co-founded Chapter Medicare, a Medicare navigation platform. He also served on the Ohio COVID-19 Response Team.

2020: Establishment of Roivant Social Ventures

In 2020, while Ramaswamy was CEO of Roivant Sciences, the company established a nonprofit social-impact arm, Roivant Social Ventures (RSV).

January 2021: Ramaswamy Stepped Down as CEO of Roivant

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

2021: Stepped Down as CEO of Roivant Sciences

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

September 2022: Publication of 'Nation of Victims'

In September 2022, Ramaswamy published his 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.

October 2022: Meetings with South Carolina Lawmakers

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

2022: Launch of Strive's Flagship Fund

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

2022: Co-founded Strive Asset Management

In early 2022, Ramaswamy co-founded Strive Asset Management with Anson Frericks. The firm raised about $20 million from outside investors, including Peter Thiel, JD Vance, and Bill Ackman.

2022: Considered Running for U.S. Senate

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

February 2023: Resignation from Strive

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

February 2023: Stepped Down as Chair of Roivant

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

February 21, 2023: Declared Candidacy for President

On February 21, 2023, Ramaswamy declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2024 on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

May 2023: Ramaswamy campaign admits to altering Wikipedia biography

In May 2023, Ramaswamy's campaign admitted to paying an editor to alter his Wikipedia biography before announcing his candidacy. The edits removed references to his postgraduate fellowship and involvement with the Ohio COVID-19 Response Team. The campaign denied attempting to "scrub" his page, claiming the edits were revisions of factual distortions.

July 2023: Campaign Loan Amount

From February to July 2023, Ramaswamy loaned his campaign more than $15 million.

2023: Dissolution of Axovant

In 2023, Axovant dissolved after attempting to reinvent itself as a gene therapy company.

2023: Presidential Candidacy Declaration

In 2023, Ramaswamy declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential primaries.

2023: Ramaswamy rallies behind Trump after federal criminal charges

In 2023, after Trump was indicted on federal criminal charges, Ramaswamy immediately rallied behind him and promised to pardon Trump if elected president.

January 2024: Withdrawal from Presidential Bid and Trump Endorsement

In January 2024, Ramaswamy finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses and withdrew his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Following this, he endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election.

May 2024: Acquisition of Stake in BuzzFeed

In May 2024, Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, later increased to 8.4%, becoming the second-largest Class A shareholder. He suggested hiring conservative pundits and new directors.

2024: Ramaswamy supports Trump during presidential run

In 2024, Ramaswamy vocally supported Trump, despite running against each other for the 2024 Republican nomination.

2024: Ramaswamy ends campaign and endorses Trump

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

2024: Ramaswamy tasked to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

In 2024, after the election, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Ramaswamy and Elon Musk would lead the newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, Ramaswamy never worked with the DOGE team.

2024: Presidential Campaign

On February 21, 2023, Ramaswamy declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2024 on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

February 15, 2025: Ramaswamy files to enter the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election

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

February 2025: Launch of Ohio Gubernatorial Campaign

In February 2025, Ramaswamy launched his campaign for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election and received an endorsement from President Trump.

2026: Ramaswamy drops out of DOGE to focus on Ohio gubernatorial campaign

In 2026, Ramaswamy dropped out of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) to focus on a potential 2026 Ohio gubernatorial campaign. This departure was reportedly due to friction between Ramaswamy and other DOGE leadership and staff.