Nikolai Durov
Telegram was launched in 2013 by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov. Previously the pair founded the Russian social network VK, which they left when it was taken over by the Mail.ru Group. Nikolai Durov created the MTProto protocol that is the basis for the messenger, while Pavel provided financial support and infrastructure through his Digital Fortress fund with partner Axel Neff joining as a second co-founder.