Donna Dubinsky facts for kids

Donna Dubinsky is an American businesswoman. She helped create early portable computers called personal digital assistants (PDAs). She was the CEO of Palm, Inc. and later co-founded Handspring.

In 2005, Dubinsky also co-founded Numenta with Jeff Hawkins and Dileep George. Numenta works on making smart computer systems that learn like the human brain. Fortune magazine put her and Jeff Hawkins in their Innovators Hall of Fame. Time magazine also named them among the Digital 50 in 1999. This was for their important work on PDAs.

Early Life and Education

Donna Dubinsky grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. She went to Yale University and studied history. She earned her degree in 1977. After Yale, she worked at a bank. Then she went to Harvard Business School and got her MBA in 1981.

Starting at Apple

After business school, Donna joined Apple Computer. She started by helping customers. By 1985, she was managing part of Apple's product distribution.

In 1986, she moved to Claris. This was a software company owned by Apple. Donna was in charge of international sales and marketing. Her team soon made half of Claris's sales. But she left in 1991 because Apple would not let Claris become its own company.

Building Palm and Handspring

After a break, Donna met Jeff Hawkins. He was looking for someone to lead his new company, Palm, Inc.

The Rise of PalmPilot

In 1995, U.S. Robotics bought Palm, Inc. for $44 million. The first PalmPilot went on sale in April 1996. It was a small, handheld computer. People loved it, and sales grew very fast. In just 18 months, over a million PalmPilots were sold. Later, 3Com bought U.S. Robotics, which included Palm.

Creating Handspring

Donna, Jeff Hawkins, and Ed Colligan were not happy with 3Com's plans for Palm. So, in June 1998, they left to start their own company, Handspring. Handspring became known for its smartphones, especially the Treo.

Later, in 2003, Handspring merged with Palm, Inc. The new company was called palmOne. In 2005, palmOne changed its name back to Palm, Inc.

Numenta: Brain-Inspired AI

In March 2005, Donna Dubinsky, Jeff Hawkins, and Dileep George started Numenta, Inc. The company is in Redwood City, California. Their main goal is to create smart computer systems. These systems are based on how the human brain works. They study the neocortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for higher thinking.

Numenta focuses on understanding the brain's principles. They work with scientists to learn how the neocortex works. Their research looks at how the brain learns sequences and stores information. They have written many scientific papers about their findings.

In 2024, Numenta started the Thousand Brains Project. This is an open-source project. It aims to build a new type of artificial intelligence (AI). This AI will work like the human brain.

Awards and Other Work

In 2007, Donna Dubinsky received a special award from Harvard Business School. It was the Alumni Achievement Award. She was honored for creating the first successful PDA. She was also recognized for her work on computer memory systems inspired by the human brain.

Donna has also been involved in other activities. She was a trustee for the Computer History Museum. She has written articles supporting healthcare laws. In 2022, she joined the United States Department of Commerce. She helped put the CHIPS and Science Act into action. This law helps boost computer chip making in the U.S. She also helped create the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). In late 2023, she became a trustee of Natcast, which runs the NSTC.