CEO, Tech Matters
Jim Fruchterman is a serial tech and social entrepreneur, who has already proven how technology can change entire fields in the social sector.
Fruchterman founded Tech Matters in 2018 to advance large-scale social impact by matching proven technology to complex social challenges. Its first two social enterprises are Aselo, a shared modern contact center for the crisis response helpline movement, and Terraso, a platform to bring better tools to smallholders and locally-led sustainability initiatives to respond to climate change. He’s also working on the Better Deal for Data, a new data reform movement.
Prior to founding Tech Matters, he was the founder and CEO of Benetech for nearly 30 years, delivering large-scale change in partnership with hundreds of organizations as part of social enterprises addressing education, disability, human rights, and the environment. In addition, he has advised hundreds of diverse social enterprises on the use of technology and data.
He previously founded two successful for-profit Silicon Valley machine learning/artificial intelligence companies, and has decades of experience as an angel investor in and tech company board member. He currently serves on the boards of tech nonprofits Benetech, Callisto, and Nexleaf Analytics in addition to Tech Matters. Fruchterman has been widely recognized for his social change work, including being selected as a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Schwab Social Entrepreneur Award, and the Caltech Distinguished Alumni award.