{{short description|German inventor and entrepreneur (born 1995)}} {{Infobox person | name = Catalin Voss | spouse = | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1995}} | birth_place = Heidelberg, Germany | known_for = Inventor, Founder | occupation = Entrepreneur; co-founder & CTO of Ello Technology, Inc. | education = Stanford University | website = }}
'''Catalin Voss''' is a German-born inventor and entrepreneur. Voss is considered a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning for societal impact in areas such as childhood literacy, Autism, financial inclusion in emerging economies, and the criminal justice system.<ref name="Schwartz">{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Saira Hussain, Cara Gagliano, and Adam |date=2020-08-11 |title=Victory! Court Orders CA Prisons to Release Race of Parole Candidates |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/08/victory-court-orders-ca-prisons-release-race-parole-candidates |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Metz">{{Cite news |last=Metz |first=Cade |date=2019-07-17 |title=Google Glass May Have an Afterlife as a Device to Teach Autistic Children |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/17/technology/google-glass-device-treat-autism.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Checking your browser">{{Cite web |title=Checking your browser |url=https://www.f6s.com/company/dukaconnect#about |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.f6s.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Forristal">{{Cite web |last=Forristal |first=Lauren |date=2023-09-07 |title=AI reading coach startup Ello raises $15M to bolster child literacy |url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/07/ai-reading-coach-startup-ello-raises-15-million-to-bolster-child-literacy/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>
He is currently the co-founder and CTO of Ello, an AI-powered reading tutor for children.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.ello.com/about |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.ello.com |language=en}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Catalin Voss was born in Heidelberg, Germany.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Catalin Voss {{!}} Lemelson |url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/award-winners/catalin-voss |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=lemelson.mit.edu}}</ref> At the age of 12, when the Apple iPhone was released for the first time, Voss taught himself iOS development<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=Ross |date=2021-10-08 |title=Catalin Voss: Founder of Ello and Silicon Valley Social Entrepreneur |url=https://rosspalmer.com/catalin-voss/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Ross Palmer |language=en-US}}</ref> and launched a podcast and online tutorials about iPhone app development which attracted over 200,000 viewers.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Tanner |first=Adam |date=2017-06-14 |title=19-Year-Old Teaching Your Laptop to Pick Up Your Feelings |url=https://psmag.com/environment/19-year-old-teaching-laptop-pick-feelings-93792 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Pacific Standard |language=en}}</ref> At age 15, Voss caught the attention of Steve Capps, one of the creators of the original Apple Macintosh, who offered him an internship working on mobile app development at PayNearMe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Epicenter: Story - Changing the Way We Use Technology |url=http://epicenter.stanford.edu/story/catalin-voss-stanford-university.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=epicenter.stanford.edu}}</ref> With Capps, he helped to design, develop, and co-launch the mobile payment platform, and was kept on by CEO Danny Shader as a software engineer.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Voss graduated with honors from Stanford University in 2016 with a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science and a specialization in Artificial Intelligence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stanford 125 |date=2016-07-28 |title=Scaling autism's walls: Catalin Voss |url=https://125.stanford.edu/scaling-autisms-walls/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Stanford 125 |language=en}}</ref> Voss enrolled in Stanford’s PhD program in Artificial Intelligence, but has been on leave since 2020 to co-found Ello.<ref name=":0"/>
== Sension == While still an undergraduate student at Stanford, Voss founded Sension, a computer vision startup.<ref name=":0a">{{Cite web |date=2013-10-01 |title=Voss '16 respected in Silicon Valley, founded Sension startup |url=https://stanforddaily.com/2013/10/01/voss-16-respected-in-silicon-valley-founded-sension-startup/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> Sension developed advanced facial motion capture technology that could be used for a variety of applications from driver monitoring systems to educational analytics, but the original purpose of the technology was to track student engagement during online courses.<ref name=":4" /> Voss served as CEO of Sension and led the development of the company's core technology.<ref name=":0a" /> In 2015, Sension was acquired by GAIA Systems Solutions, a Toyota-affiliated company, for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{Cite web |title=(GAIA Systems Solutions Inc. Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 November 2015.) |url=http://www.gaiaweb.co.jp/en/outline/}}</ref>
== Autism Glass == While working on the facial recognition technology for Sension, Voss realized that emerging technology–which could identify emotions–would be helpful for his Autistic cousin.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-23 |title=Google Glass lives on as a device to teach autistic children {{!}} Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute |url=https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/google-glass-lives-device-teach-autistic-children |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=neuroscience.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref> Voss shared with the NY Times how his cousin used to practice making facial expressions in the mirror to learn to recognize emotions<ref name="Metz"/> With Terry Winograd and Dennis Wall, Voss founded the Autism Glass Project to develop a wearable AI system that could provide real-time social cues to children with ASD.<ref>{{Cite web |last=University |first=Stanford |title=Autism Glass Project |url=https://autismglass.stanford.edu/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=autismglass.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref> The system used machine learning algorithms to analyze facial expressions and provide visual and auditory feedback to the wearer through a heads-up display.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Metz |first=Cade |title=Clinical Trial Will Test if Google Glass Can Help Kids with Autism |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/google-glass-autism-clinical-trial/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Children would wear Google Glasses which would provide information to the wearer about the emotions expressed by people around them.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=Associated Press |date=2016-06-23 |title=Google Glass could change the way autistic kids read faces |url=https://nypost.com/2016/06/23/google-glass-could-change-the-way-autistic-kids-read-faces/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2016, Voss and his team published a paper at the IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) describing their approach, which won the best paper award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wall Lab {{!}} Congratulations to Autism Google Glass team for Best Poster award |url=https://wall-lab.stanford.edu/2016/04/13/congratulations-to-autism-google-glass-team-for-best-poster-award/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=wall-lab.stanford.edu}}</ref> Over the next several years, the Autism Glass system was evaluated in a series of clinical trials at Stanford Medical School which found that children who used the device showed significant improvements in their social skills and ability to recognize emotions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=digitale@stanford.edu |first=<img src='https://med stanford edu/news/media-contacts/erin_digitale/_jcr_content/image img 620 high jpg/digitale-erin-90 jpg' alt='Erin Digitale'> Erin Digitale Erin Digitale is a senior science writer in the Office of Communications Email her at |date=2017-05-08 |title=Google Glass helps kids with autism read facial expressions |url=http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/08/google-glass-helps-kids-with-autism-read-facial-expressions.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=News Center |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, the intellectual property for the Autism Glass system was licensed to Cognoa, a pediatric behavioral health company.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-10 |title=Stanford Medicine licenses Google Glass-based autism tech to Cognoa |url=https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/stanford-medicine-licenses-google-glass-based-autism-tech-cognoa |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=MobiHealthNews |language=en}}</ref>
== DukaConnect == In 2017, Voss co-founded DukaConnect, a Nairobi-based startup that developed a low-cost, computer vision-based point of sale system for small retailers in Kenya which used a smartphone camera to automatically recognize products and record sales, eliminating the need for barcode scanners.<ref name="Checking your browser"/> DukaConnect’s mission was to harness the power of technology to help small business owners in Kenya focus on what matters to grow their businesses sustainably.<ref>{{Cite web |title=x.com |url=https://x.com/dukaconnect |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=X (formerly Twitter)}}</ref> In 2018, Mastercard acquired DukaConnect for an undisclosed amount and integrated the technology into its Lab for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-02 |title=Mastercard: Diligent About Digital In Africa |url=https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2019/09/02/mastercard-diligent-about-digital-in-africa/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.forbesafrica.com |language=en}}</ref>
== Project Recon == As a PhD student at Stanford, Voss co-led a project called "Project Recon" that used natural language processing to analyze racial disparities in parole hearing transcripts in California.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-03 |title=Is Natural Language Processing Ready to Take on Legal Hearings? |url=https://hai.stanford.edu/news/natural-language-processing-ready-take-legal-hearings |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=hai.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref> Voss and his team collected and analyzed over 35,000 parole hearing transcripts from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE RECON APPROACH: A NEW DIRECTION FOR MACHINE LEARNING IN CRIMINAL LAW |url=https://btlj.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/0004-36-2-Bell.pdf}}</ref> When the CDCR refused to release certain data on inmate race and attorney representation, citing privacy concerns, Voss and his team sued the CDRC to gain access to the data.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-10 |title=Petition - Voss v. CDCR |url=https://www.eff.org/document/petition-voss-v-cdcr |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, a California Superior Court judge ruled in Voss's favor, ordering the CDCR to release the requested data.<ref name="Schwartz"/>
== Ello == In 2020, Voss co-founded (with Tom Sayer and Elizabeth Adams) Ello, an AI-powered reading tutor for children, and currently serves as its CTO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://pr.timesofsandiego.com/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Press Releases for Readers of Times of San Diego}}</ref> Ello's stated mission is to maximize the potential of every child by providing access to high-quality, personalized reading instruction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ello |url=https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/ello |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Y Combinator's Work at a Startup |language=en}}</ref> In the summer of 2023, Ello raised a $15.5 million Series A funding round, led by Project A and Goodwater Capital; other funders include Netflix founder Reed Hastings, Ravensburger, and Y Combinator.<ref name="Forristal"/> In the fall of 2023, Ello was named one of the top 10 AI products for ethical and responsible AI practices by Common Sense Media.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=eSchool News |date=2023-11-27 |title=Ello, World’s Most Advanced AI Reading Coach Recognized by Common Sense Media as Top AI Tool |url=https://www.eschoolnews.com/newsline/2023/11/27/ello-worlds-most-advanced-ai-reading-coach-recognized-by-common-sense-media-as-top-ai-tool/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=eSchool News |language=en-US}}</ref> In January 2024, Ello released an all-digital version of the product, which includes a library of over 700 decodable books which align with the Science of Reading.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Ello is using AI to write hundreds of e-books to help kids learn to read|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91014953/ello-is-using-ai-to-write-hundreds-of-e-books-to-help-kids-learn-to-read}}</ref> Dr. Tim Shanahan, literacy expert from the University of Illinois at Chicago, joined Ello as an advisor as this shift occurred.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-23 |title=Ello Leverages GenAI to Launch the Largest Catalog of Science of Reading Aligned E-Books |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ello-leverages-genai-launch-largest-131500632.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Ello's core technology is a speech recognition model, trained on over 130,000 hours of child speech, that analyzes children's speech in real-time.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Ello is using AI to write hundreds of e-books to help kids learn to read |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91014953/ello-is-using-ai-to-write-hundreds-of-e-books-to-help-kids-learn-to-read}}</ref>
== Personal life == Voss lives in San Francisco with his fiancee, Ruby.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top San Francisco Bay Area, CA Kids + Family Companies 2024 {{!}} Built In San Francisco |url=https://www.builtinsf.com/companies/type/kids-family-companies |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.builtinsf.com}}</ref>
== List of awards ==
* 2019 Google PhD Fellowship<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcement of the 2019 Fellowship Awardees and Highlights from the Google PhD |url=http://research.google/blog/announcement-of-the-2019-fellowship-awardees-and-highlights-from-the-google-phd-fellowship-summit/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=research.google |language=en}}</ref> * 2016 Lemelson-MIT Graduate Student Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title= Voss Fact Sheet |url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2020-09/Voss_Fact_Sheet_0.pdf}}</ref> * 2016 Stanford Kennedy Thesis Prize for Best Honors Thesis in Engineering and Applied Sciences<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stanford seniors’ thesis projects garner university medals |url=https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2016/07/stanford-seniors-thesis-projects-garner-university-medals |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=news.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref> * 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 (youngest listed, at age 20)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catalin Voss |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/catalin-voss/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> * 2014 Business Insider 40 under 40<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Melissa Stanger, Melia |title=40 Under 40: People To Watch In 2015 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/business-insider-40-under-40-people-to-watch-2014-11 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Patents ==
* {{Cite patent|number=US10835167B2|title=Systems and methods for using mobile and wearable video capture and feedback plat-forms for therapy of mental disorders|gdate=2020-11-17|invent1=Voss|invent2=HABER|invent3=Wall|invent4=Kline|inventor1-first=Catalin|inventor2-first=Nicholas Joseph|inventor3-first=Dennis Paul|inventor4-first=Aaron Scott|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US10835167B2/en?inventor=catalin+voss&oq=catalin+voss&peid=61a13541c5e30:292:5f20337e}} * {{Cite patent|number=US20240071185A1|title=Mobile device platform for automated visual retail product recognition|gdate=2024-02-29|invent1=Voss|inventor1-first=Catalin|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240071185A1/en?inventor=catalin+voss&oq=catalin+voss}} * {{Cite patent|number=US9626701B2|title=System and method for facilitating cash payment transactions using a mobile device|gdate=2017-04-18|invent1=Capps|invent2=Minor|invent3=Voss|inventor1-first=Stephen P.|inventor2-first=John Paul|inventor3-first=Catalin|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US9626701B2/en?inventor=catalin+voss&oq=catalin+voss&peid=61a135575b858:299:1556cd13}} * {{Cite patent|number=US9892315B2|title=Systems and methods for detection of behavior correlated with outside distractions in examinations|gdate=2018-02-13|invent1=Voss|invent2=HABER|inventor1-first=Catalin|inventor2-first=Nicholas Joseph|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US9892315B2/en?inventor=catalin+voss&oq=catalin+voss}} * {{Cite patent|number=WO2022140166A1|title=Systems and methods for speech validation|gdate=2022-06-30|invent1=VOSS|invent2=SAYER|invent3=Nag|inventor1-first=Catalin|inventor2-first=Thomas Robert|inventor3-first=Anish|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2022140166A1/en?inventor=catalin+voss&oq=catalin+voss&peid=61a1356d7bd40:2bf:af39871f}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Catalin}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century German inventors Category:Businesspeople from Heidelberg Category:Stanford University alumni Category:German people of Romanian descent Category:1995 births Category:German women inventors