ecosystem / people / eric-diep
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Eric Diep

Founder, Manifold, A Thinking Ape

GamingVancouver

Eric Diep co-founded A Thinking Ape with Kenshi Arasaki and Wilkins Chung, taking the mobile-games studio through Y Combinator and its 2010 move to Vancouver. Embracer Group's DECA Games acquired A Thinking Ape in 2020. Diep is now founder of Manifold, a smart-contract platform for NFT artists backed by a16z crypto and Initialized Capital.

Eric hasn’t spoken on a TechTO, TechVancouver or TechWaterloo stage. This profile is here because Eric co-founded A Thinking Ape, which appears in 1 talk in the archive.

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Quick answers

Who founded A Thinking Ape?

BCBusiness profiled him on 2014-03-26 as one of three co-founders -- with Kenshi Arasaki and Wilkins Chung -- who established the Vancouver mobile-games studio after meeting through Y Combinator.

How did A Thinking Ape start?

Georgia Straight reported on 2010-12-17 that Diep, then trying to 'build the Facebook of Canada,' was relocating the gaming company from San Francisco to Vancouver, where he and co-founders Kenshi Arasaki and Wilkins Chung were based; the company had gone through Y Combinator.

What happened to A Thinking Ape?

A Thinking Ape's own company page cites Techcouver's 2020-11-18 report that Embracer Group's DECA Games acquired the studio for approximately $105 million USD; the studio continues to operate in Vancouver.

What does Eric Diep do now?

Diep's own site, ediep.ca/about, checked 2026-09-25, describes him as 'founder of Manifold (a16z crypto, Initialized Capital)' and 'previously co-founder of A Thinking Ape.' a16z crypto's October 4, 2021 investment post names Diep as part of the team leading Manifold, alongside former A Thinking Ape co-founder Wilkins Chung.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Sep 25, 2026