{{short description|American technology executive|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Nathan Eagle | image = Eagle Davos 2013.jpg | image_upright = 1.7 | caption = Nathan Eagle delivering the closing plenary to the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1976|12|30}} | birth_place = California | occupation = Technology executive | alma_mater = Stanford and MIT | spouse = Beth Altringer<br/>Caroline Buckee, div. | website = }}
'''Nathan Eagle''' is an American technology executive. He is best known as the CEO and co-founder of Jana (formerly txteagle), a company that subsidizes mobile internet access in emerging markets.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Langkjaer-Bain|first=Robert|url=https://www.research-live.com/article/news/mobile-tech-firm-txteagle-becomes-jana/id/4006104|title=Mobile tech firm txteagle becomes Jana|date=2011-09-28|work=ResearchLive|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/business/2010/10/28/mobile-work|title=Mobile work: A way to earn money by texting|date=2010-10-28|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> He has also served as a professor at both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<ref name=Harvard>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/eagle-economics-prize/|title=HSPH's Nathan Eagle awarded prestigious economics prize|date=2012-06-19|work=Harvard School of Public Health|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref name=MIT>{{Cite web|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/people/nathan/overview/|title=Nathan Eagle at the MIT Media Lab|work=MIT|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref>
==Education== Eagle received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1999 before moving to Nepal to develop hydroelectric power generation technology as a Fulbright scholar.<ref name=Stanford /> Between 2001 and 2005 he received two master's degrees from Stanford in Electrical Engineering and Management Science and Engineering, and a PhD from MIT, pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to predict human behavior from mobile phone data.<ref name=MIT /><ref name=Nature />
==Career== ===Early Academic Work=== In his doctoral research, he gave 100 volunteers from the MIT community smartphones that logged their activity over the 2004–05 academic year, creating a dataset of more than 350,000 hours of communication, proximity, location and activity information.<ref name=RealityMining>{{Cite web|url=http://realitycommons.media.mit.edu/realitymining.html|title=Reality Mining|work=MIT Media Laboratory|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> According to Wired Magazine, “Eagle's algorithms were able to predict what people -- especially professors and Media Lab employees -- would do next and be right up to 85 percent of the time.”<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Singel|first=Ryan|url=https://www.wired.com/2005/07/when-cell-phones-become-oracles/|title=When Cell Phones Become Oracles|date=2005-07-25|magazine=Wired|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> This work illustrated how mobile phones can be used to collect accurate, large-scale data about real social interactions.<ref name=Nature>{{Cite news|last=Kwok|first=Roberta|url=https://www.nature.com/news/2009/090422/full/458959a.html|title=Personal technology: Phoning in data|date=2009-04-22|work=Nature|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> The data has been analyzed in hundreds of academic publications<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://crawdad.org/mit/reality/20050701/|title=Reality Mining downloads|access-date=2020-04-13}}</ref> and the research was named one of the "10 Technologies Most Likely To Change The Way We Live" by the MIT Technology Review.<ref name=TR10>{{Cite news|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2008/02/19/221854/the-10-emerging-technologies-of-2008/|title=The 10 Emerging Technologies of 2008|date=2008-02-19|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref>
As a research scientist at MIT and Fulbright Professor at the University of Nairobi in 2006, Eagle developed a mobile phone programming curriculum that has been adopted by twelve Sub-Saharan computer science departments, leading to hundreds of mobile applications.<ref name=EPROM>{{Cite web|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/ventures/EPROM/|title=Entrepreneurial Programming and Research on Mobiles|work=MIT|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref name=mogul />
As a postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute in 2010, he and Eric Horvitz launched an initiative called Artificial Intelligence for Development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ai-d.org|title=Artificial Intelligence for Development|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> This initiative led to a diverse set of projects ranging from computational models of food shortages to studies on the dynamics of slums.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hotz|first=Robert Lee|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704547604576263261679848814|title=The Really Smart Phone|date=2011-04-23|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref>
As an adjunct assistant professor at Harvard University in 2011, he formed the Engineering Social Systems group, with researchers in fields ranging from epidemiology and public health to statistical physics and urban planning, dedicated to the analysis of large scale data for social purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hsph.harvard.edu/ess|title=Harvard Engineering Social Systems group|work=Harvard University|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref>
Eagle has authored 8 patents and over 100 peer reviewed publications in journals including Science and Nature, accumulating more than 10,000 citations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GpfAZXIAAAAJ&hl=en|title=Nathan Eagle's Publications|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://patents.google.com/?inventor=nathan+eagle|title=Nathan Eagle's Patents|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> Eagle's book from MIT Press, ''Reality Mining: Using Big Data to Engineer a Better World'', won the 2015 American Publishers PROSE Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/contributors/nathan-eagle|title=Nathan Eagle at MIT Press|work=MIT Press|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://proseawards.com/winners/2015-award-winners/|title=2015 PROSE Awards|work=Association of American Publishers|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref>
===txteagle / Jana=== Based on his work while living in East Africa, Eagle co-founded txteagle with Benjamin Olding in 2009 from the conviction that “mobile phones not only provide a mechanism for global communication, they also allow for global compensation”.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/activate/interview-nathan-eagle-txteagle|title=Interview with Nathan Eagle, CEO, txteagle Inc|access-date=2020-04-29|work=The Guardian|date=7 April 2011 |language=en}}</ref> The service originally enabled people in emerging markets to earn small amounts of money by completing simple tasks for organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.<ref name=BBC>{{Cite news|last=Marwaha|first=Alka|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7881931.stm|title=New service is all in a day's SMS|work=BBC World Service|access-date=2020-04-29|date=2009-02-11|language=en}}</ref><ref name=IBTimes>{{Cite news|last=Caulderwood|first=Kathleen|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/cheap-phones-big-data-good-business-1567731|title=Cheap Phones, Big Data And Good Business|date=2014-04-04|work=The International Business Times|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref> These tasks expanded to include market research surveys for FMCG companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as the news organizations CNN and Al Jazeera.<ref name=NYTimes>{{Cite news|last=Vega|first=Tanzina|author-link=Tanzina Vega|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/media/eye-on-emerging-markets-firm-invests-in-start-up.html|title=Eye on Emerging Markets, Firm Invests in Start-Up|date=2013-07-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref> txteagle rebranded as “Jana” in 2011.<ref name=gigaom>{{Cite news|last=Roettgers|first=Janko|url=https://gigaom.com/2011/09/29/jana-txteagle-nathan-eagle/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001042056/http://gigaom.com/2011/09/29/jana-txteagle-nathan-eagle/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2011|title=Jana's quest to redistribute mobile wealth|date=2011-09-29|work=GigaOm|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref>
Eagle led Jana to profitability in 2015,<ref name=mogul>{{Cite news|last=Olson|first=Parmy|url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/cross-border/nathan-eagle-megabyte-mogul/41129/1|title=Nathan Eagle: Megabyte mogul|date=2015-09-25|work=Forbes|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> in large part due to partnerships with technology companies including Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Amazon.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://adexchanger.com/mobile/advertising-key-unlocking-emerging-markets/|title=Advertising Could Be The Key To Unlocking Emerging Markets|work=AdExchanger|date=2016-03-16|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-01|last=Schiff|first=Allison}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2015/07/29/jana-mobile-data-facebook-internet-org/#7b74316729a6|title=This App Is Cashing In On Giving The World Free Data|last=Olson|first=Parmy|work=Forbes|access-date=2016-12-01}}</ref> Eagle subsequently raised an additional $57 million round of funding led by Verizon, with Tim Armstrong joining the advisory board, expanding Jana's service to 90 countries though partnerships with 311 mobile operators.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2016/02/18/jana-nabs-57-million-and-aols-tim-armstrong-to-bring-free-internet-to-china/#52cc552c3fd8|title=Jana Nabs $57 Million And AOL's Tim Armstrong To Bring Free Internet To China|last=Konrad|first=Alex|work=Forbes|access-date=2020-04-29|date=2016-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/2/18/11587948/verizons-venture-arm-backs-mobile-startup-jana-aols-tim-armstrong|title=Verizon's Venture Arm Backs Mobile Startup Jana, AOL's Tim Armstrong Joins Advisory Board|last=Bergen|first=Mark|work=Recode|date=2016-02-18|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref name=Fortune>{{Cite news|last=Primack|first=Dan|url=https://fortune.com/2016/02/18/jana-mcent-verizon/|title=Jana Raises $57 Million to Bring Internet to Developing World|date=2016-02-18|work=Fortune|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> By 2017, Jana was regularly providing up to 70 megabytes of free data per day to 40 million people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40496157/this-company-brings-free-mobile-internet-to-40-million-people-globally|title=This Company Brings Free Mobile Internet To 40 Million People Globally|last=Peters|first=Adele|work=Fast Company|date=2017-11-21|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref name=WSJ>{{Cite news|last=Mims|first=Christopher|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/web-browsers-not-apps-are-internet-gatekeepers-for-the-next-billion-1489327204|title=Web Browsers, Not Apps, Are Internet Gatekeepers for the 'Next Billion'|date=2017-04-12|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref> By 2019, 75 million people had used Jana's products to gain affordable access to the internet.<ref name=MIT />
Eagle became a vocal advocate of net neutrality and Jana's social mission to provide unrestricted internet access for a billion people.<ref name=FT>{{Cite news|last=Kuchler|first=Hannah|url=https://www.ft.com/content/9f2066f6-4787-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b|title=Start-up trumps Facebook in connecting EM customers to internet|date=2015-08-24|work=The Financial Times|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Hindu>{{Cite news|last=Vijayakumar|first=Sanjay|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/jana-is-in-full-support-of-net-neutrality/article7181486.ece|title=Jana is in full support of net neutrality|date=2015-05-08|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref><ref name=TechCrunch>{{Cite web|last=Eagle|first=Nathan|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/01/how-to-make-the-internet-truly-free-in-developing-countries/|title=How To Make The Internet Free In Developing Countries|date=2015-06-01|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2020-04-29|language=en}}</ref> He often emphasized that if Jana succeeds in redirecting 30% of the $200 billion spent on advertising in the developing world into subsidies for mobile internet, that would be the equivalent of giving one billion people a 5% raise.<ref name=Atlantic>{{Cite news|last=Mims|first=Christopher|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/the-worlds-largest-payment-platform-can-reach-2-billion-people/263133/|title=The World's Largest Payment Platform Can Reach 2 Billion People|date=2012-10-02|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref name=IBTimes />
Eagle began to take an interest in the life sciences and joined the Longevity Fund as a Limited Partner in 2017. By 2019, after 12 years as CEO and raising nearly $100 million, Eagle stepped down from Jana to pursue entrepreneurial interests in synthetic biology and the biopharmaceutical industry full-time.<ref name=MIT />
==Awards and recognition== * 2014 - 2019: ''World Economic Forum'', Technology Pioneer<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/TP/WEF_TP_Brochure_2014.pdf|title=Technology Pioneers 2014|website=World Economic Forum|language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> * 2014: Ad Age, 40 under 40 Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/special-report-40-under-40/meet-ad-age-s-40-40/290948|title=Ad Age's 40 under 40|website=Ad Age|date=20 January 2014 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> * 2012: Kiel Institute, Global Economy Prize<ref name=Harvard /> * 2012: Wired Magazine, The 50 People Who Will Change the World<ref name=SantaFe>{{Cite web|url=https://www.santafe.edu/news-center/news/krakauer-eagle-wired-top-50|title=Krakauer, Eagle among Wired's '50 people who will change the world'|website=The Santa Fe Institute|date=3 February 2012 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref> * 2012: Market Research Society, President's Medal<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mrs.org.uk/awards/past-winners|title=Past Winners of the President's Medal|website=Market Research Society|language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> * 2009: ''MIT Technology Review'', 35 Innovators Under 35<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=802|title=Nathan Eagle|website=MIT Technology Review|language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> * 1999: ''Stanford Technology Ventures Program'', Mayfield Fellow<ref name=Stanford>{{Cite web|url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/ready-for-takeoff|title=Ready for Takeoff|website=Stanford Magazine|last=Strauss|first=Robert|date=January 2000 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.media.mit.edu/people/natecow/overview/ Nathan Eagle] at the MIT Media Laboratory * [https://www.weforum.org/people/nathan-eagle Nathan Eagle] at the World Economic Forum
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eagle, Nathan}} Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:American technology company founders