Who is Divya Narendra? Meet the Harvard Student Who Sued Zuckerberg

The Story of Divya Narendra: From the Harvard Facebook Dispute to Establishing SumZero

Divya Narendra and the Winklevoss twins started HarvardConnection in late 2002. However, they wanted a social network for Harvard students, so in November 2003, they hired Mark Zuckerberg to finish the website’s code. Zuckerberg allegedly delayed their project while building his own competing site. He launched TheFacebook.com in February 2004. The original founders felt betrayed and took legal action.

The Legal Battle Over HarvardConnection

"The lawsuit, which accused Mark Zuckerberg of 'intellectual property theft,' said he 'illegally used source code intended for the website he was hired to create.'" This intense legal fight continued for four years. The parties finally reached a settlement in 2008. The deal included $20 million in cash and $45 million in Facebook stock.

This battle reveals a hidden shift in how we value digital ideas against actual labor.

This case ruined the culture of open sharing at elite universities. This settlement was a tax on Zuckerberg's conscience rather than a fair trade. It allowed him to buy a clean history while the true creators were sidelined.

Success Beyond the Facebook Settlement

Divya Narendra did not stop after the Facebook legal settlement ended. He moved into the world of finance and investment. In 2008, he co-founded a new platform called SumZero, which is an exclusive community for hedge fund analysts. Members are required to share high-quality investment research to join.

"SumZero marries the concepts of Wikipedia along with social networking and tailors these concepts to professional investors," said Divya Narendra. He also focused on his personal education during this time and earned a JD-MBA degree from Northwestern University in 2012. His company now has a multimillion-dollar valuation and a strong reputation. His net worth is currently estimated to be $80 million.