Steve Kirsch
| Steven T. Kirsch | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 24, 1956 Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Massachussetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | CEO at OneID, Inc.[1] |
| Known for | Inventing the optical mouse, FrameMaker, founder of Infoseek |
| Net worth | US$230 million (2007)[2] |
Steven Todd Kirsch (born 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is an American serial entrepreneur who has started six companies: Mouse Systems, Frame Technology, Infoseek, Propel, Abaca, and OneID. He invented and owns a patent on an early version of the optical mouse. After bringing multiple successful startup companies through IPO and corporate buy-out, he became a multi-millionaire. In 2007, his personal fortune was estimated at $230 million.[2]
He has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]
He used part of his fortune to set up a $75M charitable fund and became an philanthropist. On August 11, 2007, Kirsch announced on his personal Web site that he had been diagnosed with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, a rare blood cancer. His cancer is shrinking as a result of treatment using an experimental HDAC inhibitor, LBH-589.
In 2003, Hillary Clinton presented Kirsch with a National Caring Award from the Caring Institute in Washington DC. The award celebrates those special individuals who, in transcending self, devote their lives in service to others, especially the disadvantaged, the poor, the disabled and the dying.[4]
[edit] Career
Steven Kirsch founded Mouse Systems Corporation in 1982. After he left the company, he co-founded Frame Technology Corp. in 1986 to market the FrameMaker publishing software. After Frame was acquired by Adobe Systems for $500M, he founded a Web portal company, Infoseek Corporation, in 1994. After Infoseek was acquired by Disney, he founded Propel Software Corporation in 1999. As of 2007, he was leading Abaca Technology Corp., which makes an extremely accurate spam filter (99.99% according to two independent reviews[5][6]).
In September 2011, he started OneID which is creating a user-centric Internet-scale digital identity system that uses public key cryptography to replace usernames and passwords with a single, stable, secure, digital identity that preserves privacy and is compatible with the NSTIC goals[7].
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kirsch's profile, LinkedIn.com
- ^ a b Spam’s End? Maybe, if Time Allows December 3, 2007
- ^ Kirsch Foundation: About The Founders Kirsch Foundation. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ 2003 Adult National Caring Award Winner November 16, 2003
- ^ "Tolly Group Review of Abaca". Tolly Group. http://www.abaca.com/downloads/Tolly_Abaca%20Email%20Protection%20Gateway.pdf. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ "Spam Star". Network Computing. http://www.abaca.com/downloads/networkcomputing_aug09.pdf. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ "OneID Aims to Unite Devices to Fight Hackers". The New York Times. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/oneid-aims-to-unite-devices-to-fight-hackers/. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
[edit] External links
- Personal website
- Kirsch Foundation website
- Propel
- Abaca
- OneID
- Profile on LinkedIn
- The one problem he can’t solve from San Francisco Magazine
