FLICKR/TOM GRUBER
SIRI
RISING
go consumers who would increasingly rely on tiny touch-screens to
tell them what to do. An assistant,
in the form of a voice-controlled
iPhone app, seemed the ideal way
to help mobile users complete all
kinds of tasks, without having to
poke at small screens with fat fingers or wait for web pages to load.
The aspiring entrepreneurs also
had the advantage of being able
to tap CALO’s technology. Under
a law passed by Congress in 1980,
HUFFINGTON
01.27.13
nonprofits, like SRI, were given
the right to keep the profits flowing from software developed via
government-funded research. The
law would allow a startup to license key software from the CALO
project in exchange for giving SRI
a stake in the company.
Though Cheyer had doubts
CALO research could be used to
create a profitable business and
was reluctant to leave his post at
the lab, Kittlaus prevailed on his
“innovation soulmate.” The result
was a new company named Siri,
with Kittlaus, as CEO, taking on
Siri cofounder Tom
Gruber.