Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top California based Founder operating in the Electronics space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Steven Yang
Founder & CEO of Anker
Steven Yang is the Founder and CEO of Anker Innovations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Peking University and a master’s in computer science from the University of Texas – Austin. He was a senior engineer at Google in California before leaving to found Anker in 2011.
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About Anker, Hunan Ocean Wing: Anker is a multinational team of techies that provides a range of products from batteries and chargers to hubs and readers, and more.
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Markus Levin
Co-Founder of XYO
Markus mined his first Bitcoin in 2013 and has been captivated by blockchain technologies ever since. Markus has over 15 years experience in building, managing and growing companies around the globe. Markus is originally from Germany (with English as his second language), and specializes in getting the most out of companies by implementing data-driven systems and utilizing the key talents of each employee to get the best out of his team. After dropping out of his Ph.D. studies at Bocconi University, Markus began working with companies in hyper-growth industries around the globe. Markus has led cutting-edge technology ventures such as Novacore, “sterkly”, Hive Media and Koiyo.
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About XYO: XYO is a decentralized crypto-location oracle network aiming to provide accurate location data from cars to smartphones.
Arie Trouw
CEO & CTO & Founder of XYO
Ten years before Elon Musk wrote his first line of computer code, another young prodigy from South Africa was busy writing software on his TRS-80 Model I. In 1978, at the age of 10, Arie Trouw started developing software on the TRS-80 Model I, moving on to Atari, Apple, and PC. He then ran a series of bulletin boards centering on game-theory modification. Arie is an accomplished serial entrepreneur with a rich history of technological breakthroughs and business successes involving multiple 8-figure exit events. He is a strong believer in decentralization and the creation of the integrated owner/user model. Arie founded XY in 2012 (incorporated as Ength Degree, LLC before it was converted to a C Corporation in 2016). He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to starting XY-The Findables Company, Arie was CEO and Chairman of Pike Holdings Inc and Chief Technology Officer of Tight Line Technologies LLC. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the New York Institute of Technology. Fun Fact: He is a member of one of the first Afrikaans speaking families to emigrate to the US from South Africa in 1976.
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About XY Labs, XY – The Persistent Company, XYO: XYO is a decentralized crypto-location oracle network aiming to provide accurate location data from cars to smartphones.
Scott Scheper
Founder, Vice Chairman & CMO of XYO
Scott has worked on many exciting ventures with exceptionally talented people, including the Co-founder of Uber. Scott’s first “real boss” was Arie Trouw, who hired Scott in 2009 during an economic recession, when very few companies were hiring, and even fewer were starting companies. What began as a Facebook app startup with four guys and a ping pong table, grew to over 200 employees and 9-figures in revenue in less than two years. In 2013 Scott took a break from corporate life to pursue the dream of working remotely on a laptop while sipping tropical drinks on the beaches of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (U.S.). During this period, Scott launched Greenlamp, a programmatic advertising agency specializing in direct-response media buying. The agency was fully automated; built entirely using algorithms to manage the campaigns. The team was built with project-basis software engineers, and had only one full-time employee: that being Scott. The advertising campaigns were managed by an automated system, nicknamed “Stewie” (Family Guy). 24-hours a day, Stewie managed everything, making automated tweaks to the advertising campaigns. He even emailed Scott to chat about the changes made (Stewie’s emails included signature Stewie lines). In its first year of operation, Greenlamp generated over $12M in revenue. When not working, Scott can be found reading books by his idols, Gary C. Halbert and Charlie Munger, or sometimes even outside with friends and family in San Diego, California.
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About XYO: XYO is a decentralized crypto-location oracle network aiming to provide accurate location data from cars to smartphones.
Kevin Taweel
Founder & CEO of Asurion
Since co-founding Asurion in 1994, the company has grown from 40 to 10,000 employees becoming the world’s largest provider of technology protection services, partnering with the world’s top companies and brands and serving over 200 million customers. Previously, Kevin was chairman and president of investment firm Mill River Corporation and worked in mergers and acquisitions for Salomon Brothers. Kevin and his Asurion cofounder received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001. Kevin is a faculty member at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he teaches entrepreneurship courses in the MBA program, from which he graduated in 1992. He is also a member of the school’s advisory council and has served on its management board. Kevin received a bachelor`s degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University. He serves on the board of directors for ResponseLink, a provider of medical alert systems and the board of trustees for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
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About Asurion, Stanford Graduate School of Business: Asurion helps people get the most out of their technology by providing expert help and product insurance and warranties.
Michael Leabman
Founder & CTO of Energous Corporation
Mr. Leabman became the Company’s Chief Technology Officer in October 2013. From September 2010 to September 2013, Mr. Leabman served as President of TruePath Wireless, a service provider and equipment provider in the broadband communications industry. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Leabman served as Chief Technology Officer for DataRunway Inc., a wireless communication company providing broadband internet to airlines. Mr. Leabman received both his Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Leabman’s extensive knowledge of the Company, its technology and the consumer and commercial electronics industry position him well for service on our board of directors.
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About Energous Corporation: Energous Corporation is the creator of WattUp, charging technology for electronic devices.
Stina Ehrensvard
CEO & Co-Founder of Yubico
Internationally awarded entrepreneur, innovator and speaker with an unfaltering energy and passion for making the internet safer for all. Education in industrial product design at the University of the Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden.
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About Yubico: Yubico offers USB and wireless authentication solutions.
Jakob Ehrensvard
CTO & Co-Founder of Yubico
Built his first computer at the age of 15, self-employed software and hardware engineer since 19, designed the security system for Sweden’s largest nuclear plant at 25. Leading inventor of the YubiKey and FIDO/WebAuthn standards.
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About Yubico: Yubico offers USB and wireless authentication solutions.
Jonathan Um
Co-Founder, COO of Hollar
Co-Founder & COO at Hollar.
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About Hollar: Hollar is an online dollar store that features toys, apparel, electronics, beauty, accessories, party supplies, to home essentials.
Eddie Rhyu
Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer of Hollar
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Hollar.
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About Hollar: Hollar is an online dollar store that features toys, apparel, electronics, beauty, accessories, party supplies, to home essentials.
Robert C. Walker
Founder, Investor, and Board Member of LARQ
Robert C. Walker has 20 years experience in the LED and compound semiconductor world, particularly in Asia, and 6 years of venture capital experience. He was formerly a Partner at Sierra Ventures and CEO of BridgeLux. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech.
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About LARQ: LARQ helps people access pristine drinking water easily and sustainably.
Erik Palitsch
Co-Founder & CEO of Freeform
Erik Palitsch is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Freeform Future.
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About Freeform: Stealth-mode additive manufacturing company.
Thomas Ronacher
Co-Founder & CTO of Freeform
Thomas J. Ronacher is a Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Freeform Future.
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About Freeform: Stealth-mode additive manufacturing company.
Nikhil Bhogal
Co-Founder & CTO of June
Nikhil is the co-founder and CTO at June, where he oversees the engineering and design teams behind the product. He was previously the lead iOS developer for Path. Before that Nikhil was an engineer at Apple, where he worked on the first iPhone through iPhone 5, as well as the first iPad through iPad 3. He’s an inventor on many of Apple’s camera technology patents, including tap to focus, panorama processing, zero shutter lag and lockscreen camera. Nikhil started his career as an engineer at Motorola, focusing on embedded software development for the Razr family of phones. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and little one on the way. In his spare time, Nikhil enjoys cooking, photography, making espresso and building stereos.
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About June: June is a smart oven for your home that makes cooking perfectly easy.
Gower Smith
CEO & Co-Founder of Swyft
Gower Smith is the founder of ZoomSystems and Co-Chairman of the Board. Prior to starting the company in 2002, Gower founded and led several other successful technology startups, including ComputerLand (a retailer of PC and technology products, acquired by Random Access), CGF Electronics (Australian distributor for Apple computer products), Archives Computers (a networking and software company, acquired by Impact Systems), and Boomerang Imaging Supplies (a leading printing supplies business, acquired by TCR). Gower completed his radio technician certificate with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, and studied microprocessors at the Melbourne Institute of Technology and Caulfield Institute of Technology.
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About Swyft: Swyft sells great products from leading brands in strategic high profile locations, serving customers.
Lincoln Smith
Swyft President & Co-Founder
Lincoln co-founded Lead Creation an Australian B-B digital marketing agency before co-founding Swyft.
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About Swyft: Swyft sells great products from leading brands in strategic high profile locations, serving customers.
Nicholas Woodman
Owner, CEO & Founder of GoPro
While the eight-person staff of GoPro was enjoying the success of their first HD HERO camera in 2009, founder and CEO Nick Woodman realized one thing: to support his vision, he was going to need a bigger staff. But before Woodman could think bigger, he had to start out small. After receiving a degree in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego, Woodman founded an online promotions company, Fun Bug. In 2001, Woodman sold Fun Bug and took off surfing and traveling the world. The decision inspired more than the personal – Woodman’s passion for surfing sparked the idea to create the now-popular wearable and gear mountable camera and in 2002, Woodman founded GoPro. After years of research and planning, the company released its first product, the GoPro HERO, a 35mm film-based camera that was worn on the wrist. Made up of some of Woodman’s friends and family members, the early GoPro team established the company as a true innovator by continually iterating on the product, moving from a film-based camera to a digital still and video camera. A lifetime extreme sports enthusiast, Woodman was learning how to race cars when he was compelled to move the camera from his wrist to the top of his car. This simple idea led to an array of camera mounting devices – for everything from helmets to surfboards, and even dog collars.
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About GoPro: GoPro is a brand of personal cameras used in extreme action video photography.
Brad Eckert
Co-Founder, CEO of Koko
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About Koko: Koko makes a device to monitor the health and safety of older adults in a completely passive way–with no wearables required.
Nick Weaver
Co-Founder and CEO of eero
Nick Weaver is Co-founder of eero inc. and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Nick Weaver is an Associate at Menlo Ventures. Nick Weaver joined Menlo in 2012 and focuses on investments in mobile, consumer internet, digital media, and enterprise software. Prior to this, Nick Weaver worked at McKinsey & Company and advised technology and private equity clients on ecommerce, go-to-market strategy, and acquisitions. While at Stanford, he was involved Stanford Student Enterprises and helped found StartX (formerly, SSE Labs).
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About eero: Eero offers a Wi-Fi system for household use.
Nate Hardison
Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of eero
Nate is a Preceptor in Computer Science at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He received his B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford in 2010 and his M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford in 2011.
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About eero: Eero offers a Wi-Fi system for household use.
Vikas Gupta
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Wonder Workshop
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About Wonder Workshop: Wonder Workshop provides a platform that makes programming fun and accessible for children while they play.
Junwei Bao
Co-Founder & CEO of Innovusion
During his career, he has spent nearly 20 years developing innovative technologies and products in the precision instrument and optical sensor space. Prior to founding Innovusion, Junwei led the Sensor and Hardware Team for the Autonomous Driving Business Unit at Baidu. In other previous roles, he co-founded Timbre Technologies, Inc., the startup that invented and productized OCD, the “microscale LiDAR” for semiconductor manufacturing, and led Tokyo Electron’s metrology division in Silicon Valley. Junwei holds a B.S. in Physics from Peking University. He received his M.S. and PhD in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley. He has more than 40 patents in the area of optical metrology and semiconductor process control.
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About Innovusion: Innovusion is an autonomous vehicle LiDAR technology developer.
Yimin Li
Co-Founder & CTO of Innovusion
Yimin Li currently works as the Co-Founder and CTO for Innovusion.
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About Innovusion: Innovusion is an autonomous vehicle LiDAR technology developer.
Andrew Farah
CEO & Co-Founder of Density
Andrew Farah, a co-founder and CEO of a startup called Density.
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About Density: Density builds the technical infrastructure for cities, buildings, and spaces to measure how they’re used.
Ben Tarbell
Co-Founder & CEO of Ebb Carbon
Ben Tarbell currently works as the Co-Founder and CEO for Ebb Carbon.
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About Ebb Carbon, Powerhouse: Ebb Carbon is working on a reverse electrochemical ocean deacidification process that will capture CO2 from the atmosphere.
Todd Pelman
Co-Founder & Chief Engineer of Ebb Carbon
Todd Pelman currently works as the Co-Founder and Chief Engineer for Ebb Carbon.
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About Ebb Carbon: Ebb Carbon is working on a reverse electrochemical ocean deacidification process that will capture CO2 from the atmosphere.
Manan Patel
CEO & Co-Founder of VOLANSYS TECHNOLOGIES
Manan has diverse and rich work experience of over 20+ years in various industries across multiple disciplines. At Volansys, as a CEO and Founder, Manan is responsible for defining Business Strategies and Company’s Overall Direction, Engineering Function, Technology Management, Talent Nurturing and Leadership Enabling & Team Building. His expertise lies in identifying optimum technologies for solutions, architecture and design of solutions encompassing complete life cycle in the areas of Audio / Video and Convergence, Web Based Technologies, Renewable Energy, Consumer Electronics, Streaming Media & Surveillance Systems. During his last tenure, Manan held technology leadership roles in one of India’s leading Electronic Design Services Companies. As a founding team member, he grew the company to 700+ people with revenue in excess of USD 18M. He established and grew the Embedded Division to 250+ team members with revenues exceeding USD 8M+ in three years. He was instrumental in building Streaming Media and Surveillance practices. Manan holds Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering from Gujarat University, INDIA.
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About VOLANSYS TECHNOLOGIES: VOLANSYS is a Digital Transformation and Product Realization company offering an integrated portfolio of IoT services, solutions and IPs
Bhavin Shah
Founder, EVP Sales & Marketing of VOLANSYS TECHNOLOGIES
Bhavin has over 20+ years of industry experience working on cutting edge technologies. At Volansys, as a Executive Vice President for Sales & Founder, Bhavin is responsible for Business Analysis, Sales and Business Development and Strategic client relationships. He is responsible for driving new sales along with focus on delivering profitable business for our company. He held leadership role in Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) based Product Company and one of India’s leading Electronic Design Services Companies. He led India Development Centre to deliver customized product (FMC) based on customer requirements and handled customer engagements. He grew Embedded Division of India’s leading Electronic Design Services Company from 25 to 250 people and increase the revenues as well as head count. He has extensive experience on Silicon Platform Services, Consumer Electronics, Streaming Media and Security Surveillance Systems from concept to prototype development, Porting BSP, Driver Development, Audio/Video Algorithm Optimization and Application Development. He has successfully executed multi-million USD businesses. He was involved in Build Operate Transfer (BOT), multi-year, multi-projects engagements. Bhavin holds Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering.
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About VOLANSYS TECHNOLOGIES: VOLANSYS is a Digital Transformation and Product Realization company offering an integrated portfolio of IoT services, solutions and IPs
Anna-Katrina Shedletsky
Founder and CEO of Instrumental
I’m the CEO of Instrumental, a company I founded to solve manufacturing’s biggest problem: the 20 to 35 cents of every dollar spent in manufacturing that is wasted. I have two degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and was an Apple Product Design Engineer for six years. I designed mechanical components for three iPods and led system product design for the Apple Watch Series 1. I spent over 300 days in China finding and fixing issues on one of the most admired manufacturing supply chains in the world. I regularly speak about the future of manufacturing and automation and write technical articles at www.instrumental.com/blog. As an advocate for increased diversity in technology, I founded the Women in STEM Mentorship Program WISMP.org in 2013, which has matched hundreds of women university students studying in STEM fields with practicing industry mentors to support their transitions into fulfilling STEM careers.
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About Instrumental: Ship hardware products on time with high-resolution manufacturing data.
Samuel Weiss
Founder & CTO of Instrumental
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About Instrumental: Ship hardware products on time with high-resolution manufacturing data.
Pierre-Emmanuel Evreux
Founder & CFO of Leia
Pierre has a passion for creating businesses with a profound competitive edge. Having moved from Wall Street to Silicon Valley to found Leia Inc. in 2013, Pierre believes that Leia Inc. is reimagining the way we experience and interact with content. Much more than nano-technology, it’s about humanity and beauty: allowing millions of people to get closer to the things they love. What Pierre loves the most is to see the smile on people’s face when they experience LitByLeia products for the first time.
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About Leia: Leia is an experience platform offering 3D Lightfield products and software applications.
David Fattal
Founder & CEO of Leia
David has had a lifelong fascination for Physics. In his early scientific career, he became an expert in the manipulation of light at the nanoscale – including single photon guns, quantum teleportation and holographic displays. Today as the CEO and Chief Innovator at Leia Inc, David has a passion for “making magic”. He gets up in the morning to share this passion with his team and the world at large.
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About Leia: Leia is an experience platform offering 3D Lightfield products and software applications.
Zhen Peng
Founder, CTO of Leia
Zhen has always been enthusiastic in adopting technologies to enrich life, bringing wow moments to the everyday through nano-photonics. At Leia Inc., Zhen is leading the efforts in nano-fabrication to implement it’s core technology in mass production, putting his fingerprint on a product that can truly make an impact in people’s life.
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About Leia: Leia is an experience platform offering 3D Lightfield products and software applications.
Gene Berdichevsky
CEO & Co-Founder of Sila Nanotechnologies
Gene Berdichevsky is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies. Prior to co-founding Sila, Gene was the seventh employee at Tesla Motors where he served as Principal Engineer on the Roadster battery, leading the development of the world’s first, safe, mass-produced, automotive lithium-ion battery system. Gene holds two degrees from Stanford University; an MS in Engineering with a focus on energy and materials, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He has co-authored 42 patents and 4 academic publications. Gene has been named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list, the MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35, and was a recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
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About Sila Nanotechnologies: Sila Nanotechnologies is a provider and manufacturer of higher energy density lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Alex Jacobs
Co-Founder & VP Engineering of Sila Nanotechnologies
Alex Jacobs is a Co-Founder & VP Engineering at Sila Nanotechnologies. Prior to Sila, he designed and developed battery packs at Tesla, including those used in the Roadster and Daimler’s Smart Fortwo electric drive. He later oversaw battery cell build and test at lithium ion materials manufacturer Amprius. Earlier in his career Alex worked in product design at IDEO, where he co-developed two novel medical devices for a Fortune 500 client, both now FDA approved and in production. Alex holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and has co-authored 18 issued or pending US patents.
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About Sila Nanotechnologies: Sila Nanotechnologies is a provider and manufacturer of higher energy density lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Liam Casey
Founder & CEO of PCH International
Liam is the founder and CEO of PCH. He has lived 23 years in China and is recognized as a thought leader in new product introductions, supply chain orchestration, sustainability and startup initiatives. He is on the boards of the California College for the Arts, and UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.
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About PCH International: PCH provides a unique, intelligent, end-to-end product development and supply chain orchestration platform for the world’s best brands.
Jerome Scholler
Co-Founder of Osmo
Jerome Scholler is Co-founder of Osmo, and he is deeply passionate about the intersection of creative design, education and technology. He is a seasoned engineer from the game industry, having previously worked at Lucasarts and Ubisoft and worked on the user interface of Chrome for Android at Google.
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About Osmo: Osmo is an interactive play company bringing harmony between physical and digital.
Fahim Aziz
Founder & CEO of Backpack
Hacker at Backpack
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About Backpack, Kyokushin Wooster: Backpack is a website that connects travelers and shoppers globally.
Behrooz Abiri
CTO and Co-Founder of GuRu
A hardware hobbyist and International Physics Olympiad gold medalist – Behrooz has always been an avid inventor. He’s spent his life studying, learning, and exploring emerging technologies. His work at GuRu stems from a wish to share miraculous technology with the world at large. At GuRu, Behrooz is responsible for the ongoing development of core technology and system architecture. Under his leadership, GuRu’s millimeter-wave technology has been developed into an accessible consumer product. Before GuRu, Behrooz helped develop system design and architecture in Caltech’s Space Solar Power Initiative. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech.
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About GuRu: Enables safe, effective and customizable transmission of power over-the-air using proprietary mmWave and Smart RF Lensing technology
Florian Bohn
CEO & Co-Founder of GuRu
Florian has always felt compelled to understand the way the world works. His curiosity moved him to study Electrical Engineering at Caltech (B.S. Cum Laude), to receive an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech. At GuRu, Florian is thrilled to be building technology that will enrich people’s lives on a global scale. He is also proud to be building a community of passionate and like-minded engineers at the organization. As a co-founder and CEO at GuRu, Florian brings years of technology experience. At Axiom Microdevices, he helped define and implement high-frequency RF integrated circuits which have shipped more than 400 million units. At Agilent Laboratories (formerly HP Labs) he worked on clock and data recovery circuits as well as novel test and measurement systems. As a Caltech Lead Scientific Researcher, Florian guided engineering and operational aspects of implementing the microwave system at Caltech’s Space Solar Power Initiative.
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About GuRu: Enables safe, effective and customizable transmission of power over-the-air using proprietary mmWave and Smart RF Lensing technology
Hugo de Gentile
Co-Founder & CEO of Willo
Hugo de Gentile is the Co-Founder and CEO at Willo
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About Willo: Willo develops technology in oral health that automatically empowers everyone to achieve the best at-home clean possible.
James Bower
Founder of Wikipad
James Bower is the president of MasterImage 3D, LLC.
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About Citizens Reserve, SUKU, Wikipad: Wikipad is an Android-powered gaming tablet that has the features of a high quality tablet and is tough enough to take all.
Jason Hardi
Founder & CEO of Muzik
Jason Hardi is the visionary founder & CEO of Muzik, a hardware & software (“Smartware”) platform that is powering a new generation of connected, intelligent, wearable ambient technology. Jason and his team have created the worlds first smart headphone that seamlessly integrates with 3rd party apps and controls all connected devices. He invented the first motion controlled peripherals that send motion tracking data in real time without any latency. Over the last 5 years Jason has invented & designed many disruptive consumer electronic products, received 5 CES Innovation Awards, and has been issued several patents. In 2016, Jason and his team successfully launched and sold out of their first product (Muzik One) in Best Buy, Amazon, Brookstone, and Jet. He was the keynote speaker at the Microsoft Developer Build Conference in 2015 & 2016, and has been featured in Huffington Post, Billboard, Rolling Stone, TechCrunch, USA Today, Innovation & Tech Today and many other media outlets. Jason has successfully raised over $80 for Muzik, funded by some of the most strategic partners, industry leaders, celebrities, professional athletes, and Twitter. Jason graduated with a Bachelor of Science from NCSU, with concentrations in finance and marketing.
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About Muzik: Creators of The Worlds First Smart headphones designed to connect artists, fans, and brands like never before.
Raul Polakof
Founder & CEO of Scanntech
Raul Polakof is Founder & CEO at Scanntech.
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About Scanntech: Scanntech provides point-of-sale software to retail stores.
Phillip Raub
Founder/Board Member of b8ta
Phillip Raub is the CEO of Model No. and also the co-founder and board member at b8ta, a software-powered retailer designed to make physical retail accessible for product makers and exciting for consumers. In his role at b8ta, he oversaw the day to day operations of the company. Previous to b8ta, Phillip held executive roles at Nest/Google, where he led the Global Channel Marketing team. Prior to Nest, Phillip spent six years at Nintendo as the Director of Retail Marketing. In addition to his years of experience at Nest and Nintendo, Phillip held various leadership roles in marketing at Gap Inc.
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About b8ta, Model No.: B8ta is a software-powered retailer designed to make physical retail accessible for all.
William Mintun
Co-Founder, EVP of Operations of b8ta
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About b8ta: B8ta is a software-powered retailer designed to make physical retail accessible for all.
Sujeet Kumar
CEO, Co-Founder of Zenlabs Energy
Dr. Sujeet Kumar is the founder and CEO of Zenlabs Energy, a company developing high-energy fast-charging lithium-ion batteries for Electric and Aerial Vehicles. Before Zenlabs, Dr. Kumar served as CTO of Envia Systems where he developed high-capacity manganese-based cathode and won several DoE awards. Dr. Kumar worked as a senior scientist for Greatbatch, leading the development of cathode materials for implantable medical batteries. Dr. Kumar started his career at Nanogram Corp as its first employee where he led several energy storage projects. Dr. Kumar has won the R & D 100 award for developing high energy lithium-ion batteries and is the inventor of over 60 patents. Dr. Kumar has a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Rochester and a B.Tech from IIT, Varanasi.
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About Envia Systems, Greatbatch, Zenlabs Energy: Zenlabs Energy has developed high energy density lithium ion batteries for ground and aerial electric vehicles.
David Moxam
Founder & Managing Partner of MalibuIQ
David Moxam (Mox) is a founder of Malibu IQ and acts in the role of Managing Partner. He chairs the Ideation Council with representative executives from HRL, GM, Boeing, and the owner investors of Malibu IQ, to set strategy and approve the formation of new companies (NewCos). Mox also works with the Malibu IQ Investment Team making contributions in NewCo value proposition and creation of the path to commercialization for NewCos. Primarily focused on commercializing invention assets originating at HRL, as a technically strong investment group, Malibu IQ also looks for opportunities that have the potential to leverage or align its core assets; and has the ability to invest in seed and series A level ventures. Additionally, the Team has resources and relevant subject matter expertise in a number of emerging disciplines to provide a fair bit of initial commercial guidance in addition to capital. Mox is a successful entrepreneur with extensive experience in bringing advanced technologies to market. His expertise includes working in a senior executive capacity with a Global 500 leader; and in founding a pioneering technology start-up through sale to a prestigious private equity group. Through invitation, he has served on the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for 2 terms and is a vocal champion of new innovation models for accelerating advanced technology insertion into design and production. Operating globally, he has received the prestigious UK Queen’s Award for Enterprise and was recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology in the US. While with EDS in 1998 he received their Pinnacle Award for Leadership, for work in founding the global financial markets group and IT developments with the NASD, Electronic Broking Services and the NYMEX. Mox was the founder of Authentix, Inc. a molecular engineering firm operating in the authentication & security industry; a founder and Director for Compassites Software Solutions in India; and he enjoys putting sweat equity into standing up NewCos. Two recent NewCos (independent of Malibu IQ) are; Decisio Health (predictive algorithms for healthcare), and Tenaxis ArterX (a next generation surgical sealant). Mr. Moxam holds graduate diplomas in Physics and Business Administration from Laurentian University in Canada; and has participated in corporate executive programmes with INSEAD in France. Notably, Mox has recently slipped to #2 on the family fly-fishing grid, losing coveted #1 to his son Cody.
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About MalibuIQ, Manti Resources, The Clear Creek Group: HRL Labs Technology Commercialization
Johnny Hou
Founder / CEO of NZXT
Johnny Ho is a Founder and CEO at NZXT. He is also Co-Founder at Acaia. Mr. Ho received a bachelor of science in Computer Engineering at UC Irvine.
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About Acaia, NZXT: NZXT builds PC hardware for enthusiasts and gamers globally.
Charles Huang
Co-Founder of Green Throttle Games
Charles is the Co-Founder of Blue Goji Corp and CEO & Co-Founder of Indigo 7 and also the Advisor of Berkeley SkyDeck. He is a former co-founder of RedOctane and the co-creator of the Guitar Hero video game franchise. Guitar Hero launched in 2005 and went on to become the fastest video game to reach $1B in sales. Charles left Guitar Hero in 2010 and is currently the co-founder of Indigo 7, a startup focused on brands in fashion apparel and entertainment. He is an active, serial angel investor. Charles immigrated to California as a young child and currently resides in Silicon Valley with his wife and two daughters. He holds a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.
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About Green Throttle Games, Sinovation Ventures: Green Throttle Games develops quality, innovative games and hardware for mobile devices.
Charles Michael Yim
Founder and CEO of Breathometer
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About Breathometer, CMY Ventures, Cohabit Labs, Inc., Cointopia, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, VitaBowl, Walt Disney Television: Breathometer develops a breath analysis technology that helps people make smarter decisions and improve their lives.
Stefan Lederer
Co-Founder & CEO of Bitmovin
Stefan Lederer is co-founder and Head of Business of bitmovinin 2012, a company which focuses on products, cloud services and consulting in the area of adaptive HTTP streaming. He received his B.Sc. (Bakk.) in Information Management in Aug’10, his M.Sc. (Dipl.-Ing.) in Computer Science in Mar’12 and his M.Sc. (Mag.) in Marketing and International Management in Jun’13, all with distinction from the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. He gained practical and international expertise in various companies (IBM, McKinsey&Company, Dolby, Hillside, Ilogs, etc.) and has a strong business focus in marketing and international management. He founded his first company in 2008 and led several IT projects in central and eastern Europe. In his position of an Assistant Professor at the Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Institute of Information Technology (ITEC), Multimedia Communication Group he participated in several EC-funded projects (ALICANTE, SocialSensor). His research topics include transport of modern/rich media, multimedia adaptation, QoS/QoE as well as future internet architectures and he has published more than 20 papers in these areas. He participated in the MPEG-DASH standardization, contributed several open source tools (DASHEncoder, DASHoverCCN VLC plugin) and datasets.
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About Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Bitmovin: Bitmovin is a multimedia technology company providing adaptive streaming video infrastructure for global digital media companies.
Christopher Mueller
Co-Founder & CTO of Bitmovin
Christopher Mueller is CEO and Co-founder of bitmovin and Head of Technology. He received his M.Sc (Dipl. Ing.) in Computer Science from the Aplen-Adria University Klagenfurt with distinction. He gained practical expertise in various companies, notably Infineon Semiconductors and Dolby Laboratories Inc. Los Angeles, USA. His main research interests are multimedia streaming, networking, and multimedia adaptation. In his position as an Assistant Professor (Univ. Ass.) at the Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt, Institute of Information Technology (ITEC), Multimedia Communication Group (MMC) he has published more than 20 papers in these areas and currently holds 2 U.S. patents. He participated in the MPEG-DASH standardization and is the author of the MPEG-DASH reference software libdash. He contributed several open source tools, notably MPEG-DASH VLC plugin and libdash, worked in various EC-funded projects, e.g., ALICANTE and SocialSensor, and he is the supervisor and main contributor of the MPEG-DASH ITEC blog (dash.itec.aau.at) with more than 100k views per year.
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About Bitmovin: Bitmovin is a multimedia technology company providing adaptive streaming video infrastructure for global digital media companies.
Zach Supalla
Founder & CEO of Particle
Zach Supalla is the founder and CEO of Particle, an IoT startup that’s making it easier to build, connect and manage internet-connected hardware products deployed at massive scale. Supalla earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and an MEM (masters in engineering management) from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern. Before Particle, Supalla worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, advising Fortune 500 companies on strategy, operations and product development. He is a graduate of HAX, the world’s first, and most prolific hardware accelerator.
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About Particle: Particle provides hardware and software tools to help users prototype, scale, and manage IoT products.
Derrick Xiong
Co-Founder & CMO of Ehang
Yifang (Derrick) Xiong is the Co-Founder of EHang, Inc.Prior to this, he Co-founded theRocketSpace Inc. He worked as Chairman of Student Council at Nanyang Technological University. Before that, he was the Analyst at Credit Suisse.
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About Ehang: Ehang is a technology enterprise focused on R&D and production in airplane and aircraft field.
Clay Alexander
Founder and CEO of Ember Technologies
Clay Alexander is an American inventor and serial entrepreneur who holds more than 100 patents worldwide and is the Founder and CEO of Ember, a global consumer electronics brand and maker of the World’s First Temperature Control Mug. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Alexander started his first company, Radiance Lightworks, in 1999 at the age of 23. It has become one of the top lighting design firms in the country, boasting an extensive client list which includes Universal Studios, Mattel and 20th Century Fox. He then launched his second company, Journée Lighting, in 2005 and created the world’s first LED track light. He scaled it to be one of the most respected brands in LED lighting and it was during this time that Alexander also invented General Electric’s LED light bulb, the GE Infusion™. With decades of experience building and scaling successful companies, Alexander combined both his business savvy and talent as a world-class inventor to launch Ember.
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About Ember Technologies, Radiance Lightworks: Ember Technologies is a design-led temperature control brand that produces a patented temperature adjustable dishware and drinkware.
Simon Weaver
CTO & Co-Founder of HomeX
Simon Weaver is a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of HomeX. He currently leads the technology innovation efforts of the company, with a determination to build quantifiably better experiences for HomeX customers by solving previously unsolved problems in the engineering and science fields. Simon has been devising and building distributed and autonomous systems for 20 years, solving problems for Salesforce and Microsoft in the fields of big data, lights-out infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. Born and raised in England, Simon moved to the United States in 2004. He now resides in the Bay Area with his wife, three children, and their Siberian Husky. He enjoys serving on the board at his children’s school and advises a number of companies.
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About HomeX: HomeX is a home services platform designed for homeowners and service providers offering virtual solutions with remote assist.
William Andregg
CEO, Co-Founder & President of Fathom Computing
William Andregg is the Co-Founder at Fathom Radiant.
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About Fathom Computing: Fathom Computing is building optics-based hardware to run artificial intelligence with unprecedented performance.
Samuel Jurist
Co-Founder & CEO of SHO Products
Samuel Jurist is the CEO of SHO Products, an international ancillary product distributor for the cannabis industry housing the brands Rosin Tech Products, Dab Nation and Masterminded Distribution.
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About SHO Products: SHO Products is the leading equipment and technology provider in the world for solventless agricultural equipment
Ken Goto
Co-Founder and CTO of Level Home
Ken Goto is the co-founder and CTO of Level Home Inc.
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About Level Home: Level Home is a startup that specializes in home automation and smart home control.
John Hui
Founder and Chairman of Fuhu
John Hui is the Founder and Chairman of Fuhu.
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About Fuhu: Fuhu is a designer and seller of cloud-served software, apps and products and services for children.
Rosanna Myers
Co-Founder of Carbon Robotics
Rosanna is the Co-Founder of Carbon Robotics.
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About Carbon Robotics: Carbon Robotics makes advanced robotics dramatically more accessible to help solve some of society’s most intractable problems.
Michael Hsu
Chief Financial Officer/Co-Founder of PERI
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About Curogram, PERI: PERI is a consumer electronics brand focused on Wi-Fi audio and power space components and accessories.
Eric Sanchez
Co-Founder, CEO of Revl
Eric Sanchez is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Revl.
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About Revl: AI Powered Video Souvenirs as a Service. Full end to end solution for roller coasters, skydive drop zones, race tracks, and zip lines.
Bruce Pla
Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer of Revl
Bruce Pla is a Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer at Revl.
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About Revl: AI Powered Video Souvenirs as a Service. Full end to end solution for roller coasters, skydive drop zones, race tracks, and zip lines.
Nelson Vazquez
Co-Founder & CTO of Revl
Nelson Vazquez is a Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Revl.
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About Revl: AI Powered Video Souvenirs as a Service. Full end to end solution for roller coasters, skydive drop zones, race tracks, and zip lines.
Frank Yang
Chief Executive Officer, Design Director and Founder of simplehuman
In 2000, Frank Yang founded simplehuman with a goal to revitalize the trash can industry. Today, not only is the Los Angeles-based company the leader in stainless-steel step cans, but it also has expanded its vision—to design “tools for efficient living”—to more than 100 patented innovations and other products such as sensor soap pumps, kitchen and bathroom organization, and beauty tools. All simplehuman products embody efficient living design, a principle Yang defines as designing each product so it performs its intended task perfectly. To that end, all products are ergonomic, easy-to-clean, highly functional and durable as well. Under Yang’s design direction, in 2004 BusinessWeek/Industrial Design Society of America named simplehuman as one of the top corporations for Industrial Design Excellence. Yang has also garnered international design awards from organizations including reddot, International Housewares Association and I.D. Magazine. simplehuman products are available at fine specialty retailers in including Bed Bath & Beyond, Williams-Sonoma and Sephora as well as the company’s website simplehuman.com.
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About simplehuman: simplehuman designs and manufactures homeware products.
James Pickard
Co-Founder of Voltera
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About Voltera: Voltera’s circuit board printer allows designers to go from concept to creation in a matter of minutes. Custom circuits, just press print!
Ely Tsern
Co-Founder & CEO of Bryte
Ely is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bryte. He served as the vice-president and chief technologist at Rambus, leading new business and technology roadmap initiatives from concept to production, including licensing and IP development and the invention of over 180 U.S. patents.
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About Bryte: Bryte is a sleep technology company that designs and sells restorative intelligence products and services.
John Tompane
Co-Founder of Bryte
John Tompane is the Chairman, President, and Co-Founder of Bryte.
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About Bryte: Bryte is a sleep technology company that designs and sells restorative intelligence products and services.
Jacob Fraden
CEO, Founder of SensorJacket
Jacob is an electronic engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. Three of his nearly 60 inventions started Billion dollar industries: the instant ear (tympanic) thermometers, home blood pressure monitors and motion light switches. He was the founder of Thermoscan Inc. (Thermoscan Ear Thermometers), Advanced Monitors Corp. (veterinary imaging products) and SensorJacket, Inc. From 2006 till 2011Dr. Fraden was Chief Technical Officer of Kaz, Inc. He published over 80 technical papers and two books. His Handbook of Modern Sensors (5 editions) for the last 25 years has been used as a principal textbook on sensors by many universities worldwide. Dr. Fraden teaches the course on sensors at University of California, San Diego.
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About SensorJacket: SensorJacket is the market for protective phone cases (jackets) is saturated with huge number of designs.
Neeraj Bhardwaj
President and Founder of Loto Labs
Neeraj Bhardwaj is the CEO and co-founder of Loto Labs. Loto Labs was created with the simple goal of creating the best vaporizer possible. We formed our company in Redwood City, CA, where all of us met through our love of recreational ice hockey. From there, we discovered that none of us were happy with the vaporizers we used. We soon realized that all four of us had lots of experience in different fields that when put together would create an ideal company to make the best possible product out there. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University and and MBA from Santa Clara University. Neeraj has worked in sales and business development for 10 years in ultrasonics and medical worldwide. Wanting a change in life, he decided to attend Santa Clara University and get on the startup track. After graduate school, he and some of his cohort decided to start a bank to bank instant payment platform. Searching for investment, they latched on to the concept of crowdfunding. After working with his legal team, he worked to change the current crowdfunding laws and pass reforms. During that time he came up with the idea for the Evoke Vaporizer, and started Loto Labs (www.lotolabs.com). He and his team raised over $225,000 crowdfunding via Indiegogo (igg.me/at/evoke). Now Neeraj and his team are working diligently to get their product, the Evoke, up and running. He is married to a marketing manager at Ebay Inc. His parents started and run a high tech manufacturing company in State College, PA where Neeraj was born.
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About Loto Labs: The makers of the world’s first induction vaporizer
Noyan Berker
Founder & CEO of Mimiq
Noyan Berker is the Founder & CEO at Smart Mimic .
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About Mimiq: Mimiq Inc. (formerly Smart Mimic) is a Silicon Valley company that develops fifth-generation, long range, connected consumer devices.
Sly Lee
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Emerge
Sly is a first generation American Entrepreneur & Scientist who is passionate about creating positive global impact through design and exponential technologies. He is co-founder & CEO of Emerge, a teleportation company with a vision to connect people’s emotions and feelings, on the path to ultimately “teleporting” our presence. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2018 recipient, a Singularity University Global Solutions Program 2015 Alumnus, World Economic Forum Global Future Council Member for AR/VR, has presented at the Skoll World Forum, and can be found surfing Venice Breakwater most mornings.
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About Emerge: Emerge is a virtual connection company that develops a device where users can have virtual gatherings with tactile effects and interactions.
Mauricio Teran
Co-Founder & Head of Insights of Emerge
Mauricio Teran is the Co-Founder and the Head of Insights at Emerge.
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About Emerge: Emerge is a virtual connection company that develops a device where users can have virtual gatherings with tactile effects and interactions.
Isaac Castro
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Emerge
Isaac Castro is an immigrant entrepreneur and co-founder & co-CEO of Emerge, a Los Angeles-based company bringing touch and emotion to the metaverse. Emerge’s mission is to empower those who are separated to feel more present when it is not possible to be physically together. Isaac believes in a future where technological progress brings us closer together and where nobody is left behind. He is an MIT Technology Review ‘Innovator Under 35’ recipient for the invention of a medical device for more effective cancer treatment. As a World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper, he actively worked on inspiring youth and fostering peace and reconciliation with former FARC guerrilla members in Colombia, work for which he was invited to participate and speak at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Isaac holds a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering, and he is a graduate of Google X and NASA sponsored Global Solutions Program at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley.
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About Emerge: Emerge is a virtual connection company that develops a device where users can have virtual gatherings with tactile effects and interactions.
Grant Prigge
Founder, CEO & Head Product Design of Mila Cares
Product and UI designer. Design-driven tech entrepreneur and co-founder of 3 startups across the healthcare, enterprise IT, and consumer IoT space.
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About Mila Cares: A refreshingly thoughtful air purifier
Subbu Meiyappan
Co-Founder & VP of Engineering of NextNav
Subbu Meiyappan is Co-Founder & VP Engineering (Hardware) at NextNav. With over 20 years of experience in design and development of complex hardware systems, Subbu was formerly a Principal Engineer at Qualcomm leading WLAN IC design teams. He also worked at Airgo Networks, Cisco Systems, Philips SemiConductors and VLSI Technology. He has 17 issued patents and several pending. Subbu holds dual Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and Tennessee Tech.
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About NextNav: NextNav operates a platform intended to offer indoor location services and applications.
Jason Alvarez Cohen
CEO & Co-Founder of Popl
Jason Alvarez-Cohen is a tech entrepreneur and Forbes 30 under 30 honoree. He is the CEO, Co-Founder and chief engineer at Popl, a technology company based in Los Angeles that is building the next generation business card.
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About Popl: Popl allows users to share their social media and contact info with a tap.
Nick Eischens
COO and Co-Founder of Popl
Nick Eischens is the COO and Co-founder at Popl.
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About Popl: Popl allows users to share their social media and contact info with a tap.
Ken Ogata
CEO and Co-Founder of TeraWatt Technology
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About TeraWatt Technology: We engineer ultra-high energy density lithium-ion rechargeable batteries
Kevin Primat
Founder & CEO of Primed Technologies
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About Primed Technologies: Primed is redefining Conversational AI with the development of a fuzzy, friendly and talkative toy for children.
Robin Han
Founder & CEO of Zepp
Han, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, was a student at Peking University when the impact of the internet was first felt in broader society. But the vibrant discussions the internet initially spurred would prove too much for the ruling Communist Party which, over time, has become more sophisticated in reasserting control over information.
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About melo, Zepp: Zepp provides wearable sports technology products for baseball, golf, and tennis players.
Charlene Consolacion
CEO & Co-Founder of Biig
Charlene Consolacion co-founded the World’s First Smart Lockbox for Cars: The BiigVault, transforming the automotive industry by introducing a secured and smart lockbox into vehicles, enabling a wide-array of on-demand automotive services such as in-car trunk delivery. Charlene is constantly innovating in the dynamic and high-tech sphere. This patented system is easy to install, allowing customers to use their smartphones to control, monitor a wide range of connected car capabilities, and access on-demand services.
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About Biig, Phrame: BiigVault: The Smart Lockbox for Cars
Akshita Iyer
Co-Founder and CEO of Ome
Akshita Iyer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Inirv.
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About Ome: Ome reinvents the way people live through smart home technology.
Jason Wong
Founder & CEO of Omnicharge
Jason Wong is the Founder & CEO at Omnicharge.
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About Omnicharge: Omnicharge is the only AC/DC battery that can quick charge any device via 3-pronged plug and usb.
Hugo Mercier
Founder of Dreem
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About Dreem: Dreem is a neurotechnology company composed of sleep pioneers, a team of experts fascinated by science, technology and design.
Colin Billings
Founder and CEO of Orro
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About Orro: Orro is the world’s first truly responsive lighting system.
Sabrina Kemeny
President, Co-Founder of Tap Systems
Sabrina Kemeny is a cofounder of TAP, a high tech start-up that is changing the way people interact with the electronic world. Dr. Kemeny co-invented the camera-on-a-chip technology which revolutionized digital imaging and is at the core of every cell phone camera, while working for Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Subsequently, she was cofounder and CEO of Photobit Corporation, the company that successfully commercialized the fledgling CMOS sensor technology. After managing several rounds of equity financing and negotiating many strategic alliances with players such as Kodak, Intel and Hitachi, she oversaw the acquisition of Photobit to Micron Technology, Inc. • BS, MS and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University o Received the Helena Rubinstein “Outstanding Women in Science” award • Member of the technical Staff at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory o Co-Inventor of the CMOS active pixel image sensor technology: the Camera-on-a-Chip that revolutionized digital imaging and is at the core of every cell phone camera today o The United States Space Foundation inducted her into the Space Technology Hall of Fame • Co-Founder and CEO of Photobit Corporation, the industry-leading supplier of CMOS image sensors that was acquired by Micron Technology, Inc o Negotiated exclusive license for the JPL patent portfolio o Negotiated strategic alliances with companies such as Intel, Kodak and Hitachi o Managed equity financing and oversaw the Micron exit. • Business advisor to several high tech start-ups in the Los Angeles area and an angel investor with Tech Coast Angels.
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About Tap Systems: Tap Systems is a developer of a wearable Bluetooth keyboard designed to help users type by tapping fingers on any surface.
Anush Elangovan
Founder & CEO of Nod
With over 15 years of experience building innovative products, 30 patents pending or issued, and a couple of legendary mountains climbed, Anush is one of those “impossible is nothing” types. Prior to founding Nod Labs, he was part of the original Chromebooks team at Google, and a lead engineer at Agnilux, FireEye and Cisco.
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About Nod: Nod seamlessly transforms your movements into commands. Nod accurately tracks your body and convey intent and identity to your environment.
Abdur Chowdhury
Co-Founder and CEO of Aura Frames
Abdur Chowdhury was the co-founder of Summize which he sold to Twitter in 2008. He then became Twitter’s Chief Scientist. A few years ago, he left and started a new company called Pushd, which is backed by a couple of million in seed funding from various angels, as well as Betaworks. On September 4, 2014 Pushd, Inc. released an Emoji based mobile app called Steven.
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About Aura Frames: Aura Frames is a smart picture frame designed to fill their home with beautiful photos of their family and friends.
Eric Jensen
Co-Founder & CTO of Aura Frames
Eric Jensen is a chief technology officer at Pushd, Inc. He also co-founded Summize, Inc., which was later acquired by Twitter. Prior to Pushd, Inc., Jensen worked at Twitter as a relevance tech lead. Jensen earned his PhD in computer science from [Illinois Institute of Technology](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/illinois-institute-of-technology-chicago).
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About Aura Frames: Aura Frames is a smart picture frame designed to fill their home with beautiful photos of their family and friends.
Gideon Yu
CEO & Co-Founder of EVA Automation
Gideon is currently a General Partner at [Khosla Ventures](/financial-organization/khosla-ventures). Previously, Gideon was the Chief Financial Officer of [Facebook](/organization/facebook), where he led the $375 million investment round from [Microsoft](/organization/microsoft) and Hong-Kong billionaire [Li Ka Shing](/person/li-ka-shing) at a record $15 billion valuation. Before that, Gideon was a Partner at [Sequoia Capital](/financial-organization/sequoia-capital), and was also the Chief Financial Officer at [YouTube](/organization/youtube) where he negotiated its $1.65 billion sale to [Google](/organization/google) amidst a highly competitive auction for the company. Prior to YouTube, Gideon was the Treasurer and Senior Vice President of Finance for [Yahoo](/organization/yahoo), executing over 30 acquisitions / investments, including Shimon, Alibaba / Taobao, Overture, Haber, Inktomi, [Flickr](/organization/flickr), and del.icio.us and over $5 billion of capital markets transactions, including $750 million in zero coupon / zero yield convertible notes – Yahoo’s first financing since its IPO. Prior to Yahoo, Gideon was the Chief Financial Officer of Haber Software (acquired by NeuStar, NYSE: NSR) and held positions at Disney, Shimon, Hilton, and DLJ / CSFB. Gideon graduated from Stanford University majoring in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Gideon is also very active philanthropically, likes art, movies, fast cars. Currently serves on the Board of Directors of the UCSF Medical Foundation.
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About Cloudera, EVA Automation, San Francisco 49ers: EVA Automation is a Silicon Valley-based startup that reimages audio and video experiences.
Ram Fish
Founder, CEO of 19Labs
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About 19Labs, Samsung Electronics: Bringing The Clinic to you. Solution for Healthcare Providers that brings together Telehealth, RPM and smart diagnostic devices
Zeev Collin
Founder/VP Engineering of Semitech
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About Semitech: Semitech is an electronics company that provides a device for a semiconductor that converts the electricity grid into a smart grid.
Arthur Zafiropoulo
Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Ultratech
Arthur W. Zafiropoulo is Board of Trustees at Northeastern University.
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About Ultratech: Ultratech develops, manufactures, and markets photolithography and laser thermal processing equipment.
Jonathan (Yoni) Ofir
Co-Founder & CEO of LEAF
Founder and CEO of Leaf – Automatic Cannabis Home Grow System. Previously Co-Founder and CPO of Alcohoot (now Vertisense) (Acquired).
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About LEAF: LEAF is a smart home appliance that lets users grow their own cannabis, food, and herbs.
Jonathan Denby
Founder of Alpine Labs
Jon Denby is the Head of Hardware at Rylo. He is an ex-Apple product designer, where he helped engineer the iPhone 6S Plus. He left Apple to take on challenges of building a company and product from scratch. At Rylo, Jon leads the hardware and optical design teams.
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About Alpine Labs, StreetLogic: Alpine Labs was formed to make motion time lapse photography accessible to photographers of all levels.
Ann Crady Weiss
Founder, CEO of Hatch
Ann is a partner at True Ventures. She has deep experience as an entrepreneur, having founded and run two companies, both funded by the firm. Her experience to date spans early-stage consumer, mobile, and IOT companies. Her passion is working with early stage founders who have a clear vision and quiet confidence. Ann is currently the CEO and co-founder of Hatch Baby, creator of smart nursery products that use technology and user-centric design to make caring for a baby a little easier and more joyful. A testament to the company’s traction, Hatch Baby products appear on 20 percent of all baby gift registries. Ann previously founded and ran Maya’s Mom, a social network that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. She was an executive in the search and marketplace division of Yahoo and also served as the senior vice president of consumer experience for BabyCenter. Ann received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego and a law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown Law Center. When she’s not working at True or Hatch Baby, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children. She aspires to exercise more and reads fiction to relax her mind.
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About Hatch, True Ventures: Hatch offers a suite of smart sleep products to help humans of all ages and stages develop and maintain natural healthy sleep habits.
Hasty Granbery
Founder and CEO of Currant
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About Currant: Currant creates smart home products that enable people to control their homes and their energy bills.
Thar Casey
Chief Executive Officer, President and Founder of Amber Solutions
Mr. Casey is Founder, President and CEO of Amber Solutions, Inc. Prior to Amber, he was President of IDEX America Inc. Mr. Casey also served as Co-Fournder, President and Chief Executive Officer of PicoField Technologies, Inc., which was acquired by IDEX. He is a veteran entrepreneur with a strong background in operations, finance and extensive experience in developing leading technology based companies from product concept to high volume manufacturing. He co-founded Insound Medical and served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations. Insound was acquired by Sonova-Phonak in 2011 for a total of $169 million. In addition, he co-founded Prenateck, a fetal heart rate monitor, serving as Chief Executive Officer. Founded Phantom IT Solutions serving as Chief Executive Officer and also served as Vice President of Finance at the Monterey Bay Bank. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Intelesol, PicoField Technologies, and STR. Mr. Casey holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from California State University, Hayward.
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About Amber Solutions: Amber Solutions is a developer of patented solid-state technologies for the digital control of electricity.
