Alex Fielding

Last updated
Alex Fielding
Alex Fielding.jpg
Born1978 (age 45–46)
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Occupation(s) Chief executive officer
Chief technology officer
Computer scientist
Electrical engineer
Children1
Website www.privateer.com

Alex Fielding (born 1978) is an American engineer and manager. He is the CEO and co-founder of Privateer Space, a space startup with a global online marketplace that aims to connect customers seeking planetary data with orbiting satellites and AI. He co-founded the company with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and MacArthur Genius Moriba Jah. [1] [2] Privateer announced in 2023 that it had grown the business from the Google Maps of space to become the first AI powered space data ride sharing platform with an upcoming satellite autopilot system called Pono set to fly on SpaceX in December 2023. [3] [4] [5] [6] The International Space Station National Labs, in partnership with Privateer announced a deal whereby Privateer publicly tracks and displays mission data on International Space Station telemetry, astronauts, and mission objectives live on the ISS National Labs website. [7] He was co-founder and CEO of robotics company Ripcord, Inc from 2014 to 2021.

Contents

Biography

Alex Fielding started his career as an engineer at Cisco Systems and Apple Computer. Shortly after departing Apple, he worked at Exodus Communications for Ellen Hancock. Exodus' CEO who was Apple's former CTO. He co-founded Wheels of Zeus with Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak in 2001. It was sold to Zontrak in 2006. [8]

Fielding became CEO of encryption products company Ripcord Networks in 2004 with former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, CTO, Hancock, and Wozniak on its board. [9] The company existed through about 2009 when its assets were purchased in an undisclosed transaction. [10] He was then chief technology officer at Power Assure from 2009 to 2013, and then vice president at Vigilent until 2014. [11]

Started working with NASA in 2010 with CTO Chris C. Kemp and started what might be another company of the same name, Ripcord, Inc while in a partnership at the agency in 2014. Fielding later was named an advisor to space startup Astra where Kemp is CEO.[ citation needed ]

Ripcord announced $180 million in funding in March 2017 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lux Capital, Legend Star (part of China-based Legend Holdings [12] ), and Steve Wozniak. [13] [14] [15] Ripcord is utilizing vision guided robotics, industrial automation, and advanced sensors to digitize paper records. Once digitized, Ripcord provides a software as a service records service called Ripcord Canopy. Further funding was announced later in 2017 and in 2020, including investor CDK Global. [16] In September, 2020, Ripcord announced a joint venture with Fuji Xerox. [17] In August 2021, he was replaced at Ripcord by William Kurtz, former chief financial officer while the company prepared for a public offering. [18]

Fielding joined the board of directors of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education in 2017. [19] He was on the boards of the CodeWarrior Foundation, and California Women Empowering Women, a 501c3 non-profit. He is an advisor to TEDMED and TED WED. He is a donor to UNICEF. Fielding is a former member of Mensa International and Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs. He is a contributing member of two NIST working groups on the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP).

Patents

Fielding is listed as an inventor on the following robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence patents:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Inc.</span> American multinational technology company

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered and incorporated in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. It was renamed Apple Inc. in 2007 as the company had expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue, with US$383.29 billion in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Wozniak</span> American electrical engineer and programmer (born 1950)

Stephen Gary Wozniak, also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his early business partner Steve Jobs. Through his work at Apple in the 1970s and 1980s, he is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sculley</span> American businessman

John Sculley III is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving on October 15, 1993. In 1987, Sculley was named Silicon Valley's top-paid executive, with an annual salary of US$10.2 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Draper</span> American computer programmer and former phone phreak

John Thomas Draper, also known as Captain Crunch, Crunch, or Crunchman, is an American computer programmer and former phone phreak. He is a widely known figure within the computer programming world and the hacker and security community, and generally lives a nomadic lifestyle.

Gilbert Frank Amelio is an American technology executive. Amelio worked at Bell Labs, Fairchild Semiconductor, and the semiconductor division of Rockwell International, and was also the CEO of National Semiconductor and Apple Computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SolidWorks</span> Commonly used software for 3D modeling

SolidWorks is a brand within Dassault Systèmes that develops and markets solid modeling computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, 3D CAD design and collaboration, analysis, and product data management software. It developed the world's first 3D CAD application that ran on a desktop PC.

Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula Jr. is an American electrical engineer, businessman and investor. He was the original angel investor, first chairman, and second CEO for Apple Computer, Inc., providing critical early funding and managerial support. At the company's incorporation, Markkula owned 26% of Apple, equivalent to each of the shares owned by cofounders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Ellen Mooney Hancock was a technology manager from the United States who worked for IBM and Apple, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Apple Inc.</span> History of American technology company

Apple Inc., originally Apple Computer, Inc., is a multinational corporation that creates and markets consumer electronics and attendant computer software, and is a digital distributor of media content. Apple's core product lines are the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet computer, and the Mac personal computer. The company offers its products online and has a chain of retail stores known as Apple Stores. Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created Apple Computer Co. on April 1, 1976, to market Wozniak's Apple I desktop computer, and Jobs and Wozniak incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in Cupertino, California.

Ripcord Networks was a voice and video cryptographic security company. Their headquarters was in San Mateo, California in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Jobs</span> American businessman and inventor (1955–2011)

Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar. He was a pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, along with his early business partner and fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the iPhone</span>

The history of the iPhone by Apple Inc. spans from the early 2000s to about 2010. The first iPhone was unveiled at Macworld 2007 and released later that year. By the end of 2009, iPhone models had been released in all major markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Quine</span> British computer scientist

Daniel Nicholas Quine is a computer scientist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Kemp</span> CEO of Astra Space

Chris C. Kemp is an American entrepreneur who, along with Dr. Adam London, founded Astra, a space technology firm based in California, in 2016. He served as the chief information officer (CIO) for the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and as NASA's first chief technology officer (CTO) for information technology. While at NASA, Kemp partnered with Google and Microsoft and helped in the creation of Google Moon and Google Mars. He worked with the White House to develop the cloud computing strategy for the United States Federal Government and co-founded OpenStack, an open-source software project for cloud computing. He was also one of the founders of Nebula, a company that from 2011 to 2015, worked to commercialise the technology.

Vector Launch, Inc. is an American space technology company which aims to launch suborbital and orbital payloads. Vector Launch declared bankruptcy in December 2019 and re-emerged in October 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Vogt</span> American engineer

Kyle Vogt is an American businessman. In 2013, Vogt founded Cruise Automation, where he was the president, chief executive officer and chief technology officer until resigning on November 19, 2023. Cruise develops self-driving car technology and, since being acquired in May 2016, operates as an independent subsidiary of General Motors.

Workhorse Group Incorporated, originally AMP Electric Vehicles, is an original equipment manufacturer and technology company headquartered in Sharonville, Ohio, U.S. Workhorse makes commercial electric vehicles and telematics software designed for last-mile delivery. Their products include commercial electric vehicles and the Metron telematics software system.

Vecna Robotics, Inc. is an American robotics and technology company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Incorporated in 2018 as a spin-off from Vecna Technologies, the company specializes in automated material handling, hybrid fulfillment and workflow optimization for industrial applications.

Orbital Insight is a Palo Alto, California-based geospatial analytics company. The company analyzes satellite, drone, balloon and other unmanned aerial vehicle images, including cell phone geolocation data, to study a range of human activity, and provides business and other strategic insights from the data.

References

  1. ↑ I. Bonifacic (September 13, 2021). "Steve Wozniak's latest moonshot is a private space company". Engadget. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  2. ↑ A. Alamalhodaei (October 12, 2021). "Steve Wozniak and Alex Fielding's startup Privateer aims to be the Google Maps of space". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  3. ↑ Nikki Main (August 1, 2023). "Steve Wozniak's Space Company Wants to Be a 'Ride Share' for Satellites". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  4. ↑ A. Alamalhodaei (August 1, 2023). "Privateer wants to create a 'data ride-sharing economy' for space". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ L. Grush (August 1, 2023). "Steve Wozniak's Privateer Is Forging an Online Market for Satellite Access". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ M. Sheetz (August 3, 2023). "Investing in Space: Rocket Lab stock leads the sector in year-to-date gains". CNBC. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ K. Kowing (August 3, 2023). "The International Space Station National Laboratory and Privateer Announce Data and Information Sharing Partnership for Growing Space Community". SpaceRef. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ Michael Kanellos (March 16, 2006). "Wozniak shuts down Wheels of Zeus: Not everything turns out to be Apple". CNet News. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ Leander Kahney (August 4, 2004). "Ripcord's Board". Cult of Mac blog. Archived from the original on August 28, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Ripcord: Company Management". Old company web site. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Alex Fielding Vice President of Operations, Power Assure Inc" . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Legend Star: Incubator of great technology". Legend Holdings web site. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak joins $9.5 million investment into 'robotic digitization' startup Ripcord". VentureBeat. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  14. ↑ Heater, Brian (March 23, 2017). "Ripcord gets $9.5 million Series A for its corporate file digitization service". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Ripcord Removes the Pain of Paper Cuts With Robot Digital Filers". Bloomberg.com. March 23, 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  16. ↑ "Ripcord lands $145M for dealership digitization". Pitchbook. February 26, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  17. ↑ Holly Muscolino and Allison Fantony (September 8, 2020). "Ripcord and Fuji Xerox Joint Venture Positioned to Support a Hybrid Workforce and the "Next Normal"". IDC. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Bill Kurtz: Interim Chief Executive Officer". Ripcord web site. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Two Leading High-Tech Entrepreneurs and Champions of Open Educational Resources to Join ISKME's Board". Press release. Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education. January 13, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  20. ↑ US Patent No. 11,048,732, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.
  21. ↑ Systems and Methods for contextual retrieval and display of search results US Patent 11030199, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.
  22. ↑ Systems and methods relating to document and fastener identification US Patent 10778858, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.
  23. ↑ Computer Vision based document and fastener identification US Patent 10142167, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.
  24. ↑ Region based machine learning for records tagging US Patent 10387456, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.
  25. ↑ Utilizing machine learning and NLP for contextual retrieval and display US Patent 10198479, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.