Friederike Ernst: Using The Internet To Empower People And Communities

Forbes

3 days ago

Friederike Ernst is an Ivy League physicist, co-founder of Web3 company Gnosis, and a mother of four ... More children under 10.
At the age of 12, Friederike Ernst's father handed her a copy of theoretical physicist Simon Singh's The Code Book, sparking a lifelong interest in cryptography. The gift was prescient; Friederike went on to study physics to post-doctoral level at Stanford and Colombia, before transitioning to the world of tech.
'I have always loved building things. I could have been a very happy carpenter,' says Friederike. 'I enjoy being in a place where I can shape things, and the next iteration of the internet, known as 'Web3' or the decentralised web, is one of the areas where we can create a better society for all.'
Through our conversation, one theme came through consistently - an engrained distrust of authority and the idea of empowering people with agency. That is the fundamental value that underscores her mission-driven work in the tech space - creating the infrastructure that gives power and autonomy back to people, rather than to huge corporations.
'Labels really don't matter' - the changing face of tech for women
The businesswoman in glasses standing near the display
At 22, she was the only woman in her class, but she says it's rare to be the sole woman these days: 'We've made tremendous progress. We don't need to get to 50:50 representation in every field - it's true that generally speaking men and women have different interests - but a certain level of diversity is important'. She adds that as the only woman, there is a burden to prove yourself not just on your own behalf, but as a representative of women everywhere.
Today, Friederike is a mother of four children aged between one and nine years old, and she challenges the idea that tech is a hostile space for women. 'In the beginning, they can underestimate you, but I feel really appreciated for my contributions. Some say it's not a good place for mothers but I haven't found that to be the case. If you're smart, driven, and making a contribution, labels really don't matter.'
Power (and profit) to the people
Growing up in Germany, Friederike's values are shaped by counter-cultural cypherpunk ideologies grounded in resisting authority and unchecked capitalism: 'I'm a firm believer in agency, just give people the right tools and they can achieve what they want to.' That's what appeals to her about working in Web3, where decentralisation, privacy, and user ownership are prioritised. At Gnosis, she works on developing the infrastructure needed to make that happen across a diverse range of applications and sectors.
She describes Web3 as a do-over of the early internet that allows for shared agency. 'The internet was initially used for a lot of peer-to-peer interactions. Over the last 30 years, a lot of that power has been centralised to accrue value and power to the same 10 companies. Google probably has access to your search history, correspondence, and location - that's an incredible amount of information - and then they target you with related ads.'
What if we could have similar services without compromising on privacy? Why should we accept that this is the quid pro quo for access to online tools and services?
Reimagining finance for everyone
Concept of decentralized internet. Wide banner. WEB 3 technology concept. WEB 3.0 3d rendering..
Friederike explains that the principle of shared ownership, where communities, not corporations, hold the value they help create, can be applied to money and finance. At its foundation, Web3 is a neutral technology that could be steered in vastly different directions. 'Web3 is a base technology; an infrastructure. It can be used to create a utopia, but it can also be used to build an extremely effective surveillance state,' one advocate said. 'We need to ensure that doesn't happen, and that privacy is normalised again.'
This is where Gnosis, the company she co-founded, comes in. Gnosis is building the digital tools and systems needed to make financial services more accessible, fair, and decentralised. The idea is simple: instead of profits going to a handful of big banks, tech companies, and intermediaries, the benefits should flow back to the users who actually create the value.
'We're building the foundations for a more open, equitable internet — but there's still a long way to go,' she says. 'In an open financial system, everyone should have equal access to opportunities, no matter where they live. Right now, it's incredibly difficult for people in some countries to hold foreign currencies or invest in global markets. But that kind of access is essential if we want a fairer world.'
Traditionally, banks have held a lot of power. But today, new technologies make it possible to replace that middleman. Thanks to blockchain, a secure, shared digital ledger, money can now move directly between people without needing a central authority to oversee it. Friederike said: 'Bitcoin was the first example of this. It started as a form of digital cash that people could send to each other without going through a bank. Over time, it evolved into what many now consider 'digital gold' because there's a limited supply — which helps protect its value over time.'
The bigger shift, she believes, will come from creating new money that is no longer dependent on central banks. At Gnosis, she helped to create and launch a trust-based cryptocurrency called Circles, where users create and issue their own coins so that they can use them to barter with other trusted people in their community. As the community using Circles grows, so too does its power as a currency.
Agency and autonomy are the values that drive Web3
Asked who she looks up to in terms of values, Friederike is reluctant to name specific role models, but said: 'I look up to people who can withstand the pressure or temptation to make money quickly.'
In a space dominated by tech giants constantly looking for new ways to monetise and digital currencies creating hype without benefits, the focus on value creation rather than value extraction is certainly refreshing.