Who Owns Basecamp?
Updated onExplore the ownership hierarchy of Basecamp. See parent companies, holding structures, and ultimate controllers.
Ownership Chain
Basecamp is a web-based project management and team collaboration platform for small-to-medium teams that combines to-dos, message boards, real-time chat, scheduling, file storage, and kanban-style Card Tables in a single app.
Starts at $15 / per user / monthly
37signals
37signals is a privately held American web software company best known for creating the Basecamp project management platform, the HEY email service, and the Ruby on Rails framework.
Basecamp is a web-based project management and team collaboration platform for small-to-medium teams that combines to-dos, message boards, real-time chat, scheduling, file storage, and kanban-style Card Tables in a single app.
Starts at $15 / per user / monthly
37signals
37signals is a privately held American web software company best known for creating the Basecamp project management platform, the HEY email service, and the Ruby on Rails framework.
Major Shareholders
Basecamp
Major Shareholders
| Name | Type | Ownership | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
Jason Fried Co‑founder and CEO of 37signals (the company that makes Basecamp). Corporate materials and independent profiles describe 37signals/Basecamp as co‑owned by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, implying Fried is one of the primary equity holders, but no specific percentage is publicly disclosed.【turn3fetch0】【turn12fetch0】 | Founder | — | Dec 2025 |
David Heinemeier Hansson Co‑founder and CTO/partner at 37signals, creator of Ruby on Rails, and widely described as co‑owner of the company alongside Jason Fried, indicating a significant long‑term equity stake, though exact ownership has not been made public.【turn1search8】【turn12fetch0】 | Founder | — | Dec 2025 |
Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos’s personal investment company) In 2006, Bezos Expeditions made a minority, no‑control private‑equity investment in 37signals/Basecamp. A 2017 essay by co‑founder David Heinemeier Hansson states that Jeff Bezos still owned this minority stake at that time and had been repaid his initial investment multiple times via profit distributions; no subsequent public disclosures indicate that this stake has been fully exited, but no current percentage is disclosed.【turn8search14】【turn10search0】【turn11search4】 | Institutional | — | Jul 2017 |
37signals
Major Shareholders
| Name | Type | Ownership | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
Jason Fried Co‑founder and CEO of 37signals (formerly Basecamp); widely described as the key principal and co‑owner of the business, retaining a controlling stake in the privately held company. | Founder | — | Jan 2025 |
David Heinemeier Hansson Co‑owner and CTO of 37signals; publicly identifies himself as co‑owner of 37signals together with Jason Fried, and is consistently described as co‑founder of Basecamp/37signals. | Founder | — | Jul 2025 |
Jeff Bezos Founder of Amazon; through his family office Bezos Expeditions he acquired a minority, no‑control equity stake in 37signals/Basecamp in 2006, frequently cited as the company’s only outside investor. Founders have stated that he still owns this stake and receives profit distributions. | Individual | — | Aug 2024 |
Carlos Segura Original co‑founder of 37signals in 1999 alongside Jason Fried and Ernest Kim; current equity stake, if any, has not been publicly disclosed and he is not listed among current key managers or co‑owners. | Founder | — | — |
Ernest Kim Original co‑founder of 37signals in 1999; like Carlos Segura, any ongoing ownership interest has not been publicly reported, while more recent sources emphasize Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson as the active co‑owners. | Founder | — | — |
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