Robert Denis Glaser (born January 16, 1962 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) is the founder of

RealNetworks RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also p ...

, which produces

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...

RealVideo RealVideo, or also spelled as Real Video, is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and was at version 10. RealVideo is supported ...

RealPlayer RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...

, and

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, ...

, among other products and services. Before founding RealNetworks, he had become a millionaire by working for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

for ten years. Glaser, while Chief Executive of RealNetworks, clashed repeatedly with

Tony Fadell Anthony Michael Fadell (born March 22, 1969) is an American engineer, designer, entrepreneur, and investor. He was senior vice president of the iPod division at Apple Inc. and founder and former CEO of Nest Labs. Fadell joined Apple Inc. in 20 ...

, widely known as the Godfather of the iPhone and iPod, who then left the company after 6 weeks and went on to founding the products for Apple. Glaser is a graduate of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

with an BS degree in Computer Science and an MA in Economics. On June 16, 2004, Glaser received the Music Visionary Award, along with EMI Vice Chairman David Munns, from the Music for Youth Foundation, and the United Jewish Appeal. Glaser was the 22nd largest individual donor to 527 groups in the 2004 US election, donating over $2.2 million to pro-Democratic organizations. He was the leading creditor to

Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an radio in the United States, American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left ...

, loaning at least $9.8 million according to its bankruptcy filing. In addition, along with economist

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs () (born 5 November 1954) is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst, and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is known for his work ...

and public health expert

Josh Ruxin Josh Ruxin (born June 15, 1970) is an American businessman, academic, and writer. As a businessman, he is co-founder and Executive Chairman of GoodLife Pharmacy, an East Africa–based pharmaceuticals chain in Kenya and Uganda, founder of the Rwanda ...

, Glaser founded the Access Project, an NGO dedicated to improving health care in Rwanda by increasing management capacity at health centers. In 1999, Glaser established the Glaser Progress Foundation, "to build a more just, sustainable and humane world." From 2011 to 2015, foundation assets have shrunk from $9 million to $5.7 million; annual grants have shrunk from $1.5 million to $267,000; overhead and expenses have grown slightly from $455,000 to $525,000. In 2016, he set up a web site (PutinTrump.org) to monitor and report then-candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's connections to

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. Since June 2010, Glaser has been a partner at global venture firm,

Accel Partners Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is an American venture capital firm. Accel works with startups in seed, early and growth-stage investments. The company has offices in Palo Alto, California and San Francisco, California, with additional ...

, focusing on digital media technology, social media, and mobile service investments. He returned to RealNetworks again as interim CEO in 2012 and resumed the official title of CEO in 2014.VentureBeat The boomerang kid: Rob Glaser on his return to RealNetworks
/ref>

References

External links

* ttps://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1036321,00.asp RealNetwork's CEO Rob Glaser - interview by Lance Ulanoff writing for PC Magazine (April 21, 2003)*
Free Fall Radio: Air America Goes Bankrupt - Page 3 of the Chapter 11 filing from The Smoking Gun (October 13, 2006)

Rethinking Mobile Data Plans - On the Hot Seat with Rob Glaser - interview by Sue Marek for FierceMobileContent (December 18, 2007)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaser, Rob 1962 births Air America (radio network) Living people 20th-century American Jews American technology executives Microsoft employees Yale University alumni 21st-century American Jews