Donna Dubinsky facts for kids

Donna Dubinsky is an American businesswoman. She is famous for her work with early portable computers called personal digital assistants (PDAs). She was the CEO of Palm, Inc. and helped start Handspring.

Donna also co-founded Numenta in 2005. This company works on creating smart computer systems that learn like the human brain. She was the board chair of Numenta until 2024. Fortune magazine even put her in their Innovators Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Education

Donna Dubinsky grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Her father worked with scrap metal. She went to Yale University and studied history, earning her degree in 1977.

After Yale, she worked at a bank. Then, she went to Harvard Business School and earned her MBA in 1981. An MBA is a special business degree.

Starting Her Career in Tech

After business school, Donna joined Apple Computer. She helped customers with their computer problems. By 1985, she was managing part of Apple's product distribution.

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

Creating Portable Computers

After taking a break in Paris, Donna met Jeff Hawkins. He was looking for someone to lead his new company, Palm, Inc. Donna became the CEO.

The Rise of PalmPilot

In 1995, a company called U.S. Robotics bought Palm, Inc. The first PalmPilot, a small handheld computer, went on sale in April 1996. It was a huge success!

Within 18 months, over one million PalmPilots were sold. This showed how much people wanted portable digital helpers. Later, another company, 3Com, bought U.S. Robotics and Palm.

Starting 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 called Handspring. Handspring became known for its smartphones, especially the Treo.

Around 2001, the "dot-com bubble" burst. This was a time when many internet companies lost a lot of value. This affected Handspring. In 2003, Handspring merged with Palm, Inc., forming a new company called palmOne.

Numenta: Brain-Inspired AI

In March 2005, Donna Dubinsky, Jeff Hawkins, and Dileep George started a new company called Numenta, Inc. It is located in Redwood City, California. Their big goal is to create computer intelligence that works like the human brain.

Numenta studies how the brain's outer layer, called the neocortex, works. They want to use these ideas to build smarter computers. Their research focuses on how the brain learns sequences and stores information. They have written many scientific papers about their findings.

In 2024, Numenta launched the Thousand Brains Project. This project is open-source, meaning its ideas are shared freely. It aims to create a new type of artificial intelligence (AI) that thinks like the human brain.

Awards and Other Work

On September 27, 2007, Donna Dubinsky received a special award from Harvard Business School. It was their highest honor, the Alumni Achievement Award. She was recognized for creating the first successful PDA and for her work on brain-like computer systems.

Donna has also been involved in other activities. She was a trustee for the Computer History Museum. She has also written articles supporting healthcare laws.

In 2022, Donna joined the United States Department of Commerce. She helped put into action the CHIPS and Science Act. This law helps boost the making of computer chips in the U.S. Later, she helped create the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). In late 2023, she became a trustee of Natcast, a non-profit group that runs the NSTC.