Who Founded Sui Blockchain? Exploring the Minds Behind Mysten Labs

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The blockchain industry is crowded with ambitious projects, but few stand out as clearly as Sui. Launched in May 2023, Sui has quickly become one of the most talked-about Layer-1 blockchains thanks to its speed, scalability, and developer-friendly design.
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But while the technology is impressive, leadership defines credibility. Many developers and investors ask the same question: Who founded Sui?

What Is Sui?

Sui is a Layer-1 blockchain designed to support fast, secure, and low-cost transactions. Unlike most chains that process transactions sequentially, Sui leverages a parallel execution engine, allowing thousands of transactions to be confirmed simultaneously.

Key Features of Sui

• Object-oriented architecture: Every asset is treated as an object, enabling more flexible and efficient interactions.
  
  
• Move programming language: Originally developed at Meta, Move offers memory safety and minimizes smart contract vulnerabilities.
  
  
• Consensus mechanisms: Powered by Narwhal & Bullshark, Sui achieves sub-second finality while maintaining decentralization.
  
  
• $SUI token utility: The native token is used for transaction fees, staking, governance, and on-chain storage.
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Since its mainnet launch on May 3, 2023, Sui has quickly attracted developers building NFT platforms, gaming apps, and DeFi protocols.

Origins of Sui & Mysten Labs

Sui’s roots lie in Meta’s Diem project, a global digital currency initiative that was shut down in 2022 after regulatory pressure. Determined to continue building, several of Diem’s leading engineers founded Mysten Labs in late 2021.
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Their mission was to design a next-generation blockchain that solved the problems they saw in Ethereum and Bitcoin: high fees, slow throughput, and complex developer tools. By leveraging the Move programming language and novel consensus mechanisms, Mysten Labs set out to deliver a chain that is secure, scalable, and developer-friendly.
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Mysten Labs quickly earned the backing of top VCs:
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• Series A (Dec 2021): $36M led by a16z.
  
  
• Series B (Sept 2022): $300M led by a16z, with support from Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, and (before collapse) FTX Ventures.
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These rounds validated both the team’s credibility and the market demand for Sui.
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Who Founded Sui Blockchain?
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Sui was founded in 2021 by five former Meta (Novi/Diem) engineers who created Mysten Labs: Evan Cheng, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, George Danezis, and Kostas Chalkias. Some sources also list Daniel Lee as COO and a founding member. Together, they transformed the lessons from Meta’s abandoned Diem project into one of the most advanced Layer-1 networks.
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The Founders at a Glance
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Evan Cheng (CEO)
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Ex-Head of R&D at Novi and Technical Director at Meta; earlier spent a decade at Apple. He leads strategy and long-term vision for Sui.
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Sam Blackshear (CTO)
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Creator of the Move programming language while at Meta, now architecting Sui’s smart contract infrastructure.
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Adeniyi Abiodun (CPO)
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Former Head of Product at Novi, with a career spanning Oracle and VMware. He focuses on product strategy and ecosystem growth.
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George Danezis (Chief Scientist)
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Cryptography expert and UCL professor; co-founded Chainspace and now guides Sui’s scientific direction.
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Kostas Chalkias (Chief Cryptographer)
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Former Novi cryptographer with experience at R3, responsible for Sui’s cryptographic security.
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Daniel Lee (COO, sometimes cited as co-founder)
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Leads operations and commercialization, scaling Mysten Labs globally.

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Why the Founders’ Background Matters

Understanding the team’s pedigree builds confidence for developers and investors:

• Institutional expertise: Experience from Apple, Meta, and academia ensures strong technical foundations.
  
  
• Proven credibility: A $300M funding round shows confidence from top VCs.
  
  
• Developer trust: The same minds that built Move are now scaling it with Sui.
  
  
• E-E-A-T compliance: Demonstrates Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, which are key for Google SEO ranking.
  
  

Launch & Ecosystem Growth

• Mainnet launch: May 3, 2023.
  
  
• Funding: Raised $300 million in Series B (Sept 2022) led by FTX Ventures (before its collapse) and a16z. Funds are used to expand Sui’s ecosystem and developer tools.
  
  
• Ecosystem growth: As of 2025, Sui’s TVL (Total Value Locked) has surpassed $500M, with thriving dApps in DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi.
  
  
• Adoption: Popular projects include SuiSwap, Cetus, KriyaDEX, and gaming dApps like Abyss World.
  
  

Key Innovations of Sui
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Sui’s design introduces several breakthroughs:
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• Parallel transaction execution: Multiple independent transactions confirmed simultaneously for massive throughput.
  
  
• Object-centric model: On-chain assets treated as programmable objects, simplifying complex applications.
  
  
• Low fees & scalability: Predictable, stable fees, even under heavy demand.
  
  
• Use cases: Ideal for DeFi, NFT marketplaces, and Web3 gaming thanks to low-latency performance.
  
  

These innovations allow Sui to handle millions of daily transactions, positioning it as a blockchain built for real-world scale.

Sui vs Other Blockchains

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Conclusion

The founders of Sui: Evan Cheng, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, George Danezis, Kostas Chalkias (and possibly Daniel Lee), represent a powerhouse team rooted in Meta’s blockchain expertise. Through Mysten Labs, they’ve launched a technically advanced Layer‑1, Sui, that’s rapidly carving its place in the Web3 landscape.

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If you want to explore the Sui ecosystem, the first step is creating a Sui wallet. If you’re new, you can read our beginner’s guide to setting up a Sui wallet. Once your wallet is ready, you can trade and buy SUI on Backpack Exchange and start using it across the ecosystem, from DeFi platforms to NFTs and beyond.

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