7 ms·

Om Malik has died

1353 points by minimaxir 4mo ago

https://runtimewire.com/article/om-malik-taught-silicon-valley-to-read-itself https://runtimewire.com/article/om-malik-taught-silicon-vall...

aanet 4mo ago
Oh wow. What?! Just this morning I had an occasion to go thru his site/blog. Still can't believe it. 60 is too young. I met Om finally in 2013-ish at one of his GigaOm events in the SF Bay Area. Before that, I had been a long time reader of his GigaOm blogs and other writings at Fast Company, Red Herring, Light Reading, and elsewhere, including his book Broadbandits. He was one of the few bloggers / reporters who wrote it as he saw it; his takes were often brutally honest and pointed. He called upon the excesses of various telecom execs during the dot-com and telecom bust of 2000-2001/2. His book Broadbandits is basically an invective of the go-go days of telecom companies' incestuous deals (now seen in the AI companies too). I had a few more occasions to meet him at dinners around the Bay Area. He was always gracious, and listened intently to what people said. As a venture partner, he focused on the people (founder) and their stories much more on the businesses. I had heard about his troubles with his heart (~age 40-ish), which made him turn his life around to focus on only a few things that brought him joy - writing, photography, travels. He will be missed. RIP, Om. --- (Update: the book is Broadbandits (not Telecom Bandits, as I mistakenly wrote)
- glohbalrob 4mo ago
  The guy was legit awesome and so kind. I have similar experience
- dlev_pika 4mo ago
  My GigaOm backpack is still going strong - good merch
  - swyx 4mo ago
    what brand?
brandonb 4mo ago
Very sad news. :(
taintlord 4mo ago
One of my first ever freelance clients, his site gigaom. This was back in 2009-10. RIP
- lizardking 4mo ago
  I remember him talking about that on This Week In Tech (Twit). RIP Om
bravura 4mo ago
"I like to write like a human, steering clear of jargon and B-school speak." https://om.co/about/ https://om.co/about/ https://om.co/2020/07/30/write-like-a-human/ https://om.co/2020/07/30/write-like-a-human/
rdl 4mo ago
I still remember him being one of the best writers about tech (a bit more than "journalism" in that a lot of it was of more evergreen value...) from the dotcom boom and then the peak "interesting" web apps period (2004-~2015 or so, when AJAX/etc was still new, and things hadn't calcified so much). Didn't know about his later health issues, I assumed he had just moved on to other interests naturally. RIP.
mshaler 4mo ago
Om was a bright light and so very kind. RIP
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
jonah 4mo ago
Oh, bummer. I only met with him once - a mutual friend put me in touch with him. He was wise, gracious, and generous with his time. Bon Voyage Om.
- mik3y 4mo ago
  I had a very similar single experience with Om: I was introduced completely randomly while he was at True Ventures; he couldn't have been nicer, more curious, or more genuine despite me almost certainly reading like a total waste of time. It's both heartwarming, and bitterly sad, to see so many other posters confirm he was one of the good ones.
justmarc 4mo ago
May he rest in peace.
steveBK123 4mo ago
Very sad to hear. He had a great creative spirit between business ventures, writing and photography.. a man of many talents.
rmason 4mo ago
I started out as journalist so I always appreciated great writing when I reinvented myself as a tech entrepreneur. There were three writers beginning in the nineties who were my tech troika: Kevin Kelly, George Gilder and Om Malik. Sadly now the only one still writing regularly is Kevin Kelly.
itherseed 4mo ago
[flagged]
- ElProlactin 4mo ago
  Like, why post this?
- khazhoux 4mo ago
  Friendly feedback: Generally speaking, the practice of commenting here with "I thought one thing from the title, then realized it was something else" is exceedingly uninteresting. In the event of a death, it is also in bad taste.
- Hugsbox 4mo ago
  Read the room, brother.
fgblanch 4mo ago
My condolences to family and friends. Om writting has always been a reference since Web 2.0 era. Also enjoyed his photographabout friends and travel. Sad news RIP
jmspring 4mo ago
I liked the mid-2000s, gigaom and techcrunch actually had articles worth reading (not all, TC got sorta gossipy rag at one point). Om's were generally well thought out.
Danox 4mo ago
Enjoyed his writing/commentary on all things tech over the years...
cobbzilla 4mo ago
GigaOM was truly awesome at its best. Om was a special guy, I met him a few times during my years in the Bay Area. He really embodied that selflessly-helping side of the Valley: helping others with no expectations, just because it’s good. He helped one of my startups get some exposure. I keep trying to pay it forward. I will miss him.
- profsummergig 4mo ago
  "the selflessly-helping side of the Valley" Never having lived in the valley, I've struggled to understand what it means. Can anyone share some examples?
  - Avicebron 4mo ago
    Not technically the valley but I crashed on couches in sleepy hollow and san rafael before I started making money out in the Bay.
  - mikeyouse 4mo ago
    There is a really tremendous streak of people helping people with no strings attached that I hadn’t found anywhere else I’ve lived. Especially but not exclusively on the engineering / product side - for a long time you could take a greyhound to Soma and have a couch to crash on and a job interview lined up without knowing anyone. Introductions are made without a second thought (extremely contrary to my east coast experience where to get an intro, it must be “worth” something to the third party), it is (was? I moved away a few years ago) an extremely special and collaborative place.
    - brtkwr 4mo ago
      Does that not extend beyond tech founders? I hear that SF has one of the highest rates of homelessness...
      - xp84 4mo ago
        Not even the richest person can simply cure thousands of people of addiction and set them on the right path in life. If you want to prove me wrong, surely even with non-millionaire resources, you could afford to just take in one into your home, feed them, and fix their problems. I’ll be genuinely glad to be proven wrong.
toomuchtodo 4mo ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Malik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Malik
martinald 4mo ago
Really sad. I grew up reading his writing. I emailed him some thoughts on one of his blog and he immediately replied in a lovely way very recently. What a shock and a loss.
asah 4mo ago
Om had grace, and will be missed by many.
Marciplan 4mo ago
:(
wnevets 4mo ago
> Malik was also a frequent guest on the former CrankyGeeks podcast with John C. Dvorak. That takes me back, he was always great on that show.
- UqWBcuFx6NV4r 4mo ago
  Someone needs to even out Dvorak!
- brandonmenc 4mo ago
  Too bad they had a falling out when Dvorak questioned the logic of hiring Vivek Kundra (remember him? of course not!) as the nation's first CIO.
  - wnevets 4mo ago
    > (remember him? of course not!) I long for those days.
1f60c 4mo ago
Oh my God. Oh no. Rest in peace :(
psadri 4mo ago
I met Om once in SF over a meal. I could tell he was a kind soul. RIP.
qaz_plm 4mo ago
Om, rest easy brother!
UqWBcuFx6NV4r 4mo ago
Very sad reading his penultimate blog post: https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/
- ufocia 4mo ago
  [flagged]
  - wholinator2 4mo ago
    Health can change quickly, without warning or recourse.
  - djmips 4mo ago
    Optimism is not dishonesty
  - benj111 4mo ago
    TBF it isn't really any of our business. Do we know what happened? This could have been going on for years. My best friend, had Parkinson's, so death was always on the cards, it was still sudden when it actually happened. And I appreciate the understatement in "Taking a Few Days Off", I'd put that on my headstone.
- Dumblydorr 4mo ago
  Sounds like he was reading something he enjoyed in the last few weeks, I hope.
jacobgold 4mo ago
Rest in peace Om.
nikcub 4mo ago
This is devastating. Om was the godfather of early tech blogging and lifted up so many people around him. He was kind, caring and compassionate. When I first started blogging around 25 years ago, he would have been amongst the first 10 readers. He linked to me, emailed me privately with feedback, praised posts and would call bullshit when he saw it. He was never competitive with other blogs or bloggers and was never tied up in drama. He was very often a mediator in behind the scenes conflicts and was obsessed with truth over getting the scoop. He loved tech and startups and most of all loved seeing other succeed and didn't have a gram of resentment within himself. Everybody from that post-dotcom crash era of tech owes Om a large debt of gratitude. He will be missed. RIP Om.
gkoberger 4mo ago
Wow, Om was one of my first bosses. It’s hard to separate my memory of him from the era; he defined it. I have such nostalgia for both. He loved tech and startups… not buzzy tabloid stuff, but true journalism. A lot of people may not know GigaOM, but he helped shape a generation of tech. Thanks for everything, Om. I was a fan before I worked for you, loved my time on Pier 1 in SF, and have always appreciated your steadfast love for technology.
grimjeer 4mo ago
Black bar? My experience of Om was only through his written word, but a new article or post by him was a thing of joy. Not to agree with, but simply to hear a good, honest voice. As soon as I read this, I thought, "Wait a sec, hasn't it been a little while?" My sincere condolences to his family and colleagues.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
fmajid 4mo ago
Om and I went a long way back. I tried to convince him RSS was the way journalism could escape capture by Big Tech. In retrospect, showing him the ad-blocking features of my feed reader might not have been the most persuasive... He was a tremendously funny character. What's little known about him was he was a bag fiend just as much as a camera lover. A big chocolate enthusiast as well, until his heart troubles forced him to be more careful. You will be missed.
- meindnoch 4mo ago
  A bag fiend?
  - fmajid 4mo ago
    Someone who enjoys collecting backpacks, briefcases, messenger bags etc. I recall meeting him by chance near South Park and comparing notes on our bags of the day.
bihhert7 4mo ago
[flagged]
thoughtpeddler 4mo ago
Black bar for Om please. Truly sad for this loss, was so grateful for his impassioned writing and storytelling about our industry. You will be missed deeply Om. May there be all the pens in the world for you in the afterlife.
ssorc 4mo ago
A tragic loss. Amongst his many other talents, Om was a wonderful photographer; you can see some of his photos at Glass: https://glass.photo/om https://glass.photo/om
- dotmanish 4mo ago
  Thank you for sharing this. While everyone remembers his writings, encouragement, and contributions to tech/business, the photos put up by him are beautiful as well.
  - ssorc 4mo ago
    Thanks. Two more: Daniel Agee from Glass posted a photo and tribute to Om about his help in the early days of getting Glass started: https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt And Christopher Michael has posted a wonderful photo of Om: https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt
    - darekkay 4mo ago
      Thanks. You've shared the same link twice. Here's the post from Daniel: https://glass.photo/daniel/bhGvi7R5zR8XvuYG6jT3X https://glass.photo/daniel/bhGvi7R5zR8XvuYG6jT3X He also wrote an official post on Glass: https://glass.photo/highlights/remembering-om https://glass.photo/highlights/remembering-om
- jonners00 4mo ago
  I wasn't expecting anything so beautiful, just some competent, twee photography. (Never mind, it's all in the training data now, will result in some competent, twee, but uncanny, slop).
stephanerangaya 4mo ago
he had such a great influence on the blog community for so many years, he will be missed. RIP Om.
dr_ 4mo ago
Sad. I remember first meeting Om in NYC, just as he was getting ready to move to the Bay Area and before his blogging career took off. As a side gig, he was one of the originators of the South Asian social scene (desiparty.com). Spoke with him briefly and just remember him being nice and friendly. RIP Om!
jmccarthy 4mo ago
Thank you Om
gexla 4mo ago
Nostalgic post from back in the day when he wrote an RIP post for a friend, Dean Allen. https://om.co/2018/01/18/dean-allen-rest-in-peace/ https://om.co/2018/01/18/dean-allen-rest-in-peace/
jnaina 4mo ago
RIP Om. One of truly honest voices in tech journalism. You will be missed.
kami23 4mo ago
I remember watching GigaOm on Revision3 back in the day, I think I stumbled upon it via Diggnation... nope I think it was CrankyGeeks actually. It was the first newsletter I actually subscribed to back in the day! Sad to hear about his passing, his appearances on podcasts introduced me to the more business side of tech where I was just a hobbyist teen at the time. RIP
drob518 4mo ago
So sad. I first met Om in 2001 or so. I pissed him off because I wouldn’t meet with him to do an interview for our startup. He always loved getting the early scoop and we weren’t ready for any publicity. In later years, we would laugh about it and I gave him the early scoop on the next one. During those years he became a friend and we would sometimes grab lunch and chat about all manner of things, from tech to family. I dished on some of what I watched go down in the dot-com bubble for his Broadbandits book. Later, I would go on to write contributed articles for GigaOm. Goodbye, buddy. 60 is too young. You were one of the best. Maybe you’re getting the early scoop in a different way.
russelldjimmy 4mo ago
I’m too young and too far away from the Valley to have ever met Om or been influenced by his early blogging work. However, I have avidly followed his blog ever since I came across it maybe 10 years ago. I love his writing. So crisp and honest, yet it had depth. His blog was one of the few I’d look forward to every day. I was waiting for him to return after he promised he’d do so in his last blog post. I certainly didn’t expect this. Om Shanti, Om. You will be missed.
apgwoz 4mo ago
So sad. :( Om was off my radar for the last 10 years or so, and then I recently encountered an article he wrote (https://om.co/2023/02/05/why-modern-leica-m-is-a-great-landscape-camera/ https://om.co/2023/02/05/why-modern-leica-m-is-a-great-lands...) about his adoption of Leica M cameras. He had a wonderful eye: https://www.photosbyom.com/ https://www.photosbyom.com/
lxm 4mo ago
Very classy guy, sad day.
wejick 4mo ago
GigaOm was one of the early publications that my younger self enjoy to follow, it was a good formative years. Later I knew when it got acquired that the OM of GigaOm was from its founder. rest in peace
supriyo-biswas 4mo ago
I had only briefly heard about him in the past, but it's sad to hear he passed away. Revisiting some of his old writings, I see he was deeply a humanist, and I love that. I especially liked https://om.co/2026/06/07/the-myth-the-mythos-and-the-man/ https://om.co/2026/06/07/the-myth-the-mythos-and-the-man/
kevinten10 4mo ago
[flagged]
rgrieselhuber 4mo ago
Very sad, feels like an end of an era.
sneak 4mo ago
Take care of your heart, people. If you smoke, quit. If you eat a high cholesterol diet, change it. If you don’t exercise, start. Heart disease sneaks up on you, and it can happen to anyone. There are frequently no warning signs, as without an angiogram, there’s no clear indicator in normal checkups (EKG can look normal the day before MI, coronary arteries are the same density as surrounding tissue on normal no-contrast xray). Most people’s very first sign that they have heart disease is a totally unexpected first heart attack. 60% of them die of it, within minutes of their first symptom. If you have familial history, be extra careful. There are new groundbreaking drugs like Repatha that can slow the progress a TON. You aren’t special, it along with cancer are the #1 cause of non-accidental death if you make it to adulthood. It doesn’t discriminate.
- __patchbit__ 4mo ago
  A handful of unsalted nuts consumed daily helps the heart.
  - brador 4mo ago
    Note: peanuts are legumes not nuts.
- kristianp 4mo ago
  I'm no expert but two actionable diagnostics everyone over 45 should do: - Blood pressure check - Fasting cholesterol blood test.
chupchap 4mo ago
I used to be tech-journalist in an earlier avatar and Om was someone who I always turned to for inspiration and context. I learnt a lot from the way he wrote, thought and perceived the world of technology. Om shanti, I wish you a great new beginning.
thunderbong 4mo ago
I had started blogging (on blogspot!) those days and like many others, I also used to follow Om's articles on RSS. I still remember very clearly coming across his article where he had linked to my blog. I felt on top of the world! Because why would a renowned SV journalist link to a lowly blog? I'm quite sure that my reason to continue blogging over all these years can be attributed to that small gesture. Just the title here has me transported to a time and place long forgotten. Thank you, Om.
deleted 4mo ago
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photomatt 4mo ago
I really encourage people to go through his writing, there's a lot of wisdom in there.
- janvdberg 4mo ago
  Im sorry for your loss Matt.
nickv 4mo ago
Mods, we should have a black bar for this. He was a deeply influential person, who also was amazingly talented and a wonderful human being. The trifecta! I sadly never met him, but even typing the word “was” above made me have the deepest sigh.
mehrshad 4mo ago
I'll repost what I wrote on his wall just now. Probably the most impactful SF/SV passing for me since Jobs. "I first met Om in the mid-2000s when I started in public relations. He was patient, kind – not what you’d expect from a journalist hounded by every PR agency trying to get column inches. I met him again when we were fundraising for my first startup in 2006 – he listened with intent, he provided genuine feedback, he supported us emotionally. I would see him occasionally at the odd event or two in the years that followed. He always had a smile, always gregarious, always maintained a presence without agenda – or effort, for that matter. He embodied the hidden human amid the sterility and coldness that would slowly engulf Silicon Valley in the years that followed. I’m blessed to have benefited from his kindness across the few brief interactions, and I wish his family and friends the comfort in knowing he left an outsized impact on many of us." The guy was a mensch. He made this space welcoming because he cared about the individual.
jmsflknr 4mo ago
About 11 years ago, I cold-emailed Om for his guidance. I was an absolute nobody, living thousands of miles away. Not only did Om patiently explain how I should think about my career, he kept in touch over the past decade checking in on how I was doing. I left journalism last year to do something else -- coincidentally, again, following Om's footsteps -- and had been meaning to write a long email, sharing so much. I deeply regret missing the chance to have another conversation with him. Om has been deeply impactful to my journalism career and beyond. He was way too kind and leaves a big vacuum.
- appstorelottery 4mo ago
  "Om patiently explain how I should think about my career" - care to share what Om explained to you?
  - _HMCB_ 4mo ago
    I’d love to know too.
- artur_makly 4mo ago
  Say more..
  - artur_makly 4mo ago
    why do i get downvoted for asking the poster to share more about the advice he received?? why is this a net negative. im so confused.
    - deleted 4mo ago
      [deleted]
    - ignoramous 4mo ago
      "Say more" sounds like a terse but daft order / directive. Discussion boards lack non-verbal cues, so you have to be sometimes extra mindful with words.
mmastrac 4mo ago
Om Malik was the guy who had the biggest influence on the direction of my life, by far. It was through him I met Naval Ravikant in 2007, and then through Naval I met my co-founder that led to my startup exit in the '10s. Luck surface area. I really owe so much to Om. I really can't imagine where I would be without that chance.
satyambnsal 4mo ago
RIP Om
tonyvince7 4mo ago
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.
tosh 4mo ago
fondly remember meeting Om many years ago I was so anxious I couldn't sleep the night before then in the morning when I walked up to true ventures I was such a sleep deprived mess I worried I will just waste his time he was a bit surprised and humored, I think, we grabbed some coffee and had a great conversation ty for your kindness RIP Om
rcarmo 4mo ago
Oh fuck. I used to swap notes with him every now and then, drifted away over the past couple of years. Had no idea.
andyjohnson0 4mo ago
I never met or knew him but, like many here, I've been following his blog for a decade or so. By impression and reputation he was a kind, thoughtful, and creative soul who did good by the world - and I'm saddened that he has gone. My condolences to his friends and family.
tetrisgm 4mo ago
Oh no. Rest in peace Om. We interacted a few times back in the Web 2.0 back when I’d write for ReadWriteWeb. You were one of the sharpest writers in the scene. You understood product, builders. You had empathy, and so much less ego than everyone. I always looked up to your insights. I knew that you took the time and care to think. Thanks for sharing all that.
alanmoraes 4mo ago
On its launch, GigaOM had great influence in Brazil's Porto Digital startup scene back in the days. RIP
mehulashah 4mo ago
The first and seminal Indian tech blogger. I looked up to him. RIP.
carabiner 4mo ago
I just remember on a podcast, he said he thought eventually amazon would have physical stores. Listening to this I thought that sounded terribly outlandish, and so did the cohosts. Their whole deal was to make online retail so much smoother than brick & mortar. Then a few years later, amazon announced physical stores.
pjg 4mo ago
I interacted with Om a few times. Genuinely good soul. I met him a while back - about ~15 years or so. In spite of his busy schedule he took time out to speak with me. Gave me some valuable tips on startup world. I don't say this about a lot of people but the world is less of a place without Om. You were way too young to leave us Om. I will miss you. Sidenote: In the heydays i.e. about 15-20 years back or so Techcrunch and GigaOm were competitors. Techcrunch was founded by Michael Arrington, known for his brusque and no holds barred blogs and barbs. He would roast his competitors alive, if he could. Well, all except Om. For Om, Micheal had nothing but praise.
lmeyerov 4mo ago
We almost went with Om for our seed round, and he remains on my list of "one of the good ones". It's rare to meet folks where that becomes so apparent so quick.
anildash 4mo ago
He was a genuinely good person, and a genuinely honest voice, in an industry that had very few back when he was one of its pioneers, and has far, far fewer of those things today. A lot of people will write nice words about Om, and he deserves them, but a lot of those people won't necessarily live the values that they admire about him, because that's a lot harder to do. He was unfailingly kind, but he did not ever compromise on doing the right thing, or calling out moral failings. It's a wonderful tribute to him to see so many people talk about how Om supported them, or opened doors for them, or lifted up their careers; I think the thing we owe him is not just to carry that work forward, but to do it with the same character, conscience and consistency of principle that he did.
- swyx 4mo ago
  what are your best Om stories?
pknerd 4mo ago
Sad and shocking. Many of us grew up reading GigaOM in the early 2000s when I was new in CS. Condelence with his family
tomaskafka 4mo ago
I paused to read whenever a new Om’s essay popped up in the RSS feed; for me, Om was an uniquely observant voice of tech, who never compromised and always looked at the world from a human perspective. This has been one of my favorite ones, reminding us to simply remain human in the face of incentive systems pushing us away from that goal: https://om.co/2026/04/08/banksy-satoshi-the-unmasking-impulse/ https://om.co/2026/04/08/banksy-satoshi-the-unmasking-impuls... Om was attentive to details and generous to share - when he discovered my weather app (https://x.com/om/status/1579948290745176064 https://x.com/om/status/1579948290745176064), he was so kind as to write a whole article about it, without me asking for it in any way: https://om.co/2022/10/11/weathergraph/ https://om.co/2022/10/11/weathergraph/ I was so proud to be able to send Om a lifetime license. I wish he had gotten several more decades of use out of it. Thank you, Om!
imartin2k 4mo ago
Sad! He (and Michael Arrington) were the first two tech bloggers I read religiously back in the web 2.0 days. Had Malik’s personal blog in my RSS feeds until now. It has been only a week or so since I read his last post.
schappim 4mo ago
No black bar? I guess Om was before the mods' time.
- ChrisRR 4mo ago
  I think we've reached the point where so many people who were influential in early computing are dying that HN would just have a permanent black bar
brador 4mo ago
Great guy. Check your bmi and fix your diet today not tomorrow till it hits normal, you’re running out of time. Cutting out sugar alone will get you half way to the target ideal healthy weight.
liberian 4mo ago
[dead]
embit 4mo ago
What a great loss. Thank you for your writing and photography
jeffiel 4mo ago
I’ll share my favorite Om story. It was 2010 and we were launching Twilio SMS. I went over to his office to pitch him the story, hoping we would cover the launch. He listened for 10 minutes while I walked through it, then said “Yeah yeah I’ll write about it. But I want to talk about your health. Are you taking care of yourself? You could lose some weight…” He wanted everybody to learn from his health journey. While mostly I wanted him to cover our news, and it was terribly awkward… walking home, I realized it was nice to be seen as a person not just a founder, a startup or a tech story.
- kevmo 4mo ago
  That's an incredibly nice story. Are you taking better care of yourself?
- iwontberude 4mo ago
  lmao welp
- simonebrunozzi 4mo ago
  Thanks for sharing this one, Jeff. I was a big fan of Twilio since launch, and I think I remember that article (I was at AWS back then, in a Tech Evangelist role, so most "new" startups on the block passed in front of me one way or another). I'm sure there are thousands of stories about Om, and only some of them are here in this thread. I briefly met him in 2012 or 2013, but didn't really interact with him much. But I kind of liked him a lot, and kept following his writings. RIP.
- TheMagicHorsey 4mo ago
  Ha! I had a similar story, Om saw me and a group of other engineers that our boss briefly introduced as he was walking through our offices, and Om remarked: "You are working these guys too hard ... they look like they don't get enough sleep." Which was true ... we were pulling all nighters to get our release in shape for demos. It was nice to see a visitor acknowledge our health sacrifices for the company ... a whole bunch of other journalists came through too ... and nobody else commented on our appearance/health.
LeonB 4mo ago
Om shared with me some very personal thoughts and I think I’m not alone in considering his loss immeasurable.
javascripthater 4mo ago
[dead]
thedreammachine 4mo ago
So many years reading his newsletter, and forever grateful for Om. He replied to a cold email a long time ago with very specific, helpful advice on a project I was working on. What a legend!
dipankarsarkar 4mo ago
I didn't realise he was a Stephenian (University of Delhi). GigaOM was influential, the techcruch era :). What a journey!
adityaathalye 4mo ago
A sad day for us who learn of his passing. I hope it was painless and peaceful, as befits a person who gave so freely of himself. His collected body of work is a trustworthy chronicle of the Internet and the WWW's glow up era. It will inform generations to come. They will know Om too. And through the same work, he remains alive to us; we who sought his dogged, prodigious, plain speaking influence, insight, and direct access to the beating heart of the place where it was all being invented and grown and scaled and blown up and resurrected. Om's writing brought the excitement and possibility of the world to me, circa 2004. A 25-something B-school student, in faraway Pune, India, viscerally experiencing and studying the telecom boom at home, while also looking towards The Valley to see what might come to be, next. I read him on GigaOm, and his various other later avatars / manifestations, but he is always going to be "Om Malik on Broadband" for me. As he will be for many of my cohort. GigaOm is dead, long live GigaOm.com. (´˘-˘人)
rcarmo 4mo ago
Why isn’t there a black bar at the top of HN yet?
QuantumAtom 4mo ago
May his memory be a blessing
tibbydudeza 4mo ago
Techcrunch - GigaOm and Gawker. Good times - good guy - RIP and my condolences to his friends and family.
la64710 4mo ago
“For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain”. Om will be missed.
djyde 4mo ago
[flagged]
sonink 4mo ago
Om had a very honest voice - I never met him, but have read his takes for a very long time now. Om Shanti.
saltcod 4mo ago
Very sad. Such a thoughtful writer. He always had an angle that no one else had. Will miss reading his words.
mesibo 4mo ago
Personally, it's sad news for me and many other founders Om helped. Back in 2008, my company, TringMe, was making news with browser-based telephony. We had been covered by TechCrunch, but never by GigaOM. So I decided to email Om directly and ask, half-jokingly, "Are we not worth your time?" I also asked if he had any advice. He apologized, explained that health issues had limited his writing, assured me it was never personal, and then offered a simple piece of advice: "Bring me fresh and exclusive information." We took that advice seriously. Our next launches, VoicePHP and the first Mobile VoIP app for BlackBerry, were both covered by GigaOM. What I remember is not the coverage, but the kindness in his reply. He did not have to respond to a founder he barely knew, let alone with honesty, encouragement, and actionable advice. We stayed in touch after that. Thank you, Om. Rest in peace.
NickDouglas 4mo ago
I knew Om when I was an ankle-biter writing for a Gawker blog. He was gracious and generous. Felt like everybody's favorite uncle. I hope I can be as kind to others as he was to me.
bbelcastro 4mo ago
Always enjoyed reading him online. Rest in peace.
roundhill 4mo ago
This is so sad to see. I consider myself lucky to have worked with Om for a few days as he was advising the company I was working for during a big growth stage. I'll always remember his kindness and wisdom.
ML0037 4mo ago
This was his last post: https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ He seemed to know that something wasn’t right. I really loved his writing. Rest in peace.
gosuri 4mo ago
One of the regrets I have is not following through when Om messaged to hang out a couple of months ago. A painful reminder to take some time off your busy lives to catch up with old friends. You never know if you’ll get another chance.
shadowtree 4mo ago
His latest thing was https://crazystupidtech.com/ https://crazystupidtech.com/ - a joint newsletter with Fred Vogelstein.
fudgy73 4mo ago
Malik means king and this guy was / is one of the kings of tech journalism and writing. RIP
ninjha01 4mo ago
Alas https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/
danesparza 4mo ago
Why hasn't HackerNews changed the color of the top bar? I thought they did that to honor folks in the tech industry that died.
bnc319 4mo ago
"My favorite thing Om wrote was actually an interview with Brunello Cucinelli in 2015. And to this day, I think it’s the single best thing you can read on running a business. Better than any book, better than any article." -Jason Fried https://om.co/2015/04/27/brunello-cucinelli-2/ https://om.co/2015/04/27/brunello-cucinelli-2/
carlcortright 4mo ago
I never met Om but I worked for firm in college that was close to him. He seemed like a very kind soul. This is very sad.
toddh 4mo ago
That's so sad to hear. I only met him once about acquiring my High Scalability blog. That didn't happen, but it was obvious he was one of those wise people who was both kind and very smart. Not a combination we see often in this world. A real loss...
thallavajhula 4mo ago
Wow. I've been following Om since 2011 and this is such a sudden news. I just opened HN and this title shook me. It literally did. Wow. RIP, Om.
msie 4mo ago
Where's the black bar?
SLHamlet 4mo ago
Om was a mentor to me at GigaOM and while writing my first book, teaching me throughout how to understand the tech industry and cut through the bullshit and noise. But more than all that, Om was a very warm, lovely, generous guy. He knew the business of tech, he was successful at the business of tech, so when he criticized tech, his punches were solid, precisely targeted, and unignorable. The first day I met him, he told me: "I know where all the bodies in Silicon Valley are buried," as he once told me. And he really did. Tech journalism today is sorely missing fiery thoughtful voices like his.
kordlessagain 4mo ago
Om, you were a spectacular human being and a great mentor and advisor. I wish you best on your next phase of existence. You are remembered, Brother!
msarrel 4mo ago
This is really sad. What a dynamic man to lose so early. Working with him at GigaOM as an analyst was educational and fun.
runtimewire 4mo ago
thank hn: for putting me as secondary source
akadeb 4mo ago
RIP legend
SushiMon 4mo ago
I had the pleasure of interacting with Om a couple of times. Certain people in this world, you can tell that they are incredibly genuine, with no artifice. That was him 100%. He will be missed.
pamelaaa 4mo ago
[dead]

Om Malik has died

1353 points by minimaxir 4mo ago

https://runtimewire.com/article/om-malik-taught-silicon-valley-to-read-itself https://runtimewire.com/article/om-malik-taught-silicon-vall...

aanet 4mo ago

Oh wow. What?! Just this morning I had an occasion to go thru his site/blog. Still can't believe it. 60 is too young. I met Om finally in 2013-ish at one of his GigaOm events in the SF Bay Area. Before that, I had been a long time reader of his GigaOm blogs and other writings at Fast Company, Red Herring, Light Reading, and elsewhere, including his book Broadbandits. He was one of the few bloggers / reporters who wrote it as he saw it; his takes were often brutally honest and pointed. He called upon the excesses of various telecom execs during the dot-com and telecom bust of 2000-2001/2. His book Broadbandits is basically an invective of the go-go days of telecom companies' incestuous deals (now seen in the AI companies too). I had a few more occasions to meet him at dinners around the Bay Area. He was always gracious, and listened intently to what people said. As a venture partner, he focused on the people (founder) and their stories much more on the businesses. I had heard about his troubles with his heart (~age 40-ish), which made him turn his life around to focus on only a few things that brought him joy - writing, photography, travels. He will be missed. RIP, Om. --- (Update: the book is Broadbandits (not Telecom Bandits, as I mistakenly wrote)

glohbalrob 4mo ago
The guy was legit awesome and so kind. I have similar experience
dlev_pika 4mo ago
My GigaOm backpack is still going strong - good merch
- swyx 4mo ago
  what brand?

brandonb 4mo ago

Very sad news. :(

taintlord 4mo ago

One of my first ever freelance clients, his site gigaom. This was back in 2009-10. RIP

lizardking 4mo ago
I remember him talking about that on This Week In Tech (Twit). RIP Om

bravura 4mo ago

"I like to write like a human, steering clear of jargon and B-school speak." https://om.co/about/ https://om.co/about/ https://om.co/2020/07/30/write-like-a-human/ https://om.co/2020/07/30/write-like-a-human/

rdl 4mo ago

I still remember him being one of the best writers about tech (a bit more than "journalism" in that a lot of it was of more evergreen value...) from the dotcom boom and then the peak "interesting" web apps period (2004-~2015 or so, when AJAX/etc was still new, and things hadn't calcified so much). Didn't know about his later health issues, I assumed he had just moved on to other interests naturally. RIP.

mshaler 4mo ago

Om was a bright light and so very kind. RIP

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

jonah 4mo ago

Oh, bummer. I only met with him once - a mutual friend put me in touch with him. He was wise, gracious, and generous with his time. Bon Voyage Om.

mik3y 4mo ago
I had a very similar single experience with Om: I was introduced completely randomly while he was at True Ventures; he couldn't have been nicer, more curious, or more genuine despite me almost certainly reading like a total waste of time. It's both heartwarming, and bitterly sad, to see so many other posters confirm he was one of the good ones.

justmarc 4mo ago

May he rest in peace.

steveBK123 4mo ago

Very sad to hear. He had a great creative spirit between business ventures, writing and photography.. a man of many talents.

rmason 4mo ago

I started out as journalist so I always appreciated great writing when I reinvented myself as a tech entrepreneur. There were three writers beginning in the nineties who were my tech troika: Kevin Kelly, George Gilder and Om Malik. Sadly now the only one still writing regularly is Kevin Kelly.

itherseed 4mo ago

[flagged]

ElProlactin 4mo ago
Like, why post this?
khazhoux 4mo ago
Friendly feedback: Generally speaking, the practice of commenting here with "I thought one thing from the title, then realized it was something else" is exceedingly uninteresting. In the event of a death, it is also in bad taste.
Hugsbox 4mo ago
Read the room, brother.

fgblanch 4mo ago

My condolences to family and friends. Om writting has always been a reference since Web 2.0 era. Also enjoyed his photographabout friends and travel. Sad news RIP

jmspring 4mo ago

I liked the mid-2000s, gigaom and techcrunch actually had articles worth reading (not all, TC got sorta gossipy rag at one point). Om's were generally well thought out.

Danox 4mo ago

Enjoyed his writing/commentary on all things tech over the years...

cobbzilla 4mo ago

GigaOM was truly awesome at its best. Om was a special guy, I met him a few times during my years in the Bay Area. He really embodied that selflessly-helping side of the Valley: helping others with no expectations, just because it’s good. He helped one of my startups get some exposure. I keep trying to pay it forward. I will miss him.

profsummergig 4mo ago
"the selflessly-helping side of the Valley" Never having lived in the valley, I've struggled to understand what it means. Can anyone share some examples?
- Avicebron 4mo ago
  Not technically the valley but I crashed on couches in sleepy hollow and san rafael before I started making money out in the Bay.
- mikeyouse 4mo ago
  There is a really tremendous streak of people helping people with no strings attached that I hadn’t found anywhere else I’ve lived. Especially but not exclusively on the engineering / product side - for a long time you could take a greyhound to Soma and have a couch to crash on and a job interview lined up without knowing anyone. Introductions are made without a second thought (extremely contrary to my east coast experience where to get an intro, it must be “worth” something to the third party), it is (was? I moved away a few years ago) an extremely special and collaborative place.
  - brtkwr 4mo ago
    Does that not extend beyond tech founders? I hear that SF has one of the highest rates of homelessness...
    - xp84 4mo ago
      Not even the richest person can simply cure thousands of people of addiction and set them on the right path in life. If you want to prove me wrong, surely even with non-millionaire resources, you could afford to just take in one into your home, feed them, and fix their problems. I’ll be genuinely glad to be proven wrong.

toomuchtodo 4mo ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Malik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Malik

martinald 4mo ago

Really sad. I grew up reading his writing. I emailed him some thoughts on one of his blog and he immediately replied in a lovely way very recently. What a shock and a loss.

asah 4mo ago

Om had grace, and will be missed by many.

Marciplan 4mo ago

wnevets 4mo ago

> Malik was also a frequent guest on the former CrankyGeeks podcast with John C. Dvorak. That takes me back, he was always great on that show.

UqWBcuFx6NV4r 4mo ago
Someone needs to even out Dvorak!
brandonmenc 4mo ago
Too bad they had a falling out when Dvorak questioned the logic of hiring Vivek Kundra (remember him? of course not!) as the nation's first CIO.
- wnevets 4mo ago
  > (remember him? of course not!) I long for those days.

1f60c 4mo ago

Oh my God. Oh no. Rest in peace :(

psadri 4mo ago

I met Om once in SF over a meal. I could tell he was a kind soul. RIP.

qaz_plm 4mo ago

Om, rest easy brother!

UqWBcuFx6NV4r 4mo ago

Very sad reading his penultimate blog post: https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/

ufocia 4mo ago
[flagged]
- wholinator2 4mo ago
  Health can change quickly, without warning or recourse.
- djmips 4mo ago
  Optimism is not dishonesty
- benj111 4mo ago
  TBF it isn't really any of our business. Do we know what happened? This could have been going on for years. My best friend, had Parkinson's, so death was always on the cards, it was still sudden when it actually happened. And I appreciate the understatement in "Taking a Few Days Off", I'd put that on my headstone.
Dumblydorr 4mo ago
Sounds like he was reading something he enjoyed in the last few weeks, I hope.

jacobgold 4mo ago

Rest in peace Om.

nikcub 4mo ago

This is devastating. Om was the godfather of early tech blogging and lifted up so many people around him. He was kind, caring and compassionate. When I first started blogging around 25 years ago, he would have been amongst the first 10 readers. He linked to me, emailed me privately with feedback, praised posts and would call bullshit when he saw it. He was never competitive with other blogs or bloggers and was never tied up in drama. He was very often a mediator in behind the scenes conflicts and was obsessed with truth over getting the scoop. He loved tech and startups and most of all loved seeing other succeed and didn't have a gram of resentment within himself. Everybody from that post-dotcom crash era of tech owes Om a large debt of gratitude. He will be missed. RIP Om.

gkoberger 4mo ago

Wow, Om was one of my first bosses. It’s hard to separate my memory of him from the era; he defined it. I have such nostalgia for both. He loved tech and startups… not buzzy tabloid stuff, but true journalism. A lot of people may not know GigaOM, but he helped shape a generation of tech. Thanks for everything, Om. I was a fan before I worked for you, loved my time on Pier 1 in SF, and have always appreciated your steadfast love for technology.

grimjeer 4mo ago

Black bar? My experience of Om was only through his written word, but a new article or post by him was a thing of joy. Not to agree with, but simply to hear a good, honest voice. As soon as I read this, I thought, "Wait a sec, hasn't it been a little while?" My sincere condolences to his family and colleagues.

deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]

fmajid 4mo ago

Om and I went a long way back. I tried to convince him RSS was the way journalism could escape capture by Big Tech. In retrospect, showing him the ad-blocking features of my feed reader might not have been the most persuasive... He was a tremendously funny character. What's little known about him was he was a bag fiend just as much as a camera lover. A big chocolate enthusiast as well, until his heart troubles forced him to be more careful. You will be missed.

meindnoch 4mo ago
A bag fiend?
- fmajid 4mo ago
  Someone who enjoys collecting backpacks, briefcases, messenger bags etc. I recall meeting him by chance near South Park and comparing notes on our bags of the day.

bihhert7 4mo ago

[flagged]

thoughtpeddler 4mo ago

Black bar for Om please. Truly sad for this loss, was so grateful for his impassioned writing and storytelling about our industry. You will be missed deeply Om. May there be all the pens in the world for you in the afterlife.

ssorc 4mo ago

A tragic loss. Amongst his many other talents, Om was a wonderful photographer; you can see some of his photos at Glass: https://glass.photo/om https://glass.photo/om

dotmanish 4mo ago
Thank you for sharing this. While everyone remembers his writings, encouragement, and contributions to tech/business, the photos put up by him are beautiful as well.
- ssorc 4mo ago
  Thanks. Two more: Daniel Agee from Glass posted a photo and tribute to Om about his help in the early days of getting Glass started: https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt And Christopher Michael has posted a wonderful photo of Om: https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt https://glass.photo/cm/LCGjX2IqUWtK288zq5dSt
  - darekkay 4mo ago
    Thanks. You've shared the same link twice. Here's the post from Daniel: https://glass.photo/daniel/bhGvi7R5zR8XvuYG6jT3X https://glass.photo/daniel/bhGvi7R5zR8XvuYG6jT3X He also wrote an official post on Glass: https://glass.photo/highlights/remembering-om https://glass.photo/highlights/remembering-om
jonners00 4mo ago
I wasn't expecting anything so beautiful, just some competent, twee photography. (Never mind, it's all in the training data now, will result in some competent, twee, but uncanny, slop).

stephanerangaya 4mo ago

he had such a great influence on the blog community for so many years, he will be missed. RIP Om.

dr_ 4mo ago

Sad. I remember first meeting Om in NYC, just as he was getting ready to move to the Bay Area and before his blogging career took off. As a side gig, he was one of the originators of the South Asian social scene (desiparty.com). Spoke with him briefly and just remember him being nice and friendly. RIP Om!

jmccarthy 4mo ago

Thank you Om

gexla 4mo ago

Nostalgic post from back in the day when he wrote an RIP post for a friend, Dean Allen. https://om.co/2018/01/18/dean-allen-rest-in-peace/ https://om.co/2018/01/18/dean-allen-rest-in-peace/

jnaina 4mo ago

RIP Om. One of truly honest voices in tech journalism. You will be missed.

kami23 4mo ago

I remember watching GigaOm on Revision3 back in the day, I think I stumbled upon it via Diggnation... nope I think it was CrankyGeeks actually. It was the first newsletter I actually subscribed to back in the day! Sad to hear about his passing, his appearances on podcasts introduced me to the more business side of tech where I was just a hobbyist teen at the time. RIP

drob518 4mo ago

So sad. I first met Om in 2001 or so. I pissed him off because I wouldn’t meet with him to do an interview for our startup. He always loved getting the early scoop and we weren’t ready for any publicity. In later years, we would laugh about it and I gave him the early scoop on the next one. During those years he became a friend and we would sometimes grab lunch and chat about all manner of things, from tech to family. I dished on some of what I watched go down in the dot-com bubble for his Broadbandits book. Later, I would go on to write contributed articles for GigaOm. Goodbye, buddy. 60 is too young. You were one of the best. Maybe you’re getting the early scoop in a different way.

russelldjimmy 4mo ago

I’m too young and too far away from the Valley to have ever met Om or been influenced by his early blogging work. However, I have avidly followed his blog ever since I came across it maybe 10 years ago. I love his writing. So crisp and honest, yet it had depth. His blog was one of the few I’d look forward to every day. I was waiting for him to return after he promised he’d do so in his last blog post. I certainly didn’t expect this. Om Shanti, Om. You will be missed.

apgwoz 4mo ago

So sad. :( Om was off my radar for the last 10 years or so, and then I recently encountered an article he wrote (https://om.co/2023/02/05/why-modern-leica-m-is-a-great-landscape-camera/ https://om.co/2023/02/05/why-modern-leica-m-is-a-great-lands...) about his adoption of Leica M cameras. He had a wonderful eye: https://www.photosbyom.com/ https://www.photosbyom.com/

lxm 4mo ago

Very classy guy, sad day.

wejick 4mo ago

GigaOm was one of the early publications that my younger self enjoy to follow, it was a good formative years. Later I knew when it got acquired that the OM of GigaOm was from its founder. rest in peace

supriyo-biswas 4mo ago

I had only briefly heard about him in the past, but it's sad to hear he passed away. Revisiting some of his old writings, I see he was deeply a humanist, and I love that. I especially liked https://om.co/2026/06/07/the-myth-the-mythos-and-the-man/ https://om.co/2026/06/07/the-myth-the-mythos-and-the-man/

kevinten10 4mo ago

[flagged]

rgrieselhuber 4mo ago

Very sad, feels like an end of an era.

sneak 4mo ago

Take care of your heart, people. If you smoke, quit. If you eat a high cholesterol diet, change it. If you don’t exercise, start. Heart disease sneaks up on you, and it can happen to anyone. There are frequently no warning signs, as without an angiogram, there’s no clear indicator in normal checkups (EKG can look normal the day before MI, coronary arteries are the same density as surrounding tissue on normal no-contrast xray). Most people’s very first sign that they have heart disease is a totally unexpected first heart attack. 60% of them die of it, within minutes of their first symptom. If you have familial history, be extra careful. There are new groundbreaking drugs like Repatha that can slow the progress a TON. You aren’t special, it along with cancer are the #1 cause of non-accidental death if you make it to adulthood. It doesn’t discriminate.

__patchbit__ 4mo ago
A handful of unsalted nuts consumed daily helps the heart.
- brador 4mo ago
  Note: peanuts are legumes not nuts.
kristianp 4mo ago
I'm no expert but two actionable diagnostics everyone over 45 should do: - Blood pressure check - Fasting cholesterol blood test.

chupchap 4mo ago

I used to be tech-journalist in an earlier avatar and Om was someone who I always turned to for inspiration and context. I learnt a lot from the way he wrote, thought and perceived the world of technology. Om shanti, I wish you a great new beginning.

thunderbong 4mo ago

I had started blogging (on blogspot!) those days and like many others, I also used to follow Om's articles on RSS. I still remember very clearly coming across his article where he had linked to my blog. I felt on top of the world! Because why would a renowned SV journalist link to a lowly blog? I'm quite sure that my reason to continue blogging over all these years can be attributed to that small gesture. Just the title here has me transported to a time and place long forgotten. Thank you, Om.

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

photomatt 4mo ago

I really encourage people to go through his writing, there's a lot of wisdom in there.

janvdberg 4mo ago
Im sorry for your loss Matt.

nickv 4mo ago

Mods, we should have a black bar for this. He was a deeply influential person, who also was amazingly talented and a wonderful human being. The trifecta! I sadly never met him, but even typing the word “was” above made me have the deepest sigh.

mehrshad 4mo ago

I'll repost what I wrote on his wall just now. Probably the most impactful SF/SV passing for me since Jobs. "I first met Om in the mid-2000s when I started in public relations. He was patient, kind – not what you’d expect from a journalist hounded by every PR agency trying to get column inches. I met him again when we were fundraising for my first startup in 2006 – he listened with intent, he provided genuine feedback, he supported us emotionally. I would see him occasionally at the odd event or two in the years that followed. He always had a smile, always gregarious, always maintained a presence without agenda – or effort, for that matter. He embodied the hidden human amid the sterility and coldness that would slowly engulf Silicon Valley in the years that followed. I’m blessed to have benefited from his kindness across the few brief interactions, and I wish his family and friends the comfort in knowing he left an outsized impact on many of us." The guy was a mensch. He made this space welcoming because he cared about the individual.

jmsflknr 4mo ago

About 11 years ago, I cold-emailed Om for his guidance. I was an absolute nobody, living thousands of miles away. Not only did Om patiently explain how I should think about my career, he kept in touch over the past decade checking in on how I was doing. I left journalism last year to do something else -- coincidentally, again, following Om's footsteps -- and had been meaning to write a long email, sharing so much. I deeply regret missing the chance to have another conversation with him. Om has been deeply impactful to my journalism career and beyond. He was way too kind and leaves a big vacuum.

appstorelottery 4mo ago
"Om patiently explain how I should think about my career" - care to share what Om explained to you?
- _HMCB_ 4mo ago
  I’d love to know too.
artur_makly 4mo ago
Say more..
- artur_makly 4mo ago
  why do i get downvoted for asking the poster to share more about the advice he received?? why is this a net negative. im so confused.
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - ignoramous 4mo ago
    "Say more" sounds like a terse but daft order / directive. Discussion boards lack non-verbal cues, so you have to be sometimes extra mindful with words.

mmastrac 4mo ago

Om Malik was the guy who had the biggest influence on the direction of my life, by far. It was through him I met Naval Ravikant in 2007, and then through Naval I met my co-founder that led to my startup exit in the '10s. Luck surface area. I really owe so much to Om. I really can't imagine where I would be without that chance.

satyambnsal 4mo ago

RIP Om

tonyvince7 4mo ago

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

tosh 4mo ago

fondly remember meeting Om many years ago I was so anxious I couldn't sleep the night before then in the morning when I walked up to true ventures I was such a sleep deprived mess I worried I will just waste his time he was a bit surprised and humored, I think, we grabbed some coffee and had a great conversation ty for your kindness RIP Om

rcarmo 4mo ago

Oh fuck. I used to swap notes with him every now and then, drifted away over the past couple of years. Had no idea.

andyjohnson0 4mo ago

I never met or knew him but, like many here, I've been following his blog for a decade or so. By impression and reputation he was a kind, thoughtful, and creative soul who did good by the world - and I'm saddened that he has gone. My condolences to his friends and family.

tetrisgm 4mo ago

Oh no. Rest in peace Om. We interacted a few times back in the Web 2.0 back when I’d write for ReadWriteWeb. You were one of the sharpest writers in the scene. You understood product, builders. You had empathy, and so much less ego than everyone. I always looked up to your insights. I knew that you took the time and care to think. Thanks for sharing all that.

alanmoraes 4mo ago

On its launch, GigaOM had great influence in Brazil's Porto Digital startup scene back in the days. RIP

mehulashah 4mo ago

The first and seminal Indian tech blogger. I looked up to him. RIP.

carabiner 4mo ago

I just remember on a podcast, he said he thought eventually amazon would have physical stores. Listening to this I thought that sounded terribly outlandish, and so did the cohosts. Their whole deal was to make online retail so much smoother than brick & mortar. Then a few years later, amazon announced physical stores.

pjg 4mo ago

I interacted with Om a few times. Genuinely good soul. I met him a while back - about ~15 years or so. In spite of his busy schedule he took time out to speak with me. Gave me some valuable tips on startup world. I don't say this about a lot of people but the world is less of a place without Om. You were way too young to leave us Om. I will miss you. Sidenote: In the heydays i.e. about 15-20 years back or so Techcrunch and GigaOm were competitors. Techcrunch was founded by Michael Arrington, known for his brusque and no holds barred blogs and barbs. He would roast his competitors alive, if he could. Well, all except Om. For Om, Micheal had nothing but praise.

lmeyerov 4mo ago

We almost went with Om for our seed round, and he remains on my list of "one of the good ones". It's rare to meet folks where that becomes so apparent so quick.

anildash 4mo ago

He was a genuinely good person, and a genuinely honest voice, in an industry that had very few back when he was one of its pioneers, and has far, far fewer of those things today. A lot of people will write nice words about Om, and he deserves them, but a lot of those people won't necessarily live the values that they admire about him, because that's a lot harder to do. He was unfailingly kind, but he did not ever compromise on doing the right thing, or calling out moral failings. It's a wonderful tribute to him to see so many people talk about how Om supported them, or opened doors for them, or lifted up their careers; I think the thing we owe him is not just to carry that work forward, but to do it with the same character, conscience and consistency of principle that he did.

swyx 4mo ago
what are your best Om stories?

pknerd 4mo ago

Sad and shocking. Many of us grew up reading GigaOM in the early 2000s when I was new in CS. Condelence with his family

tomaskafka 4mo ago

I paused to read whenever a new Om’s essay popped up in the RSS feed; for me, Om was an uniquely observant voice of tech, who never compromised and always looked at the world from a human perspective. This has been one of my favorite ones, reminding us to simply remain human in the face of incentive systems pushing us away from that goal: https://om.co/2026/04/08/banksy-satoshi-the-unmasking-impulse/ https://om.co/2026/04/08/banksy-satoshi-the-unmasking-impuls... Om was attentive to details and generous to share - when he discovered my weather app (https://x.com/om/status/1579948290745176064 https://x.com/om/status/1579948290745176064), he was so kind as to write a whole article about it, without me asking for it in any way: https://om.co/2022/10/11/weathergraph/ https://om.co/2022/10/11/weathergraph/ I was so proud to be able to send Om a lifetime license. I wish he had gotten several more decades of use out of it. Thank you, Om!

imartin2k 4mo ago

Sad! He (and Michael Arrington) were the first two tech bloggers I read religiously back in the web 2.0 days. Had Malik’s personal blog in my RSS feeds until now. It has been only a week or so since I read his last post.

schappim 4mo ago

No black bar? I guess Om was before the mods' time.

ChrisRR 4mo ago
I think we've reached the point where so many people who were influential in early computing are dying that HN would just have a permanent black bar

brador 4mo ago

Great guy. Check your bmi and fix your diet today not tomorrow till it hits normal, you’re running out of time. Cutting out sugar alone will get you half way to the target ideal healthy weight.

liberian 4mo ago

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embit 4mo ago

What a great loss. Thank you for your writing and photography

jeffiel 4mo ago

I’ll share my favorite Om story. It was 2010 and we were launching Twilio SMS. I went over to his office to pitch him the story, hoping we would cover the launch. He listened for 10 minutes while I walked through it, then said “Yeah yeah I’ll write about it. But I want to talk about your health. Are you taking care of yourself? You could lose some weight…” He wanted everybody to learn from his health journey. While mostly I wanted him to cover our news, and it was terribly awkward… walking home, I realized it was nice to be seen as a person not just a founder, a startup or a tech story.

kevmo 4mo ago
That's an incredibly nice story. Are you taking better care of yourself?
iwontberude 4mo ago
lmao welp
simonebrunozzi 4mo ago
Thanks for sharing this one, Jeff. I was a big fan of Twilio since launch, and I think I remember that article (I was at AWS back then, in a Tech Evangelist role, so most "new" startups on the block passed in front of me one way or another). I'm sure there are thousands of stories about Om, and only some of them are here in this thread. I briefly met him in 2012 or 2013, but didn't really interact with him much. But I kind of liked him a lot, and kept following his writings. RIP.
TheMagicHorsey 4mo ago
Ha! I had a similar story, Om saw me and a group of other engineers that our boss briefly introduced as he was walking through our offices, and Om remarked: "You are working these guys too hard ... they look like they don't get enough sleep." Which was true ... we were pulling all nighters to get our release in shape for demos. It was nice to see a visitor acknowledge our health sacrifices for the company ... a whole bunch of other journalists came through too ... and nobody else commented on our appearance/health.

LeonB 4mo ago

Om shared with me some very personal thoughts and I think I’m not alone in considering his loss immeasurable.

javascripthater 4mo ago

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thedreammachine 4mo ago

So many years reading his newsletter, and forever grateful for Om. He replied to a cold email a long time ago with very specific, helpful advice on a project I was working on. What a legend!

dipankarsarkar 4mo ago

I didn't realise he was a Stephenian (University of Delhi). GigaOM was influential, the techcruch era :). What a journey!

adityaathalye 4mo ago

A sad day for us who learn of his passing. I hope it was painless and peaceful, as befits a person who gave so freely of himself. His collected body of work is a trustworthy chronicle of the Internet and the WWW's glow up era. It will inform generations to come. They will know Om too. And through the same work, he remains alive to us; we who sought his dogged, prodigious, plain speaking influence, insight, and direct access to the beating heart of the place where it was all being invented and grown and scaled and blown up and resurrected. Om's writing brought the excitement and possibility of the world to me, circa 2004. A 25-something B-school student, in faraway Pune, India, viscerally experiencing and studying the telecom boom at home, while also looking towards The Valley to see what might come to be, next. I read him on GigaOm, and his various other later avatars / manifestations, but he is always going to be "Om Malik on Broadband" for me. As he will be for many of my cohort. GigaOm is dead, long live GigaOm.com. (´˘-˘人)

rcarmo 4mo ago

Why isn’t there a black bar at the top of HN yet?

QuantumAtom 4mo ago

May his memory be a blessing

tibbydudeza 4mo ago

Techcrunch - GigaOm and Gawker. Good times - good guy - RIP and my condolences to his friends and family.

la64710 4mo ago

“For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain”. Om will be missed.

djyde 4mo ago

[flagged]

sonink 4mo ago

Om had a very honest voice - I never met him, but have read his takes for a very long time now. Om Shanti.

saltcod 4mo ago

Very sad. Such a thoughtful writer. He always had an angle that no one else had. Will miss reading his words.

mesibo 4mo ago

Personally, it's sad news for me and many other founders Om helped. Back in 2008, my company, TringMe, was making news with browser-based telephony. We had been covered by TechCrunch, but never by GigaOM. So I decided to email Om directly and ask, half-jokingly, "Are we not worth your time?" I also asked if he had any advice. He apologized, explained that health issues had limited his writing, assured me it was never personal, and then offered a simple piece of advice: "Bring me fresh and exclusive information." We took that advice seriously. Our next launches, VoicePHP and the first Mobile VoIP app for BlackBerry, were both covered by GigaOM. What I remember is not the coverage, but the kindness in his reply. He did not have to respond to a founder he barely knew, let alone with honesty, encouragement, and actionable advice. We stayed in touch after that. Thank you, Om. Rest in peace.

NickDouglas 4mo ago

I knew Om when I was an ankle-biter writing for a Gawker blog. He was gracious and generous. Felt like everybody's favorite uncle. I hope I can be as kind to others as he was to me.

bbelcastro 4mo ago

Always enjoyed reading him online. Rest in peace.

roundhill 4mo ago

This is so sad to see. I consider myself lucky to have worked with Om for a few days as he was advising the company I was working for during a big growth stage. I'll always remember his kindness and wisdom.

ML0037 4mo ago

This was his last post: https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ He seemed to know that something wasn’t right. I really loved his writing. Rest in peace.

gosuri 4mo ago

One of the regrets I have is not following through when Om messaged to hang out a couple of months ago. A painful reminder to take some time off your busy lives to catch up with old friends. You never know if you’ll get another chance.

shadowtree 4mo ago

His latest thing was https://crazystupidtech.com/ https://crazystupidtech.com/ - a joint newsletter with Fred Vogelstein.

fudgy73 4mo ago

Malik means king and this guy was / is one of the kings of tech journalism and writing. RIP

ninjha01 4mo ago

Alas https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/ https://om.co/2026/06/08/taking-a-few-days-off/

danesparza 4mo ago

Why hasn't HackerNews changed the color of the top bar? I thought they did that to honor folks in the tech industry that died.

bnc319 4mo ago

"My favorite thing Om wrote was actually an interview with Brunello Cucinelli in 2015. And to this day, I think it’s the single best thing you can read on running a business. Better than any book, better than any article." -Jason Fried https://om.co/2015/04/27/brunello-cucinelli-2/ https://om.co/2015/04/27/brunello-cucinelli-2/

carlcortright 4mo ago

I never met Om but I worked for firm in college that was close to him. He seemed like a very kind soul. This is very sad.

toddh 4mo ago

That's so sad to hear. I only met him once about acquiring my High Scalability blog. That didn't happen, but it was obvious he was one of those wise people who was both kind and very smart. Not a combination we see often in this world. A real loss...

thallavajhula 4mo ago

Wow. I've been following Om since 2011 and this is such a sudden news. I just opened HN and this title shook me. It literally did. Wow. RIP, Om.

msie 4mo ago

Where's the black bar?

SLHamlet 4mo ago

Om was a mentor to me at GigaOM and while writing my first book, teaching me throughout how to understand the tech industry and cut through the bullshit and noise. But more than all that, Om was a very warm, lovely, generous guy. He knew the business of tech, he was successful at the business of tech, so when he criticized tech, his punches were solid, precisely targeted, and unignorable. The first day I met him, he told me: "I know where all the bodies in Silicon Valley are buried," as he once told me. And he really did. Tech journalism today is sorely missing fiery thoughtful voices like his.

kordlessagain 4mo ago

Om, you were a spectacular human being and a great mentor and advisor. I wish you best on your next phase of existence. You are remembered, Brother!

msarrel 4mo ago

This is really sad. What a dynamic man to lose so early. Working with him at GigaOM as an analyst was educational and fun.

runtimewire 4mo ago

thank hn: for putting me as secondary source

akadeb 4mo ago

RIP legend

SushiMon 4mo ago

I had the pleasure of interacting with Om a couple of times. Certain people in this world, you can tell that they are incredibly genuine, with no artifice. That was him 100%. He will be missed.

pamelaaa 4mo ago

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