Kano has been ranked more innovative than Google and Microsoft by Fast Company, who compared Klein to “Steve Jobs at the Homebrew Computer Club in 1975” – for “changing the way the next generation perceives computers.” Klein is a credited lyricist on Kanye West’s most recent album, contributing the 8-bar rap section of the song “Water.” He is a leader and speaker on the democratization of technology, who has shared his thinking with Prime Ministers, Presidents, and large publications. Klein also works with Top Gear journalists Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond on the board of DriveTribe, the community for motoring and engineering.
A former writer for Newsweek and New York Magazine, Klein got a challenge from his six-year-old cousin, Micah, in 2013. Micah wanted a computer he could make himself. But it had to be “so simple, no one has to teach me.” Designing a buildable computer around this challenge, Klein then ran the most successful educational crowdfunding campaign of all time for the kit. It was backed by Steve Wozniak and tens of thousands of others in 86 countries, and is credited with setting the design paradigm for what became known as the “STEM” category. Kano’s computers have been honored as the recipients of Red Dot, Cannes Gold Lion, and Innovation by Design Awards, and many more. He and his team created the first educational technology products in the Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Frozen universes. Most recently, Klein joined forces with Satya Nadella and Microsoft to create a powerful, transparent, and modular Windows laptop for 21st century learning.
With devices all over the world and more than a million kids of all ages building and coding with Kano for the first time, Klein is an optimistic believer in the human spirit – and the spark of divinity inherent in the process of creation, not just consumption. His mission is to make this accessible for anyone, not just the 1% of 1%.
Alex Klein – Virtual Moderated Conversation with Ebuyer.com 2020
Alex Klein Keynote at BigOmaha 2017
Alex Klein’s Speech Topics
Making Superchildren
Alex Klein has developed the world’s most innovative technologies for young people, since he himself was age 21. This rising generation is the first that won’t remember a time before the Internet. Addressing them on their own terms is crucial to any project, commercial or governmental. Here’s how we do it.
Democratizing Technology
There are more than 20 billion connected devices in the world. But less than 50 million people, 1% of 1% of the world, know how these technologies work –and how to make them do something new. Bridging that gap is possible, and part of the solution to many of the world’s biggest problems. Here’s how we do it.
Keeping Your Soul in the Modern World
Leading anything with purpose is hard. You make yourself subject to even more stakeholders – as if investors weren’t hard enough. Alex Klein has developed his company through collaboration: with British Prime Ministers, the CEOs of the world’s largest companies, Wimbledon winning athletes, and Kanye West. The reason is a simple framework for working together that anyone can understand and use to the benefit of not only yourself, but the wider world in which you live. Of note: the role of faith in professional work.