Teen Science Rivals Became Lifelong Partners | Generated by AI

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Question: How did Patrick Collison, the Stripe founder, meet his wife?

Answer:

Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, met his wife, Silvana Konermann, as teenagers at the EU Young Scientists and Engineers Contest (also known as the European Union Contest for Young Scientists).

The competition took place in Moscow in 2005, when both were 17 years old. Silvana, a Swiss scientist, won first place with her project on developing a treatment to prevent urinary tract infections associated with catheter use post-operation. Patrick placed second with his project on creating an online programming language.

They began dating after the event, remained together long-term (described as childhood sweethearts), got engaged around 2019, and married in a private ceremony in Italy in April 2022. Silvana is now a biochemist, Stanford University professor, and co-founder with Patrick of the Arc Institute.

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