Ashwin Navin

Navin is a 1999 graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a dual B.A. in government and economics. Before BitTorrent, he was employed at Yahoo! from 2002 to 2004 in its corporate development group which handled corporate strategy and acquisitions. Before Yahoo!, Navin worked on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch both as an investment banker and research analyst.{{cite web|title=Ashwin Navin {{!}} VMA Media|url=http://vmamedia.com/people/ashwin-navin/|website=vmamedia.com|access-date=2017-05-18|archive-date=2017-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207185146/http://vmamedia.com/people/ashwin-navin/|url-status=dead}}

In 2000, Navin helped start Epoch Partners, a technology-based financial services company that was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2001.

File:AshwinNavinJI1-crop.jpg

Cohen entrusted Navin with the responsibility of crafting a business model for BitTorrent with hopes of bringing BitTorrent out of the fringes and into the mainstream. Navin has assumed the public face of the company as an evangelist for its commercial viability. In 2007, Navin launched 3 commercial products: the BitTorrent Entertainment Network in February, the BitTorrent SDK in June, and BitTorrent DNA in October. As the foundation for these products, in 2006 Navin acquired uTorrent{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2006/dec/08/bittorrentbuys?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 | title=BitTorrent buys uTorrent | publisher=The Guardian | work=Guardian technology blog | date=8 December 2006 | access-date=May 25, 2012 | author=Schofield, Jack | author-link=Jack Schofield (journalist)}} which is the largest Torrent client in the world, outside China.{{cite web | url=http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2009/08/15/utorrent_remains_top_bittorrent_client | title=uTorrent remains top BitTorrent client | publisher=AfterDawn | date=15 August 2009 | access-date=May 25, 2012 | author=Andre Yoskowitz}}{{cite web | url=http://torrentfreak.com/thunder-blasts-utorrents-market-share-away-091204/ | title=Thunder Blasts uTorrent's Market Share Away | publisher=TorrentFreak | date=December 4, 2009 | access-date=May 25, 2012 | author=Ernesto}}

To catalyze BitTorrent's commercialization, Navin began by engaging movie industry executives directly. Although predicted by many to be highly unlikely, BitTorrent has struck relationships with many major media companies including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, MTV, Lionsgate, Kadokawa Pictures, and some others.{{cite web|title=About Us – Partners – BitTorrent |url=http://www.bittorrent.com/about/partners |date=24 November 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124072216/http://www.bittorrent.com/about/partners |archive-date=24 November 2007 }}{{cite web|title=Today @ PC World BitTorrent Cuts Movie Deals |url=http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003208.html |date=22 May 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522072806/http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003208.html |archive-date=22 May 2007 }}

Beyond copyright issues, BitTorrent also faced struggles with cable companies and ISPs which were overwhelmed with high volumes of P2P traffic on their networks. In the wake of FCC hearings that pitted Comcast and BitTorrent against each other for traffic management policies that inhibited P2P file transfers, Navin was responsible for striking a deal with Comcast that resolved the companies' differences and defused a contested issue in the Network Neutrality debate.{{cite web|title=Comcast's P2P Conversion: I'll Believe It When I See Results – BusinessWeek |url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/03/congratulations.html |date=16 January 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116110848/http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/03/congratulations.html |archive-date=16 January 2010 }}

After leaving BitTorrent, Navin founded Samba TV in 2008 (at the time called Flingo) with the vision of developing software for Smart TVs. The initial goal was to help media companies like Showtime, FOX, A+E Networks, TMZ, Revision3, PBS and CBS develop TV apps that synchronize with linear Broadcast programming and Non-linear media.{{Cite web|last=Edelsburg|first=Natan|date=November 30, 2011|title=Flingo dives into social TV with synchronized TV apps|url=http://www.lostremote.com/2011/11/30/flingo-dives-into-social-tv-with-synchronized-tv-apps/|url-status=live|archive-date=2012-07-09|website=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709110016/http://www.lostremote.com/2011/11/30/flingo-dives-into-social-tv-with-synchronized-tv-apps/}}

In 2011, the company launched its patented automatic content recognition technology, which uses video fingerprinting to identify on-screen content and power cross-screen interactive TV apps on Smart TVs.{{Cite web|last=Swedlow|first=Tracy|date=July 7, 2011|title=Interactive TV News Round-Up (II): Flingo, Hulu, ITU|url=https://itvt.com/story/8154/interactive-tv-news-round-ii-flingo-hulu-itu|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709224403/http://www.itvt.com:80/story/8154/interactive-tv-news-round-ii-flingo-hulu-itu |archive-date=2011-07-09 }}

Mark Cuban, August Capital and Gary Lauder led Samba TV's first round of l funding at CES in 2012.{{Cite web|date=2012-05-02|title=Flingo Gains Funding from Mark Cuban and Gary Lauder|url=https://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=82377|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Streaming Media Magazine|language=en-US}} And, in 2013, with the Samba TV name, the company launched the first cross-screen advertising solution tied to real-time contextual awareness of what's on a Smart TV screen within a household.{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=November 13, 2013|title=Samba TV takes connected TVs by storm|url=https://rethinkresearch.biz/articles/samba-tv-takes-connected-tvs-by-storm/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830191122/http://rethinkresearch.biz:80/articles/samba-tv-takes-connected-tvs-by-storm/ |archive-date=2017-08-30 }}

In 2017, Inc Magazine named Samba TV one of the fastest-growing companies in America.{{Cite web|title=Samba TV Acquires Screen6, Forming First Global OTT Measurement Solution|url=https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/18/12/r12882154/samba-tv-acquires-screen6-forming-first-global-ott-measurement-solutio|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Benzinga|language=English}} In 2020, Samba TV publicly confirmed that it crossed over $100M in revenue for the 2019 fiscal year and published its path for continued global expansion.{{Cite web|last=Lafayette|first=Jon|date=2020-12-15|title=Samba TV Gets Additional Viewer Data TiVo Households|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/samba-tv-gets-additional-viewer-data-tivo-households|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Broadcasting Cable|language=en}}

In 2021, Samba TV filed for an IPO led by various underwriters including BofA Securities, Evercore ISI, Oppenheimer & Co. and other investment banks.{{Cite web|title=Samba TV Begins $75 Million IPO Rollout|url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4470894-samba-tv-begins-75-million-ipo-rollout|website=SeekingAlpha|date=19 November 2021 |language=English}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89225412&ft=1&f=1006 NPR's All Things Considered interviews Ashwin Navin]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061007174432/http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1149/bittorrent-bullish-on-digital-downloads Podcast with Navin's views on the Download business and DRM]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061230021548/http://streaming.scmp.com/podcasting/upload/News_BitTorrent_june15.mp3 Podcast with Navin's views on BitTorrent in China]
• [https://archive.today/20130129201557/http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9905096-7.html?tag=cd.blog Navin addressing the deal his company negotiated with Comcast]

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