Ashwin Navin
Encyclopedia
Ashwin Navin was the President
and Co-Founder of BitTorrent, Inc. He joined Bram Cohen
, the inventor of BitTorrent, in 2004 and reportedly handled business and company-related matters while Cohen focused on engineering and product development. According to a post on his blog, Navin has resigned from BitTorrent in order to focus on his new venture Flingo
, and his new venture capital
fund i/o Ventures
.
Before BitTorrent, Navin worked at Yahoo!
from 2002 to 2004 in its Corporate Development group which handled corporate strategy and acquisitions. Before Yahoo!, Navin worked on Wall Street
with Goldman Sachs
and Merrill Lynch
both as an investment banker and research analyst. Navin is a 1999 graduate of Claremont McKenna College
with a dual B.A. in Government and Economics.
In 2000, Navin helped start a technology-based financial services company called Epoch Partners. Epoch was essentially the investment banking arm of several online stock brokerages including Charles Schwab
, Ameritrade, and TD Waterhouse
. Epoch Partners was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2001.
Navin reportedly evaluated Cohen's invention for Yahoo! in 2004. Although it was a notable development for the Internet, BitTorrent was widely considered to be the bane of the film industry, because it made the cost of transferring large files, including pirated movies, negligible to the end user.
To catalyze BitTorrent's commercialization, Navin began by engaging movie industry executives directly. Although predicted by many to be highly unlikely, BitTorrent has struck relationships with many major media companies including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox
, Paramount Pictures
, MTV
, Lionsgate, Kadokawa Pictures
, and others http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002464855
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003208.html The BitTorrent Entertainment Network, features mainstream movies and TV shows licensed from major media companies delivered with the BitTorrent protocol.
Navin has also announced the availability of a P2P
content delivery service called BitTorrent DNA. According to him, "The Internet has become an essential source of entertainment for everything from music, games to TV shows, and even high-definition movies. Given the rapidly growing BitTorrent network, we already have the broadcast infrastructure in place that effectively multiplies the scale of the existing Internet to handle the next wave of content distribution. Implementing BitTorrent DNA on top of legacy infrastructure has the profound impact of allowing our customers to deliver a better user experience, higher quality video, faster software downloads, all with the security and reliability of a managed service."
Beyond copyright issues, BitTorrent also faced struggles with Cable companies and ISPs which were overwhelmed with high volumes of P2P traffic on their networks. In the wake of FCC hearings that pitted Comcast and BitTorrent against each other for traffic management policies that inhibited P2P file transfers, Navin was responsible striking a deal with Comcast that resolved the companies' differences and diffused a hotly contested issue at the heart of Network Neutrality
debate.
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and Co-Founder of BitTorrent, Inc. He joined Bram Cohen
Bram Cohen
Bram Cohen is an American computer programmer, best known as the author of the peer-to-peer BitTorrent protocol, as well as the first file sharing program to use the protocol, also known as BitTorrent...
, the inventor of BitTorrent, in 2004 and reportedly handled business and company-related matters while Cohen focused on engineering and product development. According to a post on his blog, Navin has resigned from BitTorrent in order to focus on his new venture Flingo
Flingo
Flingo is a set of protocols, a bookmarklet, and a client-server program developed by Free Stream Media Corp., which does business as "Flingo". Flingo enables users to instruct an Internet-connected TV device to acquire and playback media files located on remote computers.Flingo was recently...
, and his new venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
fund i/o Ventures
I/o Ventures
i/o Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based startup funding firm, started in 2009 by Aber Whitcomb , Ashwin Navin , Jim Young , and Paul Bragiel . i/o Ventures provides seed money, advice, and connections during a 6-month program conducted at company's San Francisco Mission District office...
.
Before BitTorrent, Navin worked at Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
from 2002 to 2004 in its Corporate Development group which handled corporate strategy and acquisitions. Before Yahoo!, Navin worked on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
with Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
both as an investment banker and research analyst. Navin is a 1999 graduate of Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
with a dual B.A. in Government and Economics.
In 2000, Navin helped start a technology-based financial services company called Epoch Partners. Epoch was essentially the investment banking arm of several online stock brokerages including Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab may refer to:*Charles M. Schwab , American steel magnate*Charles R. Schwab , founder of the eponymous brokerage*Charles Schwab Corp., an American based brokerage firm...
, Ameritrade, and TD Waterhouse
TD Waterhouse
TD Waterhouse is the brand used for both Canadian and British brokerages within the TD Bank Financial Group. It was also formerly used for TD's American brokerage....
. Epoch Partners was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2001.
Navin reportedly evaluated Cohen's invention for Yahoo! in 2004. Although it was a notable development for the Internet, BitTorrent was widely considered to be the bane of the film industry, because it made the cost of transferring large files, including pirated movies, negligible to the end user.
Commercializing BitTorrent
Cohen entrusted Navin with the responsibility of crafting a business model for BitTorrent with hopes of bringing BitTorrent out of the fringes and into the mainstream. Navin has assumed the public face of the company as an evangelist for its commercial viability. In 2007, Navin launched 3 commercial products: the BitTorrent Entertainment Network in February, the BitTorrent SDK in June, and BitTorrent DNA in October. As the foundation for these products, Navin acquired uTorrent in 2006 which is the largest Torrent client in the world.To catalyze BitTorrent's commercialization, Navin began by engaging movie industry executives directly. Although predicted by many to be highly unlikely, BitTorrent has struck relationships with many major media companies including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Lionsgate, Kadokawa Pictures
Kadokawa Pictures
is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...
, and others http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002464855
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003208.html The BitTorrent Entertainment Network, features mainstream movies and TV shows licensed from major media companies delivered with the BitTorrent protocol.
Navin has also announced the availability of a P2P
Peer-to-peer file sharing
P2P or Peer-to-peer file sharing allows users to download files such as music, movies, and games using a P2P software client that searches for other connected computers. The "peers" are computer systems connected to each other through internet. Thus, the only requirements for a computer to join...
content delivery service called BitTorrent DNA. According to him, "The Internet has become an essential source of entertainment for everything from music, games to TV shows, and even high-definition movies. Given the rapidly growing BitTorrent network, we already have the broadcast infrastructure in place that effectively multiplies the scale of the existing Internet to handle the next wave of content distribution. Implementing BitTorrent DNA on top of legacy infrastructure has the profound impact of allowing our customers to deliver a better user experience, higher quality video, faster software downloads, all with the security and reliability of a managed service."
Beyond copyright issues, BitTorrent also faced struggles with Cable companies and ISPs which were overwhelmed with high volumes of P2P traffic on their networks. In the wake of FCC hearings that pitted Comcast and BitTorrent against each other for traffic management policies that inhibited P2P file transfers, Navin was responsible striking a deal with Comcast that resolved the companies' differences and diffused a hotly contested issue at the heart of Network Neutrality
Network neutrality
Network neutrality is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers' access to networks that participate in the Internet...
debate.
External links
- NPR's All Things Considered interviews Ashwin Navin
- Ashwin Navin Speaking at Stanford
- An article from sfgate.com
- Podcast with Navin's views on the Download business and DRM
- Podcast with Navin's views on BitTorrent in China
- Navin challenges the decision of Ohio University' administration to ban P2P technologies
- Navin addressing the deal his company negotiated with Comcast