Palihapitiya was born on 3 September 1976 in Sri Lanka.
[5] His family has origins in
Galle.
[6] His father was posted to the
High Commission of Sri Lanka, Ottawa and moved his family to Canada when Chamath was five years old. Five years later, in 1986, when the posting came to an end, the family sought asylum in Canada, as the father had been criticized for his views about violence during the
Sri Lankan Civil War.
[5]