Wendell Brown
Encyclopedia
Wendell Brown is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur best known for his innovations in telecommunications. Brown has founded several well-known companies, including Teleo
, LiveOps, and eVoice
.
, Brown was awarded a Hughes Aircraft
Bachelors of Science Undergraduate Fellowship in 1980.
including Star Wars for ColecoVision
, and Beauty & the Beast, Nova Blast, and Moonsweeper titles for Mattel
's Intellivision
.
Brown invented and designed ADAP, the world’s first direct-to-hard-disk audio-recording system. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ADAP was used to create and edit the soundtracks of Hollywood movies and TV shows, including the TV pilot of Beverly Hills, 90210
, and by recording artists including Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac and The Pointer Sisters. With his ADAP expertise, Brown was called upon by Disney and Toshiba
as a consultant for various sound projects. Brown later worked as a telecommunications cryptography expert with National Semiconductor
to help build hardware implementations of DS3 algorithms.
As co-founder and chairman of LiveOps Inc., Brown was the key inventor of the “work-at-home call center agent” industry. In 2001, he co-founded CallCast, which later became LiveOps, and served as its chairman and chief technology officer. The company is one of the largest outsourced work-at-home call center in the world with more than 20,000 work-at-home agents employed.
Brown created a VoIP system enabling desktop and laptop PC users to send and receive phone calls over the Internet, called Teleo
, a company that he co-founded and chaired. Teleo
was acquired by Microsoft
in 2005.
Brown also created the eVoice
voicemail platform, the first large-scale, Internet-enabled voicemail system. He pioneered techniques such as voicemail-to-email, visual voicemail, enhanced caller ID, innovations later deployed by Google Voice and Apple. eVoice
supplied voicemail solutions to AT&T
, MCI
, AOL
, as well as to many regional companies. eVoice was acquired by AOL Time-Warner in 2001. The eVoice
platform became part of the AOL voice services group.
As a Silicon Valley angel investor Brown has helped obtain funding for several successful startup companies, including ADISN, PhoneTell, WebDiet, and IronPort
. IronPort was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007 for $830 million.
(Aliso Viejo, California), support for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
's Aviation Safety Lab & Library, and private sponsorship of underprivileged students in South America.
Teleo
Teleo was a peer-to-peer internet telephony network, founded by Wendell Brown and Andy Moeck. Teleo users could speak to other Teleo users for free, call traditional telephone numbers for a fee, and receive calls from traditional phones....
, LiveOps, and eVoice
EVoice
eVoice is a telecommunications service owned by j2 Global Communications, Inc. that manages incoming and outgoing calls using a virtual phone number. The service was founded in 2000 and re-launched in March 2010 with new features, functionality and pricing targeting entrepreneurs and small...
.
Education
At Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Brown was awarded a Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
Bachelors of Science Undergraduate Fellowship in 1980.
Career
Brown's name is known among classic video game fans for his work in the early 1980s (1982–1985) writing and designing several best-selling games for ImagicImagic
Imagic was a short-lived American video game developer and publisher that developed games for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and other video game consoles in the early 1980s...
including Star Wars for ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
, and Beauty & the Beast, Nova Blast, and Moonsweeper titles for Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
's Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
.
Brown invented and designed ADAP, the world’s first direct-to-hard-disk audio-recording system. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ADAP was used to create and edit the soundtracks of Hollywood movies and TV shows, including the TV pilot of Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, and by recording artists including Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac and The Pointer Sisters. With his ADAP expertise, Brown was called upon by Disney and Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
as a consultant for various sound projects. Brown later worked as a telecommunications cryptography expert with National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
to help build hardware implementations of DS3 algorithms.
As co-founder and chairman of LiveOps Inc., Brown was the key inventor of the “work-at-home call center agent” industry. In 2001, he co-founded CallCast, which later became LiveOps, and served as its chairman and chief technology officer. The company is one of the largest outsourced work-at-home call center in the world with more than 20,000 work-at-home agents employed.
Brown created a VoIP system enabling desktop and laptop PC users to send and receive phone calls over the Internet, called Teleo
Teleo
Teleo was a peer-to-peer internet telephony network, founded by Wendell Brown and Andy Moeck. Teleo users could speak to other Teleo users for free, call traditional telephone numbers for a fee, and receive calls from traditional phones....
, a company that he co-founded and chaired. Teleo
Teleo
Teleo was a peer-to-peer internet telephony network, founded by Wendell Brown and Andy Moeck. Teleo users could speak to other Teleo users for free, call traditional telephone numbers for a fee, and receive calls from traditional phones....
was acquired by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 2005.
Brown also created the eVoice
EVoice
eVoice is a telecommunications service owned by j2 Global Communications, Inc. that manages incoming and outgoing calls using a virtual phone number. The service was founded in 2000 and re-launched in March 2010 with new features, functionality and pricing targeting entrepreneurs and small...
voicemail platform, the first large-scale, Internet-enabled voicemail system. He pioneered techniques such as voicemail-to-email, visual voicemail, enhanced caller ID, innovations later deployed by Google Voice and Apple. eVoice
EVoice
eVoice is a telecommunications service owned by j2 Global Communications, Inc. that manages incoming and outgoing calls using a virtual phone number. The service was founded in 2000 and re-launched in March 2010 with new features, functionality and pricing targeting entrepreneurs and small...
supplied voicemail solutions to AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, MCI
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, as well as to many regional companies. eVoice was acquired by AOL Time-Warner in 2001. The eVoice
EVoice
eVoice is a telecommunications service owned by j2 Global Communications, Inc. that manages incoming and outgoing calls using a virtual phone number. The service was founded in 2000 and re-launched in March 2010 with new features, functionality and pricing targeting entrepreneurs and small...
platform became part of the AOL voice services group.
As a Silicon Valley angel investor Brown has helped obtain funding for several successful startup companies, including ADISN, PhoneTell, WebDiet, and IronPort
IronPort
IronPort Systems, Inc., headquartered in San Bruno, California, was a company that designed and sold products and services that protect enterprises against Internet threats. It was best known for IronPort AntiSpam, the SenderBase email reputation service, and email security appliances...
. IronPort was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007 for $830 million.
Private life
Brown is a licensed private pilot and is active in the development of new airplane, rocket, and electric vehicle designs. In 2010, Brown was appointed to the advisory committee of the Progressive X Prize for automobile innovation including new fuel technologies and electric car development.Inventor
A prolific inventor, Wendell Brown has more than 40 U.S. and international patent applications issued or pending in the fields of telecommunications, electric car technology, and online music distribution. Brown is a pioneer of multiple green technologies including the development of Jatropha biodiesel, electric car charging systems, and the next generation of LED lighting.Philanthropy
Brown’s philanthropic endeavors include the endowment of a named scholarship at Soka University of AmericaSoka University of America
Soka University of America is a university located in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. It describes its mission as the fostering of a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life—with an emphasis on principles of pacifism, human rights, and the creative...
(Aliso Viejo, California), support for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a private university in the US specializing in aviation and aerospace engineering. It teaches the science, practice, and business of aviation and aerospace. Called "The Harvard of the Sky" by Time Magazine in 1979, Embry-Riddle has a history dating back to...
's Aviation Safety Lab & Library, and private sponsorship of underprivileged students in South America.
External links
- [Teleo acquisition: http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-30-2005/0004096958&EDATE=)
- [eVoice acquisition: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DUJ/is_14_105/ai_n27570828/]
- [IronPort acquisition: http://www.epochnews.com/artman/publish/printer_3454.shtml]
- [IronPort acquisition: http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-27-2001/0001622064&EDATE=)
- [ADISN www.adisn.com:
- [LiveOps: http://www.liveops.com/company/history.html]
- [PhoneTell: http://www.phonetell.com/]
- [Auto X Prize: http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/about/advisors]