Pedro David Espinoza

Pedro David Espinoza
Born	1994
Citizenship	United States of America
Alma mater	University of California, Stanford, Harvard
Occupation	Entrepreneur Investor TEDx speaker Author
Website	pedroespinoza.com

Pedro David Espinoza is a Peruvian-American entrepreneur, investor, TEDx speaker, author, and advocate for education who has made investments in the artificial intelligence, robotics, fintech, fashion, entertainment, and sustainability industries.

Espinoza has earned degrees and certificates from the world’s most prestigious universities, including Stanford, Harvard, and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). His first company, SmileyGo, was launched while he was a student at UC Berkeley.

Espinoza is widely known for his philanthropic work, including encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship for women in Peru through his non-governmental organization Pan Peru USA. In 2017, The Voice of America named Espinoza “the Robinhood of Technology.”

Espinoza’s investment activity is conducted primarily through PDE Ventures, which focuses on enterprise, healthcare, and climate startups. PDE Venture’s investments include angel investing for MoCaFi and Robot.com.

Early life and education

Espinoza grew up in Lima, Peru, where he was heavily influenced by the humanitarian work done by his mother, Julia Ardiles de Espinoza. Through Pan Peru, a non-governmental organization she founded, Espinoza’s mother worked to empower women’s entrepreneurship and increase literacy through the building of a library and computer lab in the village of Pampas Grande, Peru.

At the age of 15, Espinoza recorded several pop music singles in Peru, which he made available to the public via Amazon, Spotify, and Apple.

Espinoza received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Technology Entrepreneurship from the UC Berkeley College of Engineering.

From Stanford University, Espinoza received an Intensive Studies Certificate in International Management. He also completed Stanford’s Young Presidents’ Organization Program on Innovation, which was offered via a partnership with the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

From Harvard, Espinoza received a Business Analytics Program Certificate, which was offered through a joint program involving the Harvard School of Engineering, the Harvard School of Arts and Sciences, and the Harvard Business School. He also received a certificate from the Global Leadership: Navigating the Future of Humanity program offered by the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.

Career

In 2014, Espinoza founded SmileyGo, a platform that matched nonprofits with Fortune 500 companies, facilitating introductions meant to help companies leverage their corporate social responsibility budgets for greater social impact. SmileyGo was incubated at SkyDeck and gained funding from 1517 Fund, Frank Baxter, Jack Larson, and the Berkeley Haas Seed Fund. The success of SmileyGo was a major factor in Espinoza becoming the University of California Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.

In 2017, Espinoza presented a TED Talk as part of TEDxGeorgetown. The talk, titled Build the Bridge, explored the immigrant advantage of starting a company in Silicon Valley. Espinoza has also appeared on Hispanic Shark Tank and spoken at the Change Makers Summit.

In 2018, Espinoza founded Pan Peru USA to carry on the work his mother had started with Pan Peru. The organization’s work includes empowering Andean women to become entrepreneurs. To date, it has given more than 10,000 children access to STEM education, reforested 15,000 trees, and built ten computer labs. In October 2025, Pan Peru USA opened its thirteenth library in Peru with the opening of a community library in Yapaz Bajo.

In 2020, Espinoza became a lecturer at Tecnológico de Monterrey, a private research university in Monterrey, Mexico, where he taught students entrepreneurship and engineering. In 2021, he was elected as the Vice Curator for Global Shapers in Palo Alto by the World Economic Forum.

In 2024, Espinoza founded PDE Ventures to serve as an early-stage venture capital fund for enterprise, healthcare, and climate startups. The company’s investments include support for Melzi Surgical, a medtech company that uses technology tools to find lost needles, MoCaFi, a fintech startup that empowers government and philanthropic organizations to empower unbanked and underbanked Americans, and Robot.com, formerly known as Kiwibot, which uses cutting-edge technology to provide autonomous last-mile delivery to university students. Other companies in which Espinoza has invested include Praava Health, Noyo Insurance, Classavo, Rasa Legal, Report To Earn, Happioh, Wheel The World, Wander Health, Cortado Ventures, Good Light Capital, Humanitas AI, FEED.FM, Nadine West, Paladin PBC, and 1Flourish Capital.

From December 2020 to June 2022, Espinoza was the Vice President of Business Development for Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a networking group focused on helping non-traditional founders. From August 2021 to February 2025, Espinoza was the Chief Marketing Officer for Ever Medical Technologies, a company focused on data-driven innovation in the medical field.

Espinoza has published two books: “Differences that Make a Difference” in 2019 and “The Real ROI: Return on Inclusion” in 2024. “Differences that Make a Difference,” which was co-authored with Jorge Titinger, explores the positive impact inclusion has on business outcomes and includes anecdotes and research from Fortune 500 CEOs, public service leaders, and academics. “The Real ROI: Return on Inclusion” was co-authored with Jorge Titinger and Maria Lensing and explored diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies in the post-pandemic business landscape. His books have been featured in the Stanford Business, Harvard Kennedy, and Berkeley Engineering school libraries.

Espinoza’s work also includes serving as a keynote speaker for a wide range of companies and business organizations. He has spoken for Microsoft, Google, Meta, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Board Involvement

• SynergEV, Board Director
• Melzi Surgical, Board Member
• ActAware, Board Member
• Hotel Lunahuana River Resort, Vice Chairman
• CuriOdyssey, Board Director
• Silicon Valley Tech Academy, Board Member
• Institute for International Medicine, Board Member
• Autoespar, Vice Chairman
• Hertz Peru, Vice Chairman
• Grifos GESA, Vice Chairman
• Transportes Guapolindo, Vice Chairman
• Immobiliaria Las Torres, Vice Chairman
• Botica Ultrafarma, Vice Chairman
• Surplus Services, Board Member
• Notre Dame de Namur University, Board Member

Awards

• University of California Leadership Scholarship Award, 2013-2015
• University of California Entrepreneur of the Year, 2017
• Amazon Mexico Bestseller #9 for Human Resources Books
• Latino International Book Awards Best Business Book 2020
• Silicon Valley Business Journal Latinx Leadership Honoree 2021
• LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program Awardee in Tech and Innovation 2022
• Top 100 Most Influential Hispanic Tech Executives in the World 2022 and 2023
• 30 Under 30 – NextGen Presented by Goldman Sachs 2023
• Silicon Valley 40 Under 40 Award by BMO 2024
• Top 15 Hispanic Influencers by HRCap 2025

Personal Life

Espinoza’s personal time is marked by prayer, music, and Biblical meditation. He enjoys playing the piano, ukulele, guitar, drums, and bass. He also enjoys sports, including tennis, soccer, basketball, ping pong, squash, running, cycling, swimming, and golf.