Inside the Network School: Balaji Srinivasan’s Island Campus Near Singapore

On a private island in Forest City, Malaysia, a short ferry ride from Singapore, an experimental residential campus called The Network School brings together founders, engineers, writers, and remote workers for cohort programmes that combine technical education with a working prototype of a new kind of community. The school is the most concrete real-world expression of an idea developed by its founder, the Indian-American technology entrepreneur and former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan, in his 2022 book The Network State. As of 2026, the school is operating in active session and has hosted multiple cohorts of resident founders.

Background – From Stanford Lab to Silicon Valley

Balaji Srinivasan was born in 1980 on Long Island, New York, to immigrant parents from India. He completed his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees at Stanford University, where he later returned as a lecturer in the bioengineering and statistics departments. His doctoral work was in chemical and electrical engineering.

Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl, a genomics company that was eventually acquired by Myriad Genetics, and subsequently Earn.com (originally 21.co), a technology company acquired by Coinbase in 2018. Following the acquisition, he served as Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase for approximately one year before transitioning to angel investing and writing.

From 2013 to 2018, Srinivasan was a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he led investments across distributed-systems and consumer-internet companies. He has remained one of the most-cited Indian-American technology figures of his generation, with public commentary in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

The Network State – A Book That Became a Framework

In 2022, Srinivasan self-published The Network State: How to Start a New Country, a book outlining a multi-step framework for building voluntary, internet-first communities that progressively acquire the characteristics of sovereign states – starting with a shared online community, building economic scale, and ultimately negotiating real-world governance arrangements with existing nation-states.

The book was widely covered in technology and policy publications. Coverage in CoinDesk and Wired framed it as one of the more concrete techno-utopian texts of the period – distinct from earlier libertarian “seasteading” proposals in that it foregrounded online community-building as the foundational step rather than physical relocation.

The Network School – From Theory to a Real Campus

In August 2024, TechCrunch reported that Srinivasan had acquired a long-term lease on a private island near Singapore – subsequently identified as part of the Forest City development in Johor, Malaysia – to host his planned residential school. The school formally launched cohorts in late 2024, and according to Srinivasan’s published description, has run continuously through 2025 and into 2026.

The Network School is structured as a residential programme for what Srinivasan describes as “remote workers, engineers, creators, and digital nomads” who want to combine continuing education with a long-stay residency. Coverage in Wired and The Defiant has described the curriculum as covering health and longevity, distributed-systems engineering, AI, contemporary politics, history, and filmmaking.

Curriculum – Health, Technology, Governance

According to the school’s public materials, the daily structure combines morning physical-fitness sessions, scheduled lectures and workshops, and unstructured collaborative work time in shared studio spaces. Resident faculty have included established academics, former government officials, and operational founders from the broader technology industry.

Health and longevity have been notable themes in the curriculum, drawing on a community of researchers and practitioners interested in extending healthspan through diet, exercise protocols, and emerging biotechnology. Distributed-systems engineering has been a second major track. A third track has covered governance, history of state formation, and the practical mechanics of negotiating with existing sovereign authorities – the most direct intellectual continuation of the Network State framework.

Engagement With Sovereign Governments

One distinctive aspect of the Network State framework as it has developed in 2025-2026 is the visible engagement of sitting government officials with the underlying ideas. Speakers and advisors associated with the broader Network State conference series and Network School curriculum have included Singapore JTC Chief Executive Jacqueline Poh, Dubai Expo City Chief Technology Officer Rashid Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Global Markets representatives, El Salvador’s Stacy Herbert, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., Johor executive councillor Lee Ting Han, and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss.

This pattern of governmental engagement has been cited in industry coverage as a notable shift from earlier techno-utopian frameworks, which tended to operate in opposition to existing states rather than in dialogue with them. The 2026 launch of a Solana Economic Zone in Kazakhstan and a Bhutan digital-nomad visa – both reported in technology press during the year – have been cited as concrete examples of small-state engagement with the broader Network State concept.

Reception and Criticism

The Network State framework has received substantial public engagement and equally substantial critical commentary. Coverage in The Nerd Reich and other commentary publications has questioned aspects of the framework, particularly concerns around democratic accountability, the relationship between online community-building and physical-territory governance, and the broader role of private capital in state-formation projects.

Srinivasan has engaged publicly with the criticism in his X account at @balajis, in long-form podcast interviews, and in subsequent essays on his personal site. He has consistently framed the Network State concept as voluntary, additive to (rather than in opposition to) existing states, and explicitly distinguished from earlier “exit” frameworks.

Balaji Srinivasan in 2026

As of 2026, Srinivasan continues to lead the Network School and to publish prolifically through his personal site and X account. He has remained an active angel investor, with reported 2026 investments including AI startup Objection.ai. He continues to write and speak publicly at events organised under the Network State conference series, with the most recent editions held across multiple jurisdictions including Singapore, Amsterdam, and Texas.

According to his public statements, his medium-term priorities centre on continuing the Network School cohorts, refining the framework presented in The Network State, and supporting the experimental governance arrangements that small jurisdictions have begun to negotiate with technology-led communities. He has not, in published interviews, signalled any intention to return to operating-company executive roles.

Career Timeline

• 1980 – Born in Long Island, New York
• 2000s – Completes BS, MS, and PhD at Stanford University
• ~2007 – Co-founds Counsyl (genomics; later acquired by Myriad Genetics)
• 2013 – Joins Andreessen Horowitz as general partner
• 2018 – Earn.com acquired by Coinbase; Srinivasan becomes Coinbase CTO
• 2019 – Departs Coinbase; transitions to angel investing and writing
• July 2022 – Self-publishes The Network State: How to Start a New Country
• 2023-2024 – Network State conferences; framework gains broader public engagement
• August 2024 – Acquires private-island lease for Network School (Forest City, Malaysia)
• Late 2024 – Network School launches first residential cohorts
• 2025-2026 – Continuous cohort programme; engagement with sovereign governments expands

Sources & References

• Balaji Srinivasan – Wikipedia
• The Network School – balajis.com
• TechCrunch – Srinivasan obtains private island for school (August 2024)
• Wired – A Mysterious School for the Network State Crowd Is Now in Session
• The Defiant – Network State becomes reality in Singapore
• CoinDesk – Spreading the Network State (December 2024)

Frequently Asked Questions