Nation of techies? Indian-American establishes private island for techies using Bitcoin

Have you ever imagined a start-up island for techies? With the vision of ‘Network State’, an Indian American entrepreneur and investor, Balaji Srinivasan, launched an educational programme on a private island in Singapore.

According to details mentioned in an Instagram reel by user Nick Peterson, he described the private island as an “oasis for gym rats and startup founders”.

Peterson, who has been living on this island near Singapore, said that Srinivasan is running a real-life experiment called “Network School”.

He went on to describe his routine on the island, saying, “This week I had group workouts every morning. Sometimes I hit 2 a day because the energy here just makes it easy to stay dialled in. I led my first class to over 40 people. I had to hit them with that Riz 101, and I'll share more about that later. I went to a few classes this week, and Balaji talks on AI and the future of tech. I took a field trip to the Super AI Conference in Singapore.”

He added, “It’s just an hour away and I wrapped it all up with a fun ass weekend long sports tournament competing for a fancy genetics kit. Oh, and we get three healthy meals a day plus hours of deep combos with insanely interesting people. It’s gonna hurt going back to real life. I’m not gonna lie, this place feels fake in the best way possible.”

Who is the man behind the project?

Balaji Srinivasan was born to physician parents in Tamil Nadu who later moved to the United States, where Balaji completed his BS, MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, according to ET.

According to Srinivasan, using the ‘power of Bitcoin’ he has built an island near Singapore where he is building the ‘Network School’.

Currently, an Angel investor, Srinivasan, has served as Chief Technology Officer at Coinbase. He is also a cofounder of Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase), Counsyl (acquired by Myriad), Teleport (acquired by Topia), and Coin Centre. 

What is Network School?

Srinivasan is building a ‘Network State’, which is, “A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states,” as per the “preamble” on the official website.

Srinivasan’s ‘The Network School’, running on the island near Singapore, is a global community for techno-optimists—remote workers, creators, builders, and self-improvers—focused on personal growth and startup society-building. Membership starts at $1500/month (with roommates) and includes housing, meals, and amenities. The school seeks long-term pioneers ready to help shape a lasting cloud community.