Nicholas Negroponte is the co-founder (with Jerome B. Wiesner) of the MIT Media Lab (1985), which he directed for its first 20 years. The Media Lab is an interdisciplinary creative playground rooted squarely in academic excellence, comprising dozens of research groups, initiatives, and centers working collaboratively on hundreds of projects. We focus not only on creating and commercializing transformational future technologies, but also on their potential to impact society for good.

A graduate of MIT, Negroponte was a pioneer in the field of computer-aided design and became a member of the MIT faculty in 1966. He gave the first TED talk in 1984, as well as 13 since. He is author of the 1995 best seller, Being Digital, which has been translated into more than 40 languages.

In 2005 he founded the nonprofit One Laptop per Child, which deployed $1 billion of laptops for primary education in the developing world.

One Laptop per Child, in service 2005 to 2014, provided software and electronic devices supporting education around the world.

In the private sector, Negroponte served on the board of directors of Motorola (for 15 years) and was general partner in a venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies for information and entertainment. He has personally provided start-up funds for more than 40 companies, including Zagat’s and Wired magazine.