Alexander M. Asseily
Chairman/Co-founder, Jawbone & State
London, UK
Alexander Asseily is the founder and Executive Chairman of London-based startup, State. State is an opinion network for the world: a kind of global town square, where people can connect to each other through what they think, rather than who they know.
Prior to State Alexander was the founding CEO of Jawbone, the largest venture capital-backed consumer electronics company in the world, where he currently maintains the role of Chairman. Jawbone is the industry leader in mobile lifestyle products including the award winning ICON wireless headsets, JAMBOX speakers, and UP wellness solutions.
Alexander also serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Chiaro, a London-based personal wellness technology start-up, whose first product Elvie will be unveiled in November 2014.
Alexander grew-up in Beirut and London before receiving his BSc & MSc in Engineering Design at Stanford University. Alexander advises a number of startup technology companies and charitable organizations in the US and Europe.
Aliph is the first letter in the Arabic and Hebrew alphabet, and Jawbone was called when Alexander and Hosain founded the company back in 1999. They were developing a conversational artificial intelligence software that resembles Apple’s Siri, along with noise-canceling software for the U.S. Military. A couple of years later, they won a contract to research ways for combat soldiers to communicate with each other in difficult and hostile conditions. Both Alexander and Hosain recognized the consumer potential in what they were doing and thus developed a mobile phone headset with military-grade, noise-eliminating properties: the NoiseAssassin® technology. The sleek and stylish headset took them 5 years to develop and was revealed in 2007 as Jawbone.
The process was a difficult and challenging one for Jawbone. First, the founders met with several funders and were constantly rejected. Then the first headset released did not sell well, but did receive several industrial design awards. The rejections made them stronger and the brutal feedback they received helped them refine their products. Besides headsets, the company (currently valued at over $3.3 billion), released Jambox by Jawbone, compact wireless Bluetooth speakers, and a lifestyle health tracking system: UP by Jawbone.
Since the company was founded, it went through numerous near-death experiences but to the founders’ focus, dedication, perseverance, passion, and vision kept it alive. Jawbone has truly revolutionized the experience of communications, one of the most highly valued private consumer electronics companies in the world. Asseily is now fully dedicated to State, a global opinion network, and the simplest way for people everywhere to connect their opinions with the world.
