Joi Ito

Ranichi Ito is a top thinker and writer focused on innovation and world technology policies. He is a Japanese American activist, and his entrepreneurial identity has also been recognized - an entrepreneur focused on internet and technology enterprises. In 1966, Ito Rang lived in Tokyo, Japan, and later immigrated to Canada with his family. Later, when he was still a child, he moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, USA. At the age of 14, Ito returned to Japan with his family. He attended Nishicho International School and later attended high school in American schools in Japan. Later, Ranichi Ito returned to the United States and studied computer science at Tufts University. After briefly dropping out of school, Ranichi Ito entered the University of Chicago to study physics. In 1985, Connected Education Inc. provided a revolutionary online course program for undergraduate students at the New School of Social Studies, and Ito became the first student to sign up. In Japan, he is one of the founders of digital garages. He helped create Japan's first commercial internet service provider, and later became its CEO. At the same time, Ranichi Ito is also a supporter of emerging democracy and internet freedom. In addition, Ito has served as the Chairman and CEO of the Knowledge Sharing Board, as well as a director of Sony Corporation, Knowledge Sharing, Knight Foundation, John and Catherine MacArthur Foundation, New York Times Corporation, Mozilla Foundation, WITNESS, and Global Voice. He is an early investor who has invested in over 40 companies, including well-known internet companies such as Flickr, Six Apart, Lastfm, Kongregate, Kickstarter, and Twitter. In 2011, he was appointed as the director of the MIT Media Laboratory located in Boston, Massachusetts. Ito has received other honors, including being named an Internet Elite by Time Magazine in 1997 and being selected by the World Economic Forum as one of tomorrow's global leaders. In 2008, Business Week called him one of the 25 most influential figures on the internet. In 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Internet Research Institute at the University of Oxford. In 2013, the New York School awarded him an honorary doctorate in literature.