Silicon Valley entrepreneur, founder of audio fitness app Aaptiv and fintech platform The Coterie, Ethan Agarwal , has announced that he would be joining the race for California Governor as a Democrat who believes in capitalism.
The 40-year-old is aware that he would instantly be compared with Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral candidate, because of their age and their Indian-origin.
"We have some things in common, like being pro-choice and believing in gun control and LGBTQ rights and immigration.
But I fiercely support capitalism and meritocracy, and believe California could use some business and tech acumen to fix things in a way that other candidates in the race won't," Ethan told Axios.
"What I or any of the other candidates think about Mamdani is irrelevant. We have enough issues to solve here in California," Ethan said in another interview with NewsNation.
"For me, capitalism is the way you solve and lift people out of poverty, how you solve education, energy crisis," Agarwal said.
Who is Ethan Agarwal ?
Born in 1985 in Montreal and raised in Los Gatos, California, Ethan considers his father, Vinod Agarwal, his mentor. Vinod was a professor at McGill University, Canada. He later founded LogicVision, a semiconductor company that went public in 2001.
Ethan went to Harker School before attending Johns Hopkins University, where he studied for his BA (major in Economics and Political Science and minor in Business) from 2003 to 2006.
He started his career as an investment banker and studied MBA at Wharton University.
Then he worked at Lehman Brothers, McKinsey & Company, before he ventured into entrepreneurship and launched Aaptiv in 2016. Aaptiv is an audio-based workout app that quickly grew into a global brand with more than 200,000 subscribers and backing from firms like Amazon and Disney. After Aaptiv was sold, Agarwal turned to fintech, co-founding The Coterie.
The 40-year-old is aware that he would instantly be compared with Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral candidate, because of their age and their Indian-origin.
"We have some things in common, like being pro-choice and believing in gun control and LGBTQ rights and immigration.
But I fiercely support capitalism and meritocracy, and believe California could use some business and tech acumen to fix things in a way that other candidates in the race won't," Ethan told Axios.
"What I or any of the other candidates think about Mamdani is irrelevant. We have enough issues to solve here in California," Ethan said in another interview with NewsNation.
"For me, capitalism is the way you solve and lift people out of poverty, how you solve education, energy crisis," Agarwal said.
What I or any of the other candidates think about Mamdani is irrelevant. We have enough issues to solve here in California. pic.twitter.com/oC8WAjcpa5
— Agarwal for Governor (@ethanagarwal) August 27, 2025
Who is Ethan Agarwal ?
Born in 1985 in Montreal and raised in Los Gatos, California, Ethan considers his father, Vinod Agarwal, his mentor. Vinod was a professor at McGill University, Canada. He later founded LogicVision, a semiconductor company that went public in 2001.
Ethan went to Harker School before attending Johns Hopkins University, where he studied for his BA (major in Economics and Political Science and minor in Business) from 2003 to 2006.
He started his career as an investment banker and studied MBA at Wharton University.
Then he worked at Lehman Brothers, McKinsey & Company, before he ventured into entrepreneurship and launched Aaptiv in 2016. Aaptiv is an audio-based workout app that quickly grew into a global brand with more than 200,000 subscribers and backing from firms like Amazon and Disney. After Aaptiv was sold, Agarwal turned to fintech, co-founding The Coterie.
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