Chris Barton

SUMMARY

• PIONEERING ENTREPRENEUR: Every expert said Shazam was an impossible idea to create. Chris Barton wasn’t convinced. He went on to invent the first mass-consumer AI product in history, completely changing how the world discovers music.

• INSPIRING RESILIENCE: Radical technological change is testing our durability. Chris was tested too, overcoming mind-boggling technical obstacles and six years of near-bankruptcy to achieve a Hollywood ending: Shazam became Apple’s sixth largest acquisition.

• INNOVATION LESSONS: The biggest limitation to creating the future is our own imagination. Chris blends music, video, images, and great storytelling to show audiences how to summon creative persistence and bring bold ideas to life.

• A BREAKTHROUGH ROADMAP: Start From Zero Thinking is the five-step framework Chris developed to overcome obstacles to innovation. The method can be applied to any challenge and is rooted in his unique thinking style. The dyslexia and ADHD he struggled with as a student turned out to be his superpowers.

• EXPERIENCE BEYOND SHAZAM: First head of Mobile Relations at Google, among first 100 employees at Dropbox, inventor with 12 patents (one used within Google algorithm). His next invention is Guard, which uses AI to detect drowning in swimming pools. Chris teaches innovation and entrepreneurship at four universities.

• CHRIS BARTON – THE PERFECT SPEAKER FOR: INNOVATION, RESILIENCE, OVERCOMING OBSTACLES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MINDSET.

DETAIL

Chris Barton is the renowned tech pioneer who invented the Shazam music app. His creation, the first mass-consumer AI product in history, changed the way the world discovers music and is pure and absolute magic. Chris has a history of delighting people by using technology to make seemingly impossible ideas come to life. Shazam is just one of them. In addition to creating Shazam, Chris holds twelve patents and played key roles in the early days of Google and Dropbox. Chris’s newest venture, Guard, aims to use AI to detect drowning in swimming pools – a never-before accomplished effort. In his speeches, Chris’s story and storytelling completely captivate audiences. He inspires people to make big things happen in their organizations – to create magic in defiance of the obstacles.

Chris grew up with a French mother and British father – both of whom were university professors. Academics were a struggle for him, and Chris would come to realize he had undiagnosed dyslexia. Chris flipped this challenge on its head and learned to embrace what he now calls his superpower. Chris believes that dyslexia has allowed him to overcome barriers to achieve his many accomplishments.

When Chris had the idea to identify music using a mobile phone, no technology existed to achieve his goal. He was told by Professors at MIT and Stanford that the necessary pattern recognition algorithm was impossible. Even after inventing a new technology that didn’t yet exist, he had to build a search engine supercomputer from scratch, create the world’s largest music database, and create a user experience on very basic mobile phones. Did Chris ever think the experts were right? “No way,” he says.

When Chris came up with the idea for Shazam in 2000, it was three years before iTunes and eight years before the App Store. Shazam launched as a phone number that you dialed, and the service struggled, teetering near bankruptcy for six years until the App Store launched in 2008, allowing Shazam to unleash its full potential on the world.

In 2018, Shazam was acquired by Apple for a reported $400 million, making it Apple’s 6th largest acquisition of all-time. Shazam has been downloaded over 2 billion times and is used each month by over 300 million people, making it one of the world’s most popular apps. It has become an integral part of our everyday lives, with its ability to instantly identify songs and provide a range of music features such as lyrics. Shazam has become a verb, and it has changed the way the world discovers music.

Chris has also played a key role in tech history as a founding member of Google’s Android Partnerships team where he created Android’s mobile operator partnership framework. He also spent four years at Dropbox where he led carrier partnerships and was one of the first 100 people at the company.

Holding 12 patents, including one found within the Google search algorithm, Chris has made significant contributions to the tech industry. He also invests in a wide range of start-ups, including artificial intelligence for heart health and inflammatory disease therapeutics.

Today, Chris spends much of his time building his third startup company, Guard, an artificial intelligence system that detects drowning in swimming pools.

Chris has spoken at events all over the world, sharing lessons learned from his experience creating a new technology by overcoming what were thought to be impossible obstacles. He inspires audiences with firsthand stories that highlight key take-aways across technology innovation, persistence, removing friction, and entrepreneurship. Chris gives audiences a new framework for making big things happen and inspires them to take action.

Prior to his technology career, Chris was a strategy consultant and earned two master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and Cambridge University.

When he isn’t working or speaking, you can find Chris enjoying the outdoors and spending time with his son, Jude.