Erick Miller
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Erick Miller is a
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, technology entrepreneur and investor who began his career building startups during the
dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
of the late 1990s in San Francisco, California. Miller is the Founder and CEO of CoinCircle, and founding managing director of Hyperspeed Ventures and the former CEO and Founder of Vergence Labs, a company known for designing and developing
wearable computer A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches. Wearables may be for general ...
enabled video streaming glasses under the brand name
Epiphany Eyewear Epiphany Eyewear are smartglasses developed by Vergence Labs. The glasses record video stored within the glasses' hardware for live-stream upload to a computer or social media. The glasses use smartphone technology. The head mounted display is a ...
as well as
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
(AR) and
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
(VR) eyewear.


Leaked acquisition

On November 24, 2014, a
hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
group identified itself by the name "Guardians of Peace" (GOP)
leaked A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...
and released confidential information from the film studio
Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
. Aside from major exposure of Sony Pictures business and employee data, information about the confidential acquisition of Miller's Company Vergence Labs'
Epiphany Eyewear Epiphany Eyewear are smartglasses developed by Vergence Labs. The glasses record video stored within the glasses' hardware for live-stream upload to a computer or social media. The glasses use smartphone technology. The head mounted display is a ...
by
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...
was revealed. The acquisition of Vergence Labs became public solely as the result of 2014's hack of
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, including the inbox of
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
chairman
Michael Lynton Michael Mark Lynton (born January 1, 1960) is a businessman and current chairman of Snap Inc. He previously served as chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In 2017, Lynton stepped down as CEO of Sony Entertainment to becom ...
, a
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...
board member. Vergence Labs' main product was Epiphany Eyewear. Following the acquisition, Miller created the venture-capital and investment firm Hyperspeed Ventures in 2014. Miller announced the new venture at Wearable World Congress where he spoke about the future of wearables with augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. During the Wearable World Congress fireside chat, Miller spoke about his vision for the future of the
wearable technology Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detec ...
industry; although he refused to discuss reports of Vergence Labs being acquired by Snapchat.


Background

At Hyperspeed Ventures, Miller has invested in early-stage technology startups including investments in genetic editing and quantum computing technology companies. Before starting Hyperspeed, in 2010 Miller began working on prototypes and patents for what would become Vergence Labs and by 2011 the company was officially cofounded, recruiting a founding team largely from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. Although Vergence Labs' first major release was the Epiphany Eyewear smart glasses, early in the company's history prototypes for both
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
and
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
products were developed as the vision and mission of the company. The Epiphany Eyewear POV social video smart glasses were designed with an embedded camera and computer system within frames similar in style to the wayfarer design. The design and development of Epiphany Eyewear pre-dated the start of
Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses developed and sold by Google. It was developed by X (previously Google X), with the mission of producing an ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using ...
by about two years. In late 2013 Epiphany Eyewear began shipping to customers. Miller is also a published author, speaker and artist who has worked on feature films and spoken at
SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference on computer graphics (CG) organized by the ACM SIGGRAPH, starting in 1974. The main conference is held in North America; SIGGRAPH Asia ...
and
SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
. His former employers include
Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...
of Venice, California,
Sony Pictures Imageworks Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is a Canadian visual effects and computer animation studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with an additional office on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California. SPI is a unit of Sony Pi ...
of Culver City, California and
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
of Burbank, California. While at these firms Miller developed technologies for motion picture visuals and digital film making. When Miller began his career he transitioned from the dot-com startup world after the first company he helped build was acquired in 2001; transitioning into the 3D
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
industry as he completed an undergraduate degree in the field. Miller later received an MBA from
UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...
and another Master's in Business from the
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...
in 2011, at which point he chose to pursue technology entrepreneurship once again.


Published works

Miller is a published author of five books, including: *''Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation'' *''Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation 2nd Edition''


Patents

* "Musculo-skeletal shape skinning", granted June 4, 2012 * "Indirect Binding With Segmented Thin Layers to Provide Shape-Preserving Deformations in Computer Animation", granted November 4, 2009


Filmography

While working in the film industry as a technical director and/or director of technology, Miller worked on the following feature films: * ''
300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...
'' * ''
Spider-Man 3 ''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...
'' * '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' * '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' * ''
I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' betw ...
'' * ''
The Day After Tomorrow ''The Day After Tomorrow'' is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Based on the 1999 book ''The Coming Global Superstorm'' by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, the film stars Denn ...
'' * '' Surfs Up'' * '' Bolt''


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Erick Living people American computer businesspeople American technology chief executives American technology company founders UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni National University of Singapore alumni Year of birth missing (living people)