Who he is
Brendan Eich is an American technologist, among the most influential people in the history of the web. In 1995, at Netscape, he created the JavaScript programming language — whose first version he wrote in about ten days — which is still the most widely used language on the web. He co-founded the Mozilla project (1998), where he served as chief architect, CTO and, briefly, CEO. In 2015 he co-founded Brave Software, which develops the Brave browser, built around privacy and the blocking of ads and trackers, the independent search engine Brave Search and the integrated AI assistant Leo. At Brave he co-created the Basic Attention Token (BAT), the cryptocurrency that rewards users and creators inside the browser: its ICO on 31 May 2017 raised $35 million in less than a minute.
Current role
- Co-founder and CEO of Brave Software (Verified: September 2026): he has led the company since 2015, a role confirmed by public sources in 2026 as well.
Career path
1. 1995, Netscape — creates JavaScript as the scripting language for Navigator; the resulting standard (ECMAScript) still underpins the web today. 2. 1998-2014, Mozilla — co-founds the Mozilla project and later the Mozilla Corporation; chief architect, CTO from 2005, CEO in March 2014. 3. 2015-present, Brave — co-founds Brave Software with Brian Bondy; launches the Brave browser (first developer versions on 20 January 2016) and, in 2017, the BAT token.
Recent developments and controversies
- Resignation from Mozilla (2014): appointed CEO in March 2014, he resigned after 11 days following the protests that came with the discovery of his 2008 donation in support of California's Proposition 8 (against marriage equality). A closed chapter, but the one that led to the birth of Brave.
- Affiliate link case (2020): Brave was criticised because address autocompletion added referral codes to some crypto sites (including Binance); Eich apologised publicly and the feature was disabled. Outcome: corrected, no legal consequences.
- Today Brave continues as an independent company centred on privacy, search and AI; BAT remains integrated into the browser's rewards system (Verified: September 2026).
FAQ
What does Brendan Eich do today? He is co-founder and CEO of Brave Software, the company behind the Brave browser, the Brave Search engine and the BAT token. He has led the company since 2015.
What is the connection between Brendan Eich and cryptocurrency? With Brave he co-created the Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency used in the browser to reward users and creators: its 2017 ICO raised $35 million.
See also
Verified sources
- https://craft.co/brave-software/executives
- https://theorg.com/org/brave-software/org-chart/brendan-eich
- https://iq.wiki/wiki/brendan-eich
- https://www.sitepoint.com/interview-brendan-eich-ceo-brave/
