In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1977
- Birthplace
- Tianjin, China
- Country
- Singapore
- Nationality
- Singaporean
- Known for
- Building Sea into a Southeast Asian digital group spanning gaming, e-commerce and financial services
- Company
- Sea Limited
- Founded
- 2009
- Core businesses
- Garena, Shopee and SeaMoney
- Education
- MBA, Stanford University
Why this life matters
Li’s career reflects Singapore’s role as a headquarters and capital-market base for technology businesses built across many Southeast Asian countries.
Timeline
Key moments
Completed a Stanford MBA
Graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Founded Garena
Established the digital entertainment company that later became Sea.
Launched Shopee
Entered mobile-first e-commerce across Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
Listed Sea in New York
Led the group’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
Continued as chairman and CEO
Led Sea across digital entertainment, e-commerce and financial services.
Building from a regional headquarters
Forrest Li was born in Tianjin and later became a Singapore citizen. After completing an MBA at Stanford, he founded Garena in Singapore in 2009. The company distributed and developed online games for a region whose young, mobile-first population was coming online quickly.
From Garena to Sea
The group expanded into e-commerce through Shopee in 2015 and developed financial services that became SeaMoney. Renamed Sea, it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017. Its businesses grew across national markets with different languages, payment systems and logistics networks.
Scale, volatility and Southeast Asian technology
Sea’s growth was accompanied by heavy investment, changing market valuations and pressure to demonstrate sustainable earnings. Li’s role makes his biography a study in regional platform-building: Singapore supplied governance, finance and talent, while the company’s users and operations remained widely distributed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Forrest Li
- Who is Forrest Li?
- Forrest Li is a founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sea. Li’s career reflects Singapore’s role as a headquarters and capital-market base for technology businesses built across many Southeast Asian countries.
- What is Forrest Li best known for?
- Forrest Li is best known for building Sea into a Southeast Asian digital group spanning gaming, e-commerce and financial services.
- When and where was Forrest Li born?
- Forrest Li was born in 1977 in Tianjin, China.
Sources and further reading
How this biography was checked
Core dates and offices are checked against the sources below. This profile was last reviewed on 9 September 2026.
