Tech executive Bob Lee stabbed to death in San Francisco

Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco early Tuesday, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police.

The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to a report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday and found a 43-year-old man suffering from apparent stab wounds. The victim died at a hospital.

Police did not identify the victim but MobileCoin confirmed Lee's death to CBS News.

"Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators," MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard said in a statement.

"Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature," Goldbard wrote. "Bob was the genuine article. He was made for the world that is being born right now, he was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real."

Lee's father posted a statement on Facebook, confirming that his son had died "on the street in San Francisco."

"I just lost my best friend," Rick Lee wrote.

Lee came to MobileCoin as an early-stage investor and advisor, then became chief product officer and helped launch the Moby app, Goldbard said. Lee was the chief technology officer at digital payments company Square in 2013 when it launched a money transfer application now known as Cash App.

The police statement did not provide any details on the circumstances of the stabbing.

"This is an open and active investigation. For that reason we are not releasing further information," Officer Niccole Pacchetti, a public information officer, said in an email. "We will provide further details when they become available."

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square (which is now called Block), responded to the news via a post early Wednesday on the decentralized social media app Nostr, CBS Bay Area reported.

"Heartbreaking," Dorsey wrote. "Bob was instrumental to Square and Cash App."  

No arrest has been made in the case and San Francisco police haven't released any details about any possible suspects. 

On Twitter Tuesday evening, a flood of messages eulogized Lee. Many included his @crazybob Twitter handle.

In:
• Homicide
• Nima Momeni
• Bob Lee
• Obituary
• Crime
• San Francisco
• Cash App
• San Francisco Bay Area