Ayah Bdeir

Bdeir was born in Canada to a Syrian family and raised in Beirut.{{Cite web |last=Bdeir |first=Ayah |date=2019-01-11 |title=LittleBits Goes Big: Ayah Bdeir Shares History and Lessons Learned |url=https://makezine.com/article/maker-news/littlebits-goes-big-ayah-bdeir-shares-history-and-lessons-learned/ |access-date= |website=Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Zoe |date=2017-02-07 |title=This Startup Founder Offers Up the Perfect Response to Trump's Travel Ban |url=https://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/how-littlebits-founder-ayah-bdeir-pushing-back-against-trump-immigration-ban.html |website=Inc.}} She pursued undergraduate degrees in Computer Engineering and Sociology from the American University of Beirut, graduating in 2004. Bdeir then moved to the United States, where she earned a Master of Science degree from the MIT Media Lab in 2006.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-10-09 |title=Ayah Bdeir founded littleBits to make science fun. She might now be on to something bigger. |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesinternational/2015/10/09/ayah-bdeir-founded-littlebits-to-make-science-fun-she-might-now-be-on-to-something-bigger/ |access-date= |website=Forbes |language=en}}File:Ayah Bdeir.jpg

After earning her master's degree, Bdeir started working as a financial consultant. She was then awarded a fellowship at Eyebeam in New York City in 2008, where she produced electronic art work that was shown in conferences, festivals and galleries in Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Rhode Island, Boston, São Paulo and others.{{Cite web |date=2009-04-28 |title=For immediate release: Eyebeam will hold Open Studios for Artists In Residence and Senior Fellows |url=http://eyebeam.org/press/press_releases/for-immediate-release-eyebeam-will-hold-open-studios-for-artists-in-residence-a |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203095345/http://eyebeam.org/press/press_releases/for-immediate-release-eyebeam-will-hold-open-studios-for-artists-in-residence-a |archive-date=2011-02-03 |website=Eyebeam}} Bdeir taught graduate classes at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and Parsons The New School for Design.{{cite web|title=Ayah Bdeir |url=http://cwitwiki.umbc.edu/display/gpwit/Ayah+Bdeir |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150213012945/http://cwitwiki.umbc.edu/display/gpwit/Ayah+Bdeir |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 February 2015 |website=Global Portal for Women in ICT |accessdate=12 February 2015 |ref=Global Portal for Women in ICT }} In 2010, Bdeir served as a design mentor on the reality TV show, Stars of Science.{{cite web|url=http://www.media.mit.edu/events/2012/04/06/ayah-bdeir-littlebits|title=Ayah Bdeir of LittleBits|website=Media.mit.edu|publisher=MIT Media Lab|accessdate=12 February 2015|ref=MIT Media Lab}}

She was a TED Fellow and serves on the board of the Fund for Public Schools supporting NYC's 1,800 public schools.{{Cite web |title=Fund for Public Schools – Board of Directors |url=https://www.fundforpublicschools.org/our-board |access-date= |website=Fund for Public Schools |language=en-US}}

Bdeir focused much of her work on empowering people, particularly those from underrepresented communities and girls, to become agents of change. In September 2011, she started littleBits Electronics, a startup with the goal to make electronics accessible for everyone.{{cite news |last1=McHugh |first1=Molly |date=18 November 2014 |title=The home of the future is inside littleBits' Smart Home Kit |url=http://www.dailydot.com/technology/smart-home-kit-littlebits/ |accessdate=13 February 2015 |work=News article |publisher=The Daily Dot |ref=The Daily Dot}} The company was officially established after Bdeir sold her first prototype at the maker faire in New York.{{Cite web |date=16 March 2019 |title=Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/16/women-in-tech/ |access-date=2019-04-01 |website=Engadget |language=en}} LittleBits was soon after dubbed as "Lego for the iPad Generation" by Bloomberg TV.{{Cite web |last=Orr |first=Niela |date=2013-12-02 |title=Bit-by-Bit: 5 Unusual Uses For The New LittleBits Modules |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/bit-by-bit-the-littlebits-korg-synth-kit/ |access-date= |website=VICE |language=en-US}}

LittleBits produces a system of modular electronic building blocks designed for learning and prototyping. These modules are rectangular in shape, measuring between one and four inches in length, and contain specific circuitry hidden within.{{Cite web |last=Schaffer |first=Amanda |date=2014-08-19 |title=Ayah Bdeir |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/innovator/ayah-bdeir/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231211172702/https://www.technologyreview.com/innovator/ayah-bdeir/ |archive-date=2023-12-11 |access-date= |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}} The system employs a color-coded design to indicate functionality: blue modules provide power, pink modules enable various inputs such as switches, microphones, and motion sensors, green modules facilitate outputs like lights, motors, and speakers, while orange modules offer wires or logic functions. The modules use magnetic connections, which are designed to guide users in assembling circuits. The modular components allow users with no prior engineering experience to create various electronic projects and to experiment with complex technologies.

In 2012, Bdeir received the TED Fellowship{{Cite web |date=2011-10-25 |title=Meet the TED2012 Fellows! {{!}} TED Blog |url=https://blog.ted.com/meet-the-ted2012-fellows/ |access-date= |language=en-US}} and gave a talk at the TED conferenceconference, TED. [http://www.ted.com/talks/ayah_bdeir_building_blocks_that_blink_beep_and_teach.html/ "talk"] in Long Beach called "Building Blocks That Blink, Beep and Teach."{{cite web |date=29 March 2012 |title=Building blocks that blink, beep and teach |url=http://www.ted.com/talks/ayah_bdeir_building_blocks_that_blink_beep_and_teach?language=en |accessdate=13 February 2015 |publisher=TED}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFlKaf00zAk |title=LittleBits TED Talk |date=2015-11-25 |last=Education Technology Specialists (Edtechs) |access-date= |via=YouTube}}

In 2012, Bdeir raised $3.65 million in series A funding for the company. The funding was led by was led by True Ventures, with participation from Khosla Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Lerer Ventures.{{cite news |last1=Lunden |first1=Ingrid |date=18 July 2012 |title=Toys Grow Up: LittleBits Picks Up $3.65M, PCH Deal To Build Out Its Open-Source Hardware Vision |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/18/toys-grow-up-littlebits-picks-up-3-65m-pch-deal-to-build-out-its-open-source-hardware-vision/ |accessdate=13 February 2015 |work=TechCrunch |publisher=TechCrunch |ref=TechCrunch}} Then in 2013, her company secured another round of funding led by True Ventures and Foundry Group, with participation from firms such as Two Sigma and Vegas Tech Fund.{{cite web |title=True Ventures and Foundry Group lead $11.1 mln round for LittleBits |url=https://www.pehub.com/2013/11/true-ventures-foundry-group-lead-11-1-mln-round-littlebits/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216231008/http://www.pehub.com/2013/11/true-ventures-foundry-group-lead-11-1-mln-round-littlebits/ |archive-date=16 February 2014 |accessdate=13 February 2015 |website=Pehub.com |publisher=PE Hub |ref=PE Hub}}

In 2013, littleBits was recognized as one of 10 emerging startups by CNN, and received the Gold Award from the Industrial Designers Society of America.{{Cite web |last=Betuel |first=Emma |date=2019-05-20 |title=LittleBits' Ayah Bdeir Is Filling STEM's Diversity Gap, Block by Block |url=https://www.inverse.com/innovation/55913-ayah-bdeir-little-bits-interview |access-date= |website=Inverse |language=en}}

In June 2015, littleBits raised $44.2 million in a series B round funding from Taha Mikati, Wamda Capital, MENA Venture Investors, and Hutham Olayan. LittleBits then joined the 2016 Disney Accelerator program.{{cite web|url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/2016-disney-accelerator-participants-announced/|title=2016 Disney Accelerator Participants Announced – The Walt Disney Company|date=11 July 2016}} It has also partnered with Pearson, one of the leading curriculum companies in the world to co-create curriculum to support their Science and Engineering program.{{Cite web |title=littleBits STEM Invention Toolboxes for Active Science Classrooms |url=https://mysavvastraining.com/assets/files/documents/littleBits%20brochure_1589468429.pdf |website=Savvas Learning Company}}

By 2019, littleBits' products were used in over 20,000 schools. That year, the company and Disney collaborated for "Snap the Gap," a $4 million pilot program aimed at maintaining girls' interest in technology around age 10.{{Cite web |last=Haller |first=Sonja |date=2019-04-02 |title=Too many men are building our future. Disney, littleBits give girls $4M to change that |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/2019/04/02/disney-littlebits-launch-snap-gap-program-teach-girls-stem/3334497002/ |access-date= |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} The program pairs each participant with a mentor who is a professional in a STEM field.{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Nina |date=2019-04-02 |title=LittleBits CEO Talks New Disney Partnership, Girls in STEM & Immigrant Entrepreneurship |url=https://observer.com/2019/04/littlebits-ceo-ayay-bdeir-new-stem-program-snap-the-gap-interview/ |access-date= |website=Observer |language=en-US}}

LittleBits was acquired by Sphero in August 2019.{{Cite web |last=Paynter |first=Ben |date=2019-08-23 |title=Sphero acquires littleBits in a bid to rule the $150B educational toy market |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90394797/sphero-acquires-littlebits-in-a-bid-to-rule-the-150b-educational-toy-market |website=Fast Company}}

Bdeir has spoken publicly about the Maker Movement, emphasizing the democratization of technology and the empowerment of individuals to become creators, not just consumers. She has used platforms like TED,{{cite web |title=Ayah Bdeir: Engineer and artist |url=http://www.ted.com/profiles/1068483/fellow |accessdate=12 February 2015 |website=TED.com |publisher=TED |ref=TED}} SXSW,{{cite web |title=Democratizing the Internet of Things is An Urgency |url=http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP28104 |accessdate=12 February 2015 |website=SXSW |ref=SXSW Schedule}} Solid,{{cite web |title=The Internet as Material: Empowering the Next Phase of Connected Hardware Innovation |url=http://solidcon.com/solid2014/public/schedule/detail/33576 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307072618/http://solidcon.com/solid2014/public/schedule/detail/33576 |archive-date=7 March 2015 |accessdate=13 February 2015 |website=Solidcon.com |publisher=O'Reilly |ref=Solid}} and CreativeMornings{{cite web |date=12 November 2013 |title=Ayah Bdeir Q+A |url=http://creativemornings.com/talks/ayah-bdeir--2/1 |accessdate=13 February 2015 |website=Creativemornings.com |publisher=CreativeMornings |ref=CreativeMornings}} where she discussed open-source innovation and the Internet of Things.

Bdeir is a proponent of the Open Hardware Movement, an initiative aimed at ensuring that technological knowledge is accessible to everyone,{{cite news |last1=Griffith |first1=Erin |date=13 March 2014 |title=Ayah Bdeir, CEO of littleBits, on the real reason for the hardware renaissance |url=http://fortune.com/2014/03/13/ayah-bdeir-ceo-of-littlebits-on-the-real-reason-for-the-hardware-renaissance/ |accessdate=13 February 2015 |work=Fortune |publisher=Fortune |ref=Fortune}} and co-founded the Open Hardware Summit, an annual conference organized by the Open Source Hardware Association.{{cite web |date=7 April 2012 |title=Open Source Hardware Association/About |url=http://www.oshwa.org/about/ |accessdate=13 February 2015 |website=Oshwa.org |publisher=Open Source Hardware Association |ref=Open Source Hardware Association}} In 2010, Bdeir was awarded a fellowship with Creative Commons for her work in defining Open Hardware and for co-chairing the Open Hardware Summits of 2010 and 2011.

As a fellow at Creative Commons, she led the public competition for the Open Hardware logo—now adopted on millions of circuit boards around the world. Bdeir has published academic papers and coined the term "Electronics As Material," which is the idea of "thinking of electronics as material that can be combined with other traditional ones."{{Cite book |last=Bdeir |first=Ayah |chapter=Electronics as material: LittleBits |date=2009-02-16 |title=Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1517664.1517743 |series=TEI '09 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=397–400 |doi=10.1145/1517664.1517743 |isbn=978-1-60558-493-5}}{{cite web |title=Ayah Bdeir |url=http://eyeofestival.com/2012/speaker/ayah-bdeir/ |accessdate=13 February 2015 |website=Eyeofestival.com |publisher=EyeO+ |ref=EyeO+}}

Bdeir also advocates for gender neutrality in toys. According to her, 40% of littleBits users are girls, which she states is four times the average in STEM/STEAM fields.{{cite web |last=The Boston Consulting Group |date=16 May 2017 |title=LittleBits founder Ayah Bdeir on the Need for Gender-Neutral STEM toys |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lJiuQlttkc |via=YouTube}}

In 2017, Bdeir advocated for immigration rights in response to President Trump's immigration ban. She publicly opposed the policy by placing a large billboard in Times Square with the slogan "We Invent the World We Want to Live In."

In October 2019, Bdeir co-founded Daleel Thawra, a digital platform that became the central source of information and resources related to the Lebanese revolution.

Prior to littleBits, Bdeir worked as an interactive artist.Ko, Hanae. [http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/64/WhereIWorkAyahBdeir "Where I Work: Ayah Bdeir"]. Art Asia Pacific. July 2009. Issue 64. She has exhibited work at the Peacock Visual Arts gallery (Aberdeen), the New Museum (New York), Ars Electronica (Linz) and the Royal College of Art (London). Installations include:

• Random Search, a wearable technology project that documents airport security screening experiences. The garment contains sensors that record data during security searches, collecting and analyzing information about airport screening procedures and their impact on travelers.{{cite web |title=random search – ayah bdeir |url=http://ayahbdeir.com/work/random-search/ |website=ayahbdeir.com}}
• Elusive Electricity (Ejet Ejet){{cite web|url=http://ayahbdeir.com/work/elusive-electricity/|title=Elusive Electricity – ayah bdeir|website=ayahbdeir.com}}
• Teta Haniya's Secrets{{cite web|url=http://ayahbdeir.com/work/teta-haniyas-secrets/|title=Teta Haniya's secrets – ayah bdeir|website=ayahbdeir.com}}
• Les Annees Lumiere{{cite web|url=http://ayahbdeir.com/work/les-annees-lumiere/|title=les années lumière – ayah bdeir|website=ayahbdeir.com}}
• Arabiia{{cite web|url=http://ayahbdeir.com/work/arabiia/|title=arabiia – ayah bdeir|website=ayahbdeir.com}}

• [https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5100 "Energy"], MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) (New York), 2020
• [https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1501 "This is for Everyone: Design Experiments for the Common Good"], MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) (New York), 2016
• [http://www.euronews.net/2011/11/08/lebanese-art-showcases-rich-and-complex-history/ "Subtitled: Narratives From Lebanon"], RCA (Royal College of Art) (London), 2011
• [http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/objects/146378/ "Talk To Me"], MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) (New York), 2011
• [http://ayahbdeir.com/index.php?/electronics-as-material---eyebeam-new-york/ "Electronics as Materials"], Eyebeam (New York), 2010
• [http://rhizome.org/sevenonseven/ "7 on 7"], New Museum (New York), 2010Kennedy, Randy. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/arts/design/19rhizome.html?_r=1 "Art Made at the Speed of the Internet: Don't Say 'Geek'; Say 'Collaborator'"]. 18 April 2010. New York Times
• [http://ayahbdeir.com/index.php?/identities-in-motion---peacock-gallery-aberdeen/ "Identities in Motion"], Peacock Visual Arts Gallery (Aberdeen, Scotland), 2009
• [http://ayahbdeir.com/index.php?/impetus---ars-electronica-linz/ "Impetus"], Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria), Works from the MIT Media Lab, curated by Hiroshi Ishii & Amanda Parkes, 2009
• [http://ayahbdeir.com/index.php?/openstitch---location-one-new-york/ "Open Stitch"], Location One Gallery (New York), 2005

• 2012 TED Fellowship
• 2014 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review{{Cite web |title=35 Innovators Under 35 {{!}} 2014 |url=https://cdn.technologyreview.com/lists/innovators-under-35/2014/ |access-date= |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}}
• 2014 25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American Dream by Popular Mechanics{{cite web |last1=Raymond |first1=Chris |date=18 March 2014 |title=25 Makers Who Are Reinventing The American Dream |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/advertorial/a10276/25-makers-who-are-reinventing-the-american-dream-16604572/ |accessdate=12 February 2015 |website=Popularmechanics.com |publisher=Popular Mechanics |ref=Popular Mechanics}}
• 2014 35 Under 35 Coolest Entrepreneurs by Inc. Magazine{{Cite web |last=Lagorio-Chafkin |first=Christine |date=2014-06-24 |title=LittleBits: On a Mission to Make Electrical Engineering Fun |url=https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/35-under-35-littlebits.html |access-date=2019-11-21 |website=Inc.com}}
• 2018 Top 5 Women to Watch in Robotics by Inc. Magazine{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Bonnie |date=2018-06-05 |title=Meet the Top 5 Innovative Women to Watch in Robotics |url=https://www.inc.com/bonnie-burton/meet-top-5-innovative-women-to-watch-in-robotics.html |access-date=2019-11-21 |website=Inc.com}}
• 2019 100 most influential women by BBC{{Cite news |date=2019-10-15 |title=BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list this year? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50042279 |access-date= |language=en-GB}}
• 2019 New York Times Groundbreaker

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Ayah Bdeir}}

• [http://littlebits.cc/ littleBits]
• Hillary Batchelder and Sarah Lilleyman, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100903173417/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1220424,00.html "No Escaping the Memories"], Time, 29 July 2006
• Regine, [http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/05/-1-littlebits-library.php "littleBits, pre-engineered circuit boards connected by tiny magnets"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806040350/http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/05/-1-littlebits-library.php |date=6 August 2013 }}, We Make Money Not Art, 14 May 2009
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180629083137/http://www.starsofscience.com/ Stars of Science website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120713044747/http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/06/ayah-bdeir-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-innovators/ Profile on CNN The Next List 8 July 2012]
• {{TED speaker}}
• {{TED talk|ayah_bdeir_building_blocks_that_blink_beep_and_teach|Building blocks that blink, beep and teach}} (TED2012)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bdeir, Ayah}}

Category:1982 births

Category:Living people

Category:Artists from Montreal

Category:Canadian conceptual artists

Category:Women conceptual artists

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

Category:American University of Beirut alumni

Category:Canadian women engineers

Category:Canadian women company founders

Category:21st-century Canadian women artists

Category:Canadian activists

Category:Lebanese people of Syrian descent

Category:Canadian people of Syrian descent

Category:21st-century Syrian women

Category:Syrian engineers

Category:21st-century Syrian engineers

Category:21st-century Canadian women engineers

Category:Syrian women engineers