Om Malik (1966 – 2026)

Their Story

Om Malik was one of the Internet's earliest technology journalists and analysts who dedicated much of his adult life to the craft. In the early 1990s, he was a senior writer for Forbes, eventually becoming part of the founding group that helped launch the business publication's website. In 2000, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, initially to write for a magazine called Business 2.0 before founding his own website one year later. Founded in 2001, GigaOm turned a personal technology blog into a respected media company and analyst firm that became required reading for entrepreneurs, investors, and technology executives, earning a reputation for thoughtful reporting and sharp industry analysis. Malik sparked some of the earliest coverage of the mid-2000s social media boom, including one of the first full profiles on Twitter in 2006, the same year it launched. His tech journalism took a bit of a backseat in 2007, when he suffered his first heart attack at 41. He sold Gigaom in 2015 after it faced financial difficulty. His work later expanded into venture capital when he joined True Ventures as a venture partner, and he stepped away from day-to-day operations at GigaOm in 2014. He authored the book Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist and wrote articles published in venues such as The Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, and Crain Communications. Beyond his work in the world of tech, he also engaged in creative pursuits, with an Instagram page featuring over 100,000 followers of his own landscape photography.</bio> <parameter name="timelineEvents">[ { "date": "1966-09-29", "title": "Born in New Delhi", "description": "Om Prakash Malik was born in New Delhi, India, where he was raised in a middle-class family." }, { "date": "1986", "title": "Graduated from St. Stephen's College", "description": "Malik graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, with a degree in chemistry." }, { "date": "1997", "title": "Joined Forbes.com founding team", "description": "Malik was on the original team at Forbes.com led by David Churbuck, pioneering early web journalism." }, { "date": "2000", "title": "Moved to San Francisco", "description": "Malik relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to write for Business 2.0 magazine." }, { "date": "2001", "title": "Founded Gigaom", "description": "Malik launched Gigaom as a one-person technology blog that would grow into a pioneering media company." }, { "date": "2006", "title": "Early Twitter coverage", "description": "Malik published one of the first major media profiles of Twitter, helping to introduce the platform to a wider audience." }, { "date": "2007-12", "title": "First heart attack", "description": "Malik suffered a heart attack at age 41, which prompted him to reassess his priorities." }, { "date": "2008", "title": "Joined True Ventures", "description": "Following his heart attack, Malik became a venture partner at True Ventures, combining his journalism insights with investment decisions." }, { "date": "2014", "title": "Left Gigaom", "description": "Malik stepped away from day-to-day operations at Gigaom to focus on his work at True Ventures as a full-time partner." }, { "date": "2015", "title": "Gigaom ceased operations", "description": "Gigaom shut down due to financial difficulty in March, though its assets were later acquired and relaunched by Knowingly Corporation." }, { "date": "2026-06-24", "title": "Died at Stanford Hospital", "description": "Om Malik passed away at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto after a long health journey with his heart, surrounded by family and friends." } ]

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Malik