Auren Hoffman
playerIntelligence & Surveillance
The man who co-built an elite invite-only network also spent his career harvesting and selling your personal data.
Who they are
Auren Hoffman, co-founder (with Peter Thiel in 2006) of the Dialog elite network and a serial data-brokerage entrepreneur.
What they do
In the engine's read, he's a builder of both surveillance-style data businesses and the private venue where powerful people gather.
How it works
His companies include Rapleaf (a 2010 investigation found it sending identifying data to 12-plus firms against the rules), LiveRamp (sold to Acxiom for $310M in 2014), and SafeGraph (banned by Google in August 2021 after selling location data including visits to abortion clinics). Fittingly, the elite Dialog network was itself undone by a data exposure in June 2026.
Why it matters
He's connective tissue among the elite (wiring alongside Thiel and Reid Hoffman) whose core trade is exactly the kind of data-gathering that later blew up the very network he helped create.
The engine's record — word for word
Co-founder (with peter_thiel, 2006) of the Dialog elite network (dialog_thiel_network). Serial data-brokerage entrepreneur: Rapleaf (2006-12; a 2010 WSJ investigation found it transmitting identifying data to 12+ companies against platform terms), LiveRamp (Rapleaf spinoff, acquired by Acxiom $310M 2014), SafeGraph (mobile location/movement data; Google banned its app Aug 2021 after it sold location data including abortion-clinic visits), Flex Capital GP (Chime, Flexport et al.). Engine relevance: the data-broker/surveillance-capital co-architect of the private elite-convening venue that was itself undone by a data exposure (Jun 2026). Wires alongside thiel + reid_hoffman as elite connective tissue. [Live pass Jun 18 2026]
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