Phillipe Kahn
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Philippe Kahn (born March 16, 1952) is a French engineer, entrepreneur, and founder of four technology companies:
Borland Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
,
Starfish Software Starfish Software was founded in 1994 by Philippe Kahn and Sonia Lee, as a spin-off from the Simplify business unit from Borland and Kahn's severance from Borland. It was located in Santa Cruz, California. Starfish developed intellectual proper ...
, LightSurf Technologies, and
Fullpower Technologies Fullpower is a Santa Cruz, California-based privately held developer of cloud-based IoT and wearable product technology used for activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Fullpower specializes in wireless technology, microelectromechanical systems ...
. Kahn is credited with creating the first
camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...
, being a pioneer for wearable technology
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
, and is the author of dozens of technology patents covering
Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...
(IoT),
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
(AI) modeling, wearable, eyewear, smartphone, mobile, imaging, wireless, synchronization and medical technologies.


Early life and education

Philippe Kahn is the son of Charles-Henri Kahn (1915-1999) and Claire Monis (1922-1967).
Kahn Kahn is a surname of German origin. ''Kahn'' means "small boat", in German. It is also a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is '' Cahn''.
was born and raised in Paris, France. He was born to Jewish immigrants of modest means. His mother was a French singer, actress, and violinist, raised in Paris by parents who had fled the Russian pogroms. Arrested in 1942 for being Lieutenant in the French Resistance, she was 21 years old when she was sent to the
Auschwitz extermination camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
. She survived as a member of the Auschwitz Women's Orchestra conducted by
Alma Rosé Alma Maria Rosé (3 November 1906 – 4/5 April 1944) was an Austrian and Jewish violinist. Her uncle was the composer Gustav Mahler. She was deported by the Nazis to the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. There, for 10 months, she directed ...
. After his parents separated in 1957, Philippe Kahn was raised solely by his mother. He was only 15 years old when his mother died in a car accident in Paris. Kahn was educated in mathematics at the
ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
(Swiss Federal
Polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...
Institute), on a full scholarship and
University of Nice A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
Sophia Antipolis,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. He received a
master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
. He also received a master's in
musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
composition and classical flute performance at the Zurich Music Conservatory in Switzerland. As a student, Kahn developed software for the
MICRAL Micral is a series of microcomputers produced by the French company Réalisation d'Études Électroniques (:fr:R2E, R2E), beginning with the Micral N in early 1973. The Micral N was one of the first commercially available microprocessor-based compu ...
, which is credited by the Computer History Museum as the first ever microprocessor-based personal computer.


Career


Technology companies

Kahn has founded four software companies:
Borland Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
, founded in 1982 (acquired by Micro Focus International, Micro Focus in 2009),
Starfish Software Starfish Software was founded in 1994 by Philippe Kahn and Sonia Lee, as a spin-off from the Simplify business unit from Borland and Kahn's severance from Borland. It was located in Santa Cruz, California. Starfish developed intellectual proper ...
, founded in 1994 (acquired by Motorola in 1998, and subsequently Google in 2011), LightSurf Technologies, founded in 1998 (acquired by Verisign in 2005), and
Fullpower Technologies Fullpower is a Santa Cruz, California-based privately held developer of cloud-based IoT and wearable product technology used for activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Fullpower specializes in wireless technology, microelectromechanical systems ...
, founded in 2005.


Borland (1982–1995): compilers and tools

Kahn founded Borland in 1982, and was its CEO until 1995. At the time it was a competitor of Microsoft's, and produced programming language compilers and software development tools. Its first product, Turbo Pascal, sold for $49.95 at a time when programming tools cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Kahn was President, CEO, and Chairman of Borland and, without venture capital, took Borland from no revenues to a US$500 million run-rate. Kahn and the Borland board came to a disagreement on how to focus the company. In January 1995, he was forced by the board to resign from his position as CEO, and he founded Starfish Software. Kahn encouraged a collegial and hard-charging atmosphere at Borland, which attracted and cultivated technology leaders including Anders Hejlsberg, creator of Turbo Pascal, and Marc Randolph, cofounder of Netflix.


Starfish Software (1995–1998): wireless synchronization

Starfish Software was founded in 1995 by Philippe Kahn as a spin-off from the Simplify business unit from Borland and Kahn's severance from Borland. TrueSync was the first Over-The-Air (OTA) synchronization system. Starfish was successfully acquired by Motorola for US$325 million in 1998.


LightSurf Technologies (1998–2005): multimedia messaging

Kahn and his wife Sonia co-founded multimedia messaging company LightSurf Technologies in 1998. LightSurf commercialized Picture-Mail and the camera phone. In 2005, LightSurf was acquired by Verisign for US$300 million. Syniverse Technologies acquired Lightsurf from Verisign in 2009.


Fullpower Technologies (2005–present): sensing, sleep, and wearable technology

Fullpower, founded in 2005, provides a patented ecosystem for wearable and
Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...
sensor-fusion solutions supporting networks of sensors. The company's expertise is sleep monitoring technology using sensors and artificial intelligence. The inspiration behind some of Fullpower's technology stems from Kahn's passion for sailing. During a demanding race requiring sailors to sleep less than an hour every 24-hour period, Kahn began experimenting with biosensors and three-axis linear accelerometers that could detect micromovements and provide meaningful recommendations. Kahn created prototype sleep trackers using biosensors that optimized 26-minute power naps to maximize sleep benefits and sail time.


First camera phone

In 1997, Kahn created the first
camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...
solution sharing pictures instantly on public networks. The impetus for this invention was the birth of Kahn's daughter. He had been working for almost a year on a web server-based infrastructure for pictures, that he called Picture Mail. At the hospital, while his wife was in labor, Kahn jury-rigged a connection between a mobile phone and a digital camera and sent off photos in real time to the picture messaging infrastructure he had running in his home. Kahn later said "I had always wanted to have this all working in time to share my daughter’s birth photo, but I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. It’s always the case that if it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done." In 2016 ''Time'' magazine included Kahn's first camera phone photo in their list of the 100 most influential photos of all time. In 2017, Subconscious Films created a short film recreating the day that Philippe instantly shared the first camera-phone photo of the birth of his daughter Sophie.


Gay rights advocacy

Under Kahn's direction,
Borland Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
became the first software company to offer domestic partners full benefits and a pioneer for gay rights in Silicon Valley. Kahn was a key speaker at the pivotal gay rights conference on the Apple Inc., Apple campus on October 19, 1993.


Personal life

Kahn has four children, three of whom are from his first marriage. He later married Sonia Lee, with whom he has a daughter, Sophie. Sonia co-founded three of Kahn's companies with him: Fullpower Technologies, LightSurf and Starfish Software.


Sailing and sports

Philippe Kahn's focus on the environment and the outdoors led him to the sport of sailing.A comparatively late starter , he found success within a few years winning multiple races. He declared, “I have to learn how to sail before I die.” As a result he found himself drawn to Santa Cruz, California: "I tell people, if you love sailing, you’ll love Santa Cruz." Kahn's sailing team, Pegasus Racing, has competed in numerous international world championships. An offshore sailor with over 10 trans-Pacific crossings, Kahn holds the Transpac double handed (two-crewmember) record from San Francisco to Oahu, Hawaii. His sailing achievements also include winning the double handed division of the 2009 Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii and setting the Transpac record at 7 days, 19 hours, beating the previous time of 10 days, 4 hours. Kahn's son Samuel ("Shark") also took up sailing as a boy. In his teenage years he had several outstanding race wins, including the 2003 Melges 24 Worlds race right after he turned 15. He has competed against his father.


Lee-Kahn Foundation

Kahn and his wife Sonia run the Lee-Kahn Foundation. According to the foundation's website, it sponsors local and national non-profit organizations focused on environmental causes and works to improve access to health care, education, and the arts.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


The first photo sent from a phone
BBC Witness History {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Philippe 1952 births American computer businesspeople American people of French-Jewish descent ETH Zurich alumni French emigrants to the United States French people of Jewish descent French technology company founders Engineers from Paris Living people