Samir Arora

Samir Arora was born in New Delhi, India to a family of Punjabi descent. He studied electrical and electronic engineering at Birla Institute of Technology and Science.{{cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article4186873.ece |first=Andrew |last=Davidson |title=Glam.com Samir Arora boss is in the pink |work=Times Online |publisher=Times Newspapers Ltd. |accessdate=June 23, 2008 |location=London |date=June 22, 2008 |url-status=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612062822/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article4186873.ece |archivedate=June 12, 2011 }} Arora has an EMP from INSEAD, attended Executive Education at Harvard Business School, and holds a diploma in Sales and Marketing from the London Business School.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vnunet.com/crn/features/2010314/face-face-net-luminary |title=FACE TO FACE - NET LUMINARY - vnunet.com |date=2007-09-30 |access-date=2016-06-13 |url-status=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930195506/http://www.vnunet.com/crn/features/2010314/face-face-net-luminary |archivedate=September 30, 2007 }}

Samir Arora worked at Apple in Software and New Media from 1982 to 1991. Arora wrote a white paper called "Information Navigation: The Future of Computing" in late 1986 while working directly for the chairman and CEO of Apple,.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lat8AQAAQBAJ|title=Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000. Page 53|last=Menuez|first=Doug|date=2014-06-03|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781476752730|language=en}} He left Apple to found the spin-off Rae Technology from Apple.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%2522rae%2520technology%2522&pg=PA22|title=InfoWorld|date=1994-01-17|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjsEAAAAMBAJ|title=InfoWorld|date=1993-02-22|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|language=en}}

From 1992 to 1995, Arora was chairman and chief executive officer of Rae Technology. In 1995 Samir Arora co-founded NetObjects, Inc. and together with a design and development team including David Kleinberg, Clement Mok and his brother, Sal Arora, created NetObjects Fusion, one of the first Web design products that allowed Web sites to be designed, structured and created without programming.{{cite web

| url = http://idsa.org/whatis/seewhat/idea98/winners/netobjects.htm

| title = Gold Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) Winners 1995–1999

| publisher = Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)

| accessdate = June 27, 2008

| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/19980519051330/http://idsa.org/whatis/seewhat/idea98/winners/netobjects.htm

| archivedate = 1998-05-19

}}

In 1997, after the launch of NetObjects Fusion, IBM invested approximately $100 million in a share exchange to buy 80% of NetObjects, corresponding to a valuation of around $150 million.{{cite news

| url = http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1997/05/19/smallb4.html

| first = I. Satya

| last = Sreenivas

| title = NetObjects chooses Big Blue fusion

| work = Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

| accessdate = 2008-03-05

| date=May 18, 1997

}} NetObjects, Inc. went public on NASDAQ in 1999 with IBM staying the majority shareholder.{{cite web | url = https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1009386/0001047469-99-003575.txt | title = February 5, 1999 Form S-1 Filing | publisher = SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | accessdate = June 23, 2008}} From June 2003 to February 2004, Arora served as chairman of the board of Tickle, Inc.,{{cite web | url = http://www.advfn.com/news_Emode-Names-Samir-Arora-Chairman-of-the-Board-Enters-Media-Metrix-Top-50_6672268.html | title = Emode Names Samir Arora Chairman of the Board, Enters Media Metrix Top 50 | publisher = ADVFN PLC. | accessdate = February 28, 2008}} one of the first social networking sites founded in 1999, and helped create a joint venture with Masayoshi Son at Softbank in Japan.{{cite web | url = http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/11/14/HNringo_1.html | title = Social networking site Emode tickles Ringo | author = Juan Carlos Perez | publisher = Infoworld | accessdate = February 28, 2008 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070808080002/http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/11/14/HNringo_1.html | archivedate = August 8, 2007 }} Tickle was acquired by Monster.com in May 2004.

In 2003, Mode Media (formerly Project Y and then Glam Media), Inc. was formed by a number of people including Arora.{{Cite web | url = http://corp.mode.com/leadership/ | title = Leadership - Mode Media | publisher = Mode Media | accessdate = June 24, 2016 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160617000212/http://corp.mode.com/leadership | archivedate = June 17, 2016 }} Arora was the interim CEO of Glam Media from 2003 to 2005, and CEO from 2006 to 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/04/samir-arora-leaves-mode-media/|title=Samir Arora is stepping down as CEO of Mode Media | last=Ha | first=Anthony | website=TechCrunch |date=4 April 2016 | access-date=2016-06-13}} For his work at Mode Media, Arora was included by MIN Magazine in the Digital Hot List 2008{{cite web| url = http://www.minonline.com/features/9127.html| title = min magazine 2008 The Digital Hot List: Samir Arora| work = min Online | publisher = Access Intelligence, LLC| accessdate = November 23, 2008}} and was named Web 2.0's Don Draper as one of the 30 men shaping our digital future by GQ Magazine {{cite web | url = http://www.gqindia.com/promotions/Digitalindians | title = Digital Top 30 | work = GQ Magazine| accessdate =}} In June 2017, a year and a half after the departure of Samir Arora and Marc Andreessen, Mode Media U.S. was acquired, and in 2022 became a part of Static Networks. {{cite news |last=Gage |first=Deborah |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/billion-dollar-valued-mode-media-shuts-down-1473970070 |title=Billion Dollar-Valued Mode Media Shuts Down |work=Wall Street Journal |date=2016-09-15 |accessdate=2016-09-16 }}{{cite news |last=Ha |first=Anthony |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/18/brideclick-acquires-mode-media/ |title=BrideClick acquires Mode Media |work=TechCrunch}} Mode Media continued its operations in International and in January, 2017 an investment group Montaro purchased Mode Media in Japan. In March, 2017 shareholders appointed Samir Arora as the executive chairman of Mode Media in Japan.{{cite news |last=Ha |first=Anthony |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/21/mode-media-japan-samir-arora |title=Mode Media Japan lives on, with founder Samir Arora as chairman |work=TechCrunch}}{{cite news |last=Zerega |first=Blaise |url=https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/29/mode-media-an-ipo-that-never-happened-and-a-company-that-wont-die/ |title=Mode Media: An IPO that never happened and a company that won't die |work=Venturebeat}}

In April 2016, Samir Arora founded Sage Digital AI, a new AI verified experts platform startup and currently operates as its chairman. Sage began with 100 manually curated experts and has grown to 1M experts and influencers and 6 million businesses, with data ingestion that powered the early Sage AI Agents for Brands.{{cite news |last=Ha |first=Anthony |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/07/samir-arora-sage-digital/ |title=Samir Arora unveils Sage Digital, a startup that is all about accurate location data |work=TechCrunch}}{{cite news |last=Jarvis |first=Jeff |url=https://buzzmachine.com/2020/01/21/the-next-net-expertise/ |title=The Next Net Expertise |work=BuzzMachine}} In July 2023, Samir created SageAssist AI, a vertical generative AI company.

In September 2021, Samir Arora founded Kyro Digital, one of the first Web 3.0 AI application—enablement platform. Kyro added Peter Leeb, Darshana Munde, Liz Thompson, Arfat Allarakha and Muoi Lam as co-founders and venture funds Drive Capital, Decasonic, Fenbushi Capital, Information Capital, LLC, Signum Capital, UOB Venture Management, Woodside Incubator and the web 3.0 companies Avalanche (Blizzard), Polygon, Rally, Tezos and Kadena and Brad Koenig as investors.{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Erron |url=https://venturebeat.com/2022/02/10/kyro-raises-10m-for-next-gen-crypto-marketplace-platform/ |title=Kyro raises $10M for next-gen crypto marketplace platform |work=VentureBeat}}

In July 2023, Samir founded Kanza AI, a generative AI Domain LM company, and serves as its Founder and CEO.

For his early work on the internet and web sites, Samir has been granted 18 US patents, including the first web site structure editor and HTML page layout editor [https://patents.google.com/?inventor=samir+arora&oq=samir+arora Patents] {{cite patent |country=US |number=5911145 |status=patent}} {{cite patent |country=US |number=5845299 |status=patent}}

Since February 2004, Arora has been the Chairman of International Zen Therapy Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Honolulu, that was founded by Dub Leigh with Daihonzan Chozen-ji and currently serves as its President and is the Shike of IZII and Zentherapy and Sōke, Founder of Yūdō as a lay Rinzai Rōshi, a successor in the Daihonzan Chozen-ji lineage of Dub Leigh and Tenshin Tanouye under the Tenryū-ji lineage of Ōmori Sōgen{{Cite web |url=https://hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents/business.html?fileNumber=92712D2 |title=Non Profit Registration, DCCA BREG}}{{Cite web |url=https://zentherapy.org/html/about.html |title= About IZII, International ZenTherapy Institute }}

In July 2020, Arora with Marcus Samuelsson, Derek Evens, and Brad Koenig created Project Bento Fund, a California nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation to provides urgent support to restaurants, local, minority-owned, women-led and BIPIOC businesses and their employees most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic, racial and social crisis.{{cite news |last=McCafferty |first=Hugo |url=https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/marcus-samuelsson-project-bento |title=Chef Samuelsson's Project Bento - a New Platform for Food Non-Profits}}

Arora was editor and publisher of the annual awards and book Foodie Top 100 Restaurants with contributing top food critics Patricia Wells, Ruth Reichl, Gael Greene, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Jonathan Gold, Bruno Verjus, Alexander Lobrano, Charles Campion, Vir Sanghvi, Aun Koh, Susumu Ohta, Kundo Koyama, Yuki Yamamura, Karen Brooks, Phil Vettel, Marie-Claude Lortie, Erika Lenkert and Diane Tapscott {{cite book| publisher= Chronicle Books| title= Foodie Top 100 Restaurants | date= 13 August 2013| isbn= 978-1452127910 }}{{cite news |url=https://atodmagazine.com/2016/02/02/foodie-top-100-restaurants/ |title=Foodie Top 100 Restaurants 2016 Awards}}

• Doug Menuez: Fearless Genius. The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985−2000. Atria Books, New York 2014. P. 150−167.

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Category:1965 births

Category:Internet pioneers

Category:Apple Inc. employees

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Category:Living people

Category:American software engineers

Category:INSEAD alumni

Category:Alumni of London Business School

Category:Harvard Business School alumni

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Category:Indian emigrants to the United States

Category:American people of Punjabi descent

Category:American people of Indian descent