Rich Miner is a co-founder of Android and also a pioneer and innovator in mobile communications and interface-intensive applications. After Google’s acquisition of Android in 2005, Rich spent his first three years at Google as an executive on the Android team and helped lead Android development and its ecosystem. He then became a partner of GV (formerly Google Ventures) which he helped create and grow.
In the late 1980s, Rich helped incubate Avid Technology, an audio/video editing and management company. Then in the early 1990s Rich co-founded Wildfire Communications, which developed the world’s first voice-based personal assistant. This feature was an anthropomorphic voice prompt that helped manage calls and messages over the phone. In April 2000, Wildfire was sold to Orange, where Rich served as vice president of innovation and led their R&D in North America. While at Orange, he also started and was a principle of Orange Ventures.
Rich received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Based in the Boston area, he continues to build and invest in innovative startups with Google, with a focus on developing innovative educational products and user interface technology.