Prior to founding Razer, Tan was an advocate and solicitor for the
Supreme Court of Singapore. In 1999, Tan and Robert Krakoff (who was
GM of Kärna LLC) first met and worked together to design the world's first gaming mouse — the "Razer Boomslang". In 2005, Tan and Krakoff founded Razer. With Tan as CEO, the company developed gaming mobile phones but failed to develop its business-to-consumer Razer Pay e-wallet app after not getting the respective license it Singapore in 2020 In 2023, Tan paid tribute to
Sim Wong Hoo, the founder of
Creative Technology, who died; Tan claimed he often met with Sim to "discuss things like audio technology and design."
Fan base and reputation Tan has a cult-like following worldwide and his fans have created fan sites of him as well as tattooed Tan's name on themselves. One of his fans tattooed Tan's face on himself. In December 2019,
Kotaku published an
exposé, based on the statements of 14 former Razer employees, containing wide allegations that under Tan's leadership Razer celebrates a culture of fear, and that Tan himself berates, threatens and shames his staff. ==Philanthropy==