Personal

Born, February 12, 1948
Married to Sonya R. Kurzweil

Contact Information

Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
PMB 193
733 Turnpike Street
North Andover, MA 01845
USA
781-263-0000
Fax: 781-263-9999
E-mail: ray@kurzweiltech.com
Web: KurzweilTech.com and KurzweilAI.net

Education

1970

B.S., Computer Science and Literature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Companies Founded

2005

President, Kurzweil Capital Partners, LLC.

2005

Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc.

K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. developed and introduced the first pocket-sized print-to-speech reading machine for the blind (the K-NFB Reader Mobile).

2003

Co-Founder, Chairman and co-CEO, Ray & Terry’s Longevity Products, Inc.

Ray & Terry’s Longevity Products develops and markets leading nutraceutical health products that combine excellent taste with outstanding nutritional qualities. The food products are not just fortified with nutritional supplements, they are comprised entirely of health-promoting nutritional supplements. The company also develops and markets nutritional supplements.

2001

Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, KurzweilAI.net

KurzweilAI.net is the “home of the big thinkers,” with over about 1,000 articles by over 100 authors on the future of technology and its impact on society. It features “Ramona,” a lifelike avatar with conversational abilities based on natural language processing technology. KurzweilAI.net is a leading resource on the web for advanced technologies, with more than one million readers and a daily electronic newsletter.

2000

Founder, Chairman and CEO, Kurzweil Cyber Art Technologies, Inc. (“KCAT”) (www.KurzweilCyberArt.com)

KCAT “creates software that creates art.” KCAT products include “Ray Kurzweil’s Cybernetic Poet” and “AARON the Cybernetic Artist,” developed by Harold Cohen.

Developing Ray Kurzweil’s Fractal Artist, an intelligent interactive art creation program.

1999

Founder, Chairman and CEO, FAT KAT, Inc.

FAT KAT: Financial Accelerating Transactions from Kurzweil Adaptive Technologies. FAT KAT is developing intelligent systems based on applying pattern recognition-based algorithms to make stock-market transaction decisions.

1996

Founder and former CEO, Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. (“KESI”)

Kurzweil Education develops and markets educational software products. KESI has developed a new generation of reading technology software for persons with reading disabilities, ADHD, low vision, and visual impairment. Its two product lines – the Kurzweil 3000 and Kurzweil 1000 – are the lead products in their product categories. The Kurzweil 3000 has been adopted by thousands of schools in the United States and other countries.

1995

Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kurzweil Technologies, Inc. (“KTI”).

KTI is a software development firm, currently supporting KurzweilAI.net, KCAT, and FAT KAT.

KTI is developing a hand held reading system for the blind in a joint effort with the National Federation of the Blind.

KTI has provided assistance to clients on the assessment, development and disposition of patents, technology assets and software technologies. KTI clients have included:

• United Therapeutics, Inc.
• The American Board of Family Practice
• Wang Laboratories, Inc. Creditors Committee
• Wang Laboratories, Inc.
• Kendall Square Research, Inc. Creditors Committee
• DSP Associates
• TechOnline

1982

Founder and former CEO, Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. (“KAI”).

KAI developed the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech-recognition technology. The company continues as part of ScanSoft (formerly Kurzweil Computer Products, Inc.).

1982

Founder and former CEO, Kurzweil Music Systems, Inc.

Sold to Young Chang Akki Co., Ltd. In 1990 (now Kurzweil Music Systems division of Young Chang Akki Co., Ltd.), now part of Hyundai.

Kurzweil Music Systems products continue as a leading brand of musical instruments for both professional and amateur musicians, distributed in 45 countries worldwide.

1974

Founder and former CEO, Kurzweil Computer Products, Inc.

Sold to Xerox Corporation in 1980, now Nuance (a public company with a $2 billion market cap).

Kurzweil Computer Products (now ScanSoft) was the worldwide market leader in reading machines for the Blind through 1996 and continues today as a leader in scanning and character recognition technology and products. The current market leader in reading machines for the blind and persons with learning disabilities is Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc.

The Kurzweil OCR (optical character recognition) software is now called TextBridge, a worldwide market leader in OCR. This software has been in continuous development for 29 years.

Technology Firsts

2006

First pocket-sized print-to-speech reading machine for the blind (the Kurzweil – National Federation of the Blind Reader)

2001

First “host/hostess” avatar on the Web to combine a lifelike, photorealistic, moving and speaking facial image with a conversational engine

2001

First Virtual Performing and Recording Artist (Ramona) to perform in front of a live audience with a live band

1997

First Print-to-Speech Reading System for Persons with Reading Disabilities that Reads from a Displayed Image of the Page (Kurzweil 3000)

1997

First Continuous Speech Natural Language Command and Control Software (Kurzweil VoiceCommands)

1994

First Speech Recognition Dictation System for Windows (Kurzweil Voice for Windows)

1987

First commercially marketed Large Vocabulary Speech Recognition (Kurzweil Voice Report)

1985

First Knowledge Base System for Creating Medical Reports (Kurzweil VoiceMED)

1984

First Computer Music Keyboard capable of accurately reproducing the sounds of the grand piano and other orchestral instruments (Kurzweil 250)

1976

First Omni-Font (any type font) Optical Character Recognition (Kurzweil OCR, now Xerox TextBridge)

1976

First Print-to-Speech Reading Machine for the Blind (Kurzweil Reading Machine). The Kurzweil Reading Machine is considered to be the world’s first consumer product to successfully incorporate artificial intelligence technology.

1975

First CCD Flatbed Scanner

1975

First Text-to-Speech speech synthesis

1967

First computer-based Expert System for College Selection (SELECT). SELECT was sold to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York)

1964

Developed computer-based expert system for music composition; won seven national awards including first prize in the International Science Fair in Electronics & Communications. Honored at award ceremony with President Johnson recognizing achievements of young American scientists.

1964

First computerized Four-Way Analysis of Variance (statistical program). Distributed by IBM for IBM 1620 computers.

Selected Accomplishments of Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.

• Advisors/Mentors to:
  • United Therapeutics: (public) pharmaceutical company
  • Stem Cell Products, LLC
  • Inforte: e-business consulting
  • Zyvex: nanotechnology
  • New Hope Pharmaceuticals: cancer and disease assays
  • SSB Technologies: enabling web technology for disabilities
  • Integrated Fuel Cell Technologies: microscopic fuel cells using MEMS
  • Biophan Technologies: pacemakers that allow MRI
  • TechOnline: online education and training for engineers
• Software Development of Patient Simulation System for The American Board of Family Practice
• Advisor to TechOnline, a leading online educational site for engineers
• Arranged the sale of the assets of The International Conference on Signal Processing Applications and Technology and DSP World EXPO to Miller Freeman Co., Inc.
• Arranged the sale of the patent assets (as court appointed exclusive agent) of Kendall Square Research, Inc. to Sun Microsystems, Inc.
• Arranged the license of technology assets (as court appointed exclusive agent) of Kendall Square Research, Inc. to Dolphin Systems, Inc.
• The principal technology advisor to Wang Laboratories, Inc. in the negotiation of its Strategic Alliance Agreement with Microsoft Corp.
• The principal technology advisor to the Creditors Committee for Wang Laboratories, Inc. in the formulation of its plan of reorganization confirmed in September, 1993.

Public Company Board Positions

• United Therapeutics (2002 – present)
• Seegrid Corporation (2003 – present)
• Inforte (1999 – 2007)
• Medical Manager Corporation (1997 – 2000)
• Wang Laboratories, Inc. (October 1993-1999, when company was sold to Getronics)
  Chairman, Strategy and Technology Committee, Board of Directors (October 1993 – 1998)
• Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. (1982 until its sale in 1997)

Social and Professional Organizations

• Chancellor, The Singularity University
• Trustee, MIT Corporation
• Chairman and founder, The Kurzweil FoundationThe Kurzweil Foundation supports the application of technology for the handicapped and projects to advance public understanding of the social impact of new technology. A current project is to provide scholarships to blind students (over 250 given out).
• Trustee, Beth Israel Hospital
• Director, Massachusetts Computer Software Council
• Former Director, Boston Computer Society
• Incorporator, Boston Museum of Science
• Former Member, MIT Corporation Visiting Committee, MIT School of Humanities and School of Music
• Former Overseer, Board of Overseers, New England Conservatory of Music
• Former Member, Technology Advisory Committee, National Center on Adult Literacy, University of Pennsylvania
• Chairman, “Robots and Beyond: The Age of Intelligent Machines” (Exhibition on Artificial Intelligence presented at eight leading science museums), 1987-1990.

Journalism

• “The Futurecast,” A monthly column in Library Journal (1991 – 1993)
• KurzweilAI.net: a leading web site for advanced technologies, providing about 1,000 articles and a daily electronic newsletter.

Honorary Degrees

2009

Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Babson College

2009

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Clarkson University

2008

Honorary Doctorate of Science, McGill University

2007

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Pennsylvania College of Optometry

2007

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Bloomfield College

2006

Honorary Doctorate of Science, DePaul University

2005

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

2002

Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Landmark College

2000

Honorary Doctorate in Science and Humanities, Michigan State University

1993

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Dominican College

1991

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Queens College, City University of New York

1990

Honorary Doctorate of Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology

1989

Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Misericordia College

1989

Honorary Doctorate of Engineering, Merrimack College

1988

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

1988

Honorary Doctorate of Science, Northeastern University

1987

Honorary Doctorate of Music, Berklee College of Music

1982

Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Hofstra University

Selected Awards and Honors

2009

Leonardo Da Vinci Medallion of Honor, Leonard Davinci Society

2009

Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award

2008

Forum Nokia Americas Tech Showcase Regional Award in recognition of the kReader Mobile.

2008

Inducted into the AES Technology Hall of Fame

2008

American Creativity Association Lifetime Achievement Award

2007

Chicago Lighthouse Centennial Award

2007

National Federation of the Blind Newell Perry Award

2006

Tech Museum Award in recognition of the Kurzweil – National Federation of the Blind Reader

2006

IEEE Alfred N. Goldsmith Award for Distinguished Contributions to Engineering Communication

2006

Inducted into the Electronic Design Hall of Fame

2005

Inducted into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame

2005

Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award, for research in the field of bioterrorism

2002

Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, founded by the U.S. Patent Office

2001

Platinum Album from the Canadian Recording Industry Association for contribution to the album “Spiritual Machines” by Our Lady Peace

2001

Second Annual American Composers Orchestra Award for the Advancement of New Music in America.

2000

Lemelson-MIT Prize. This $500,000 award is the largest in the U.S. in invention and innovation

1999

National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor in technology, to be presented by President Clinton in a White House Ceremony on March 14, 2000

1998

Stevie Wonder / SAP “Vision Award” for Product of the Year (for the Kurzweil 1000), a $150,000 prize (being used by the Kurzweil Foundation to provide scholarships to blind students)

1997

President’s Award, AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability)

1996

Software Industry Achievement Award, Massachusetts Software Council

1995

Access Prize, American Foundation for the Blind

1994

Dickson Prize, Carnegie Mellon University’s top science prize

1994

Gordon Winston Award, Canadian National Institute for the Blind

1993

ACM Fellow Award, Association for Computing Machinery

1992

Massachusetts Quincentennial Award for Innovation and Discovery

1991

Louis Braille Award, Associated Services for the Blind

1990

Engineer of the Year Award, awarded by Design News magazine

1989

Founders Award, awarded by MIT to leading alumni entrepreneurs

1988

Inventor of the Year Award, awarded by MIT, the Boston Museum of Science and Boston Patent Law Association

1986

Honorary Chairman for Innovation, White House Conference on Small Business

1986

The 1986 White House Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, President Reagan

1986

Distinguished Inventor Award, Intellectual Property Owners

1984

Best of the New Generation Award, Esquire Magazine

1984

“An American Portrait,” CBS News

1983

Francis Joseph Campbell Award, American Library Association

1982

Computer Science Award, President Reagan

1982

Admitted to the Computer Industry Hall of Fame

1981

National Award, Johns Hopkins University, Personal Computing to Aid the Handicapped

1978

Grace Murray Hopper Award, Association for Computing Machinery

1977

Governor’s Award, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis

1965

First Prize, Electronics and Communications, International Science Fair

Selected Book Awards and Honors

2005

New York Times Best Seller List, #1 ranking on Amazonin the categories of Science, Technology, and Philosophy: The Singularity is Near

1999

Literary Lights Prize, Boston Public Library: The Age of Spiritual Machines

1999

National Best Seller Lists, including #1 Ranking on Amazon in the categories of Science/Math and Artificial Intelligence, The Age of Spiritual Machines

1993

Regional BEST SELLER Lists: The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life

1991

Most Outstanding Computer Science Book of 1990 Award, Association of American Publishers: The Age of Intelligent Machines

1991

The Silicon Valley BEST SELLER List: The Age of Intelligent Machines

1991

MIT Press Best Seller: The Age of Intelligent Machines

Selected Film Awards

1988

Prize of the President of the Festival, International Film Festival of Czechoslovakia

1988

Technology Culture Award, International Festival of Scientific Films, Belgrade

1987

CINE Golden Eagle Award

1987

Gold Medal – Science Education, International Film and TV Festival of New York

1987

Creative Excellence Award, U.S. Industrial Film and Video Festival

1987

The Chris Plaque, Columbus International Film Festival

Selected Keynote Addresses and Principal Lectures

2008

Fifty one keynotes given around the world in locations including Switzerland, Italy, UK, Singapore, India, China , Germany, Colombia, Ecuador, Austria, Canada, amd USA. Selected hosts included: Advanced Equities, World Economic Forum, American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Game Developers Conference, Research in Motion, World Science Festival, JOnes Lang LaSalle, IdeaCity, Catholic Health Assembly, Information Today, UBS Philanthropy, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Academy of Engineering, Shanghai Music Show, Million Dollar Round Table, Association of American Medical Colleges, U.S. Army.

2007

Fifty two keynotes given around the world in locations including the US, South Korea, Holland, France, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia (2), Italy, England, and Canada.
Selected hosts included: Young President’s Organization, RSA Security, Hertz Foundation, World Innovation Forum East and West Coast, Killer App Expo, UBS Philanthropies, United Church of Christ, Computer Science Corporation’s Leading Edge Forum , Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Mayo Clinic, International Association for Electrical Engineers, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Broadway Partners, World Business Forum Milan, ExpoManagement Brazil, MIT Corporation, American Philosophical Association.

2005-2006

Keynote addresses at many public, academic, government, and corporate events including the Explorer’s club, TED2005, Cisco, Wired Magazine’s Icon Speaker Series, NIH Director’s Lecture, Google Zeitgeist, Microsoft, The World Bank, The Wall Street Journal & CNBC’s World Healthcare Congress, Tech Review’s Emerging Technologies Conference at M IT, The Council on Foreign Relations, BioAgenda, BIO-IT World, the MIT CEO Summit, Stanford University, The World Future Society, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, Computer Science Corporation’s Leading Edge Forum, IBM Research Zurich, and many others.

2000-2004

Keynote Addresses at many leading conferences, including the Microsoft CEO Summit, Pop!Tech, the World Economic Forum, PC Expo, SIGGRAPH, Business Week, the Council on Foreign Relations, The American Psychiatric Association, Cowen, TED, ACM, ICASSP, Agenda, NY Music & Internet Expo, a joint keynote address with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for SCP Capital, and many others.

1999

Presentations at Smithsonian, Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose), Philadelphia Library, Johns Hopkins University, Seybold Conference, CSPAN, and many others

1997

Keynote Address, AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability) National Conference, “The Role of Technology in Overcoming Disabilities”

1997

Panel on Hal’s Birthday, University of Illinois at Urbana

1996

Keynote Address, National Federation of the Blind – Canadian National Institute for the Blind, International Conference on Technology for the Blind, “What Technology can Contribute”

1996

President’s Forum Address, Entrepreneurship Institute Conference

1996

Keynote Address, Association for Education and Rehabilitation, Annual International Conference, “The End of Handicaps”

1996

Keynote Address, Medical Group Management Association, “Computer Science and Medicine in the Twenty-First Century”

1996

Keynote Address, American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science

1996

Lecture, American Conference Institute, “Developing Intellectual Property”

1995

Joint Keynote Address with (former) Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Gartner Group, Annual International Conference on Personal Computing (MidEast), “Turing’s Prophecy”

1995

Keynote Address, Turnaround Management Association, “Creating and Preserving Wealth in the Age of Knowledge”

1995

Keynote Address, IBM Computing Conference, “The Future of Computing Technology”

1995

Dickson Prize Lecture, Carnegie Mellon University, “Machine Intelligence: The First 80 Years (1940 – 2020)”

1995

Friedberg Lecture, Johns Hopkins University, “The Future of Machine Intelligence”

1995

Keynote Address, Jo Taylor Leadership Institute National Conference, American Foundation for the Blind, “The End of Handicaps”

1994

Presentation on the Wang Reorganization to the MIT Enterprise Forum

1994

Keynote Address, Gartner Group, Annual International Conferences on Personal Computing (U.S. and Europe), “The Future of Computing”

1994

Keynote Address, Anderson Consulting, Annual National Partners Meeting, “The Sixty-Four Squares of the Chessboard”

1994

Winston Gordon Prize Lecture, Canadian National Institute for the Blind National Conference, “The Future of Disabilities Technology”

1994

Keynote Address, President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities National Conference, “The End of Handicaps”

1994

Keynote Address, PC Enterprise Conference, “The Future of Personal Computing”

1993

Keynote Address, National Conference on Technology for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, “The Future of Technology for the Visually Impaired”

1993

Keynote Address, Technology and Learning Annual National Conference, National School Boards Association, “Learning and Technology”

1993

Keynote Address, Gartner Group, Annual National Conference on the Future of Information Technology, “The Computer in the Twenty-First Century”

1993

Keynote Address, Sematech National Conference, “The Future of Computer Technology”

1993

Keynote Address, U.S. Telephone, Annual National Meeting, “How to Save a Million American Lives a Year”

1993

Keynote Address, Dupont-Merck, Annual National Research and Development Conference, “The Future of Medicine”

1993

Keynote Address, Special Libraries Association, Annual National Meeting, “The Future of Books”

1993

Keynote Address, Intergraph Users Group Annual National Meeting, “Simulating Worlds Inside the Computer”

1993

Keynote Address, Oracle Users Group Annual National Meeting, “The Sixty-Four Squares of the Chessboard”

1993

Keynote Address, The 1993 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Computer Science National Conference, “The Emergence of True Machine Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century”

1992

Keynote Address, Association for Information and Image Management, “A Strategy for Competitiveness”

1992

Keynote Address, The Sixth Annual International Literacy and Technology Conference, “Education in the Age of Intelligent Machines”

1992

Presentation with Senator Edward Kennedy, High Tech Issues Seminar, Kennedy School of Government, “Economic Competitiveness and Software”

1991

Keynote Address, Speech Tech Annual Conference, “Automatic Speech Recognition: The First Hundred Years (1920-2020)”

1989

Keynote Address, SHARE (Association of users of IBM mainframe computers) Annual National Convention, “The History of the Computer”

1989

Keynote Address, Art and Science Summer Festival, California Museum of Science and Industry, “Creativity: Where Art and Science Meet”

1989

Keynote Address, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) National Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications, “From the Mind’s Eye to the Marketplace”

1987

Distinguished Lecturer, Harvard Business School, “Technology Innovation: From the Sandbox to the Showroom”

1987

Distinguished Lecturer, MIT, “Five Trends Shaping our Future World: Machine Intelligence, Parallel Processing, Silicon Compilation, Hardware to Software and Analog to Digital”

1987

Convocation Address, Berklee College of Music, “The Changing Face of Music Creation”

1986

Keynote Address on Innovation, White House Conference on Small Business, “Innovation and the Second Industrial Revolution”

1986

Principal presenter on “WorldNet,” series of three satellite broadcasts on Artificial Intelligence to 15 Nations, United States Information Agency

1984

Keynote Address, IEEE National Conference on Computer Design, “The Coming Age of Intelligent Machines”

1982

Commencement Address, Hofstra University, “Visions of the Future”