Balaji Srinivasan has long warned that the United States is on a path toward breakdown. Rather than wait it out, the former Coinbase chief technology officer has been trying to prototype an alternative: a new kind of country built from online communities. According to the Wall Street Journal, Srinivasan spent two years operating the Network School in a largely empty Malaysian city, where startup founders paid $1,500 a month for lodging, meals and classes. The campus also offered a premium gym and food developed with longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson. The broader vision was ambitious: gather digital communities, pool capital and eventually pursue sovereignty.
Life on the ground, however, proved less utopian. Some residents complained about mold in the rooms, a thin social scene and a shortage of women on campus. The project also drew unwanted scrutiny after an Instagram post alleged that Israeli citizens were staying at the school, a sensitive issue in Malaysia, where Israelis face entry restrictions without special approval. A government inquiry found no wrongdoing on that front, but authorities still shut the operation down over unrelated licensing problems.
Srinivasan, though, appears undeterred. Within hours, he shared a video showing himself signing an agreement to launch a new Network School campus in Kazakhstan.
I am pleased to announce that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Network School.
Our new campus will become a haven for global techno-optimism, with expedited visas, streamlined redomiciliation, and active recruitment of talent. pic.twitter.com/R20i8UAYoc— Balaji (@balajis) July 21, 2026
The shutdown marks a setback for one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent advocates of “network states,” the idea that internet-native communities can become real-world political entities. Srinivasan’s Malaysian experiment was designed to turn that theory into something tangible, combining startup culture, communal living and a sovereignty-focused curriculum in a purpose-built campus environment.
Yet the same project also highlighted the practical challenges facing such ventures. Complaints about housing conditions and campus life collided with regulatory concerns, and Malaysian officials ultimately moved to close the school despite clearing it of the specific allegations tied to Israeli residents.
Now, with Kazakhstan lined up as the next destination, Srinivasan is signaling that the Network School concept is not finished. If anything, the rapid pivot suggests he intends to keep testing his vision for a post-national community, even after a high-profile stumble in Malaysia.
I am pleased to announce that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Network School.
Our new campus will become a haven for global techno-optimism, with expedited visas, streamlined redomiciliation, and active recruitment of talent. pic.twitter.com/R20i8UAYoc— Balaji (@balajis) July 21, 2026
