Mike Lazaridis,OC,[2]FRS (born March 14,1961[not verified in body]) is a Canadian businessman that co-founded Research In Motion (now BlackBerry Limited),the company that created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. He has gone on to become a major supporter of Canadian academic physics,and an investor in quantum computing technologies.
After a period of charitable and leadership roles,founding science research organizations (see following),Lazaridis joined Fregin in co-founding Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013,to "provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in Quantum Information Science".[3][independent source needed]
Among the many charitable contributions of Lazaridis and his wife,Ophelia,have been CA$100M in 1999 to establish the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (he,thereafter,forming its Board and recruiting its first Director),[4] and his providing vision and funding to found the UW's Institute for Quantum Computing,including funding the advanced science building that hosts the Institute.[5]
One of RIM's first achievements was the development of barcode technology for film.[clarification needed][citation needed] It reinvested the profits from that product into wireless data transmission research,[citation needed] eventually leading to the introduction of the BlackBerry wireless mobile device in 1999,[citation needed] and its better-known version in 2002.[citation needed] Lazaridis would serve in various positions for RIM and BlackBerry,including as co-chairman and co-CEO of BlackBerry from 1984 to 2012,[citation needed] and Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Innovation Committee from 2012 to 2013.[citation needed]
In 2015,Lazaridis donated $20M[clarification needed] to Wilfrid Laurier University,for a new technology-focused management institute at the business school,which was renamed in his honour as the Lazaridis School of Business &Economics.[15][16][17]
In 2000,Lazaridis received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from the University of Waterloo (UW),and in 2005,a further honorary doctoral degree from McMaster University.[8][bettersourceneeded] In UW's 50th anniversary year in 2007,Lazaridis was among the fifty alumni recognized by the UW 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards.[18]
Father of what has become known as the smartphone,Mike Lazaridis is recognized in the global wireless community as a visionary,innovator and engineer of extraordinary talent... [The] founder of RIM and the creator of the BlackBerry... [he] made the primary donations establishing the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,the [Univeristy of Waterloo] Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and... Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre... [Perimeter] has already become an international beacon for theoretical physics and IQC is widely regarded as the leading centre of quantum information science worldwide. Together,these institutes have... made a major impact internationally.[1]
Personal life
In 2020,he purchased the 80m (262ft) yacht Artefact. The custom build by the shipyard Nobiskrug won awards for its exterior design,and for using hybrid electric technologies.[20]
1234{{cite web | author = OGGC Staff | date = October 6, 2006 | orig-date = November 17, 2005 | title = Honours—Recipients—Mr. Mike Lazaridis | work = Office of the Governor Genreal of Canada (OGGC, GG.ca) | url= https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-15305 | access-date=2 February 2026 |archive-url= |archive-date= |url-status= | location = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | publisher= Office of the Governor General of Canada | quote = Mr. Mike Lazaridis / Waterloo, Ontario, Canada / Order of Canada / Officer of the Order of Canada / Awarded on: November 17, 2005 / Invested on: October 06, 2006 / A visionary and innovator, Mike Lazaridis is President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Research In Motion, a company he founded while a student at the University of Waterloo. Known as the creator of the BlackBerryT, he has pioneered a number of technological innovations that have enhanced mobile communications worldwide. A passionate advocate of higher education and research, he has been a generous benefactor to his alma mater, where he founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1997.
123PI Staff (February 2, 2026). "Our Story—History of Perimeter Institute". Retrieved February 2, 2026. In 1999, RIM founder Mike Lazaridis gives $100 million–one third of his fortune–to establish an institute for theoretical physics. He hires Howard Burton as Perimeter's first Director and forms a Board of Directors, with research operations beginning in October 2001.
123IQC Staff (November 11, 2017). "About IQC—Quick facts". University of Waterloo (UW) IQC (uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: UW Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2015. About the Institute... Officially launched in 2002, with Prof. Raymond Laflamme as executive director... / IQC was launched thanks to the vision of Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis, who have donated more than $100 million since 2002... / About the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre / IQC's permanent headquarters, the state-of-the-art... Centre, opened on September 21, 2012. The 285,000-square-foot facility is custom-built for quantum research... Note, date of information is indicated as the date of its archive.
1234567UW Staff & Lazaridis, Mike (2007). "Mike Lazaridis (DEng '00)". UWaterloo.ca. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: University of Waterloo (UW) Office of Advancement. Retrieved February 2, 2026. In recognition of his technical innovations, the University of Waterloo awarded Lazaridis with an honorary Doctor of Engineering in 2000 and McMaster University awarded him with an honorary Doctorate in 2005. / ...Lazaridis' community achievements have been widely recognized. He was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2006 and was listed on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People in 2005. Mr. Lazaridis is a member of Maclean's Honour Role of distinguished Canadians, is a recipient of the 2002 Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce Community Leader of the Year Award and has been previously recognized as Canada 's Nation Builder of the Year and Ontario's Entrepreneur of the Year.
↑Magueijo, João (September 23, 2009). "Howard's End at Perimeter"(book review). Nature. 461 (7263): 477. Bibcode:2009Natur.461..477M. doi:10.1038/461477a. Books & Arts—First Principles: The Crazy Business of Doing Serious Science / Howard Burton / Key Porter Books: 2009. 288 pp. Can$24.95 9781554701759... ISBN: 978-1-5547-0175-9
↑Hand, Eric (September 24, 2009). "Physics: The Edge of physics". Nature. 461 (7263): 462–465. doi:10.1038/461462a. PMID19779427. [Tagline:] Canada's Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics was intended to become a world leader in the field. Eric Hand finds out if it has lived up to its ambitions.
↑UW Staff (2007). "50th Anniversary Alumni Awards". UWaterloo.ca. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: University of Waterloo (UW). Retrieved February 2, 2026. To mark the University of Waterloo's 50th anniversary, University of Waterloo's Alumni Council established the University of Waterloo 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards... the council selected 50 alumni who exemplified extraordinary citizenship to University of Waterloo through activities like volunteering, mentoring, involvement with committees, boards or panels, philanthropic support or advocacy. ... / University of Waterloo 50th anniversary alumni award recipients ... / Mike Lazaridis / DENG '00.
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