Dmitry Shapiro

Dmitry Shapiro is an American entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of GoMeta, Inc., based in San Diego. Under GoMeta, he launched Koji, an App Store featuring social mini-apps that can be integrated into various Links In Bios. Shapiro's entrepreneurial journey includes creating the video sharing site Veoh in 2005, which was launched a few months after YouTube. Additionally, he held the position of Chief Technology Officer at MySpace, before moving on to Google, where he served as Group Product Manager. Shapiro left Google in order to found GoMeta.[1][2]

Education and career

Shapiro was born in Russia but later moved to the United States. Shapiro graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992. From 1995-1999, Shapiro served as the Head of Web Development at Fujitsu Business Communications.[3]

After his time at Fujitsu, Shapiro was the Director of Product and Engineering at CollegeClub.com, a social network which he helped grow from 200,000 members to over 4 million.[4]

In 2000, Shapiro founded Akonix Systems Inc., a network security company, where he was CEO, and later CTO, and Head of Product until 2004.[5][6][7][8] Akonix built a Perimeter Security Gateway that performed deep packet inspection on corporate networks, detected unauthorized network traffic, and helped IT managers in its management. Akonix raised $34 Million and was acquired by Quest Software Inc. in 2008.[9][10]

In December 2004, Shapiro founded Veoh Networks, Inc., where he was the CEO and Head of Product. Veoh became one of the largest online video websites, competing with Hulu and YouTube.[11][12][13] The company raised over $70 million and had over 28 million monthly users before getting sued by Universal Music for copyright infringement. While Veoh won the court case and two appeals, the company was unable to sustain itself as Universal Music also sued Veoh’s investors, forcing Veoh to be sold.[14][15]

After Veoh, Shapiro was CTO at Myspace Music, where he was responsible for product and engineering.[16]

Shapiro was recruited by Google in 2012 as a Group Product Manager, working on Social Graph, Identity, Content Discovery, and API Infrastructure.[17][18][19]

In September 2016, Shapiro co-founded GoMeta, Inc., where he currently serves as CEO. GoMeta owns and operates Koji—The App Store for Creator Economy. To date, GoMeta has received $36 million in funding and has employees in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Fort Lauderdale, and Barcelona.[20][21][22]

In October 2024, 404 Media reported that Shapiro and Sean Thielen were launching a prototype of an app that describes itself as “AI-powered infrastructure for shaping and managing narratives in the modern world”, which 404 Media criticised as a tool of social media "manipulation".[23]

References

  1. ^ Rao, Leena. "Veoh Founder Dmitry Shapiro Joins MySpace Music As CTO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  2. ^ Roettgers, Janko (2016-09-21). "Former Myspace Music CTO Dmitry Shapiro Leaves Google to Found Metaverse Startup (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  3. ^ "Executive Team | Veoh Video Network". www.veoh.com. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  4. ^ "The Founder Institute". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  5. ^ "Akonix Chief Strategy Officer to Present at Information Systems Security Association --ISSA-- Conferences". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  6. ^ "Dmitry Shapiro: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  7. ^ "Dmitry Shapiro thinks his startup Altly will be 'an alternative to Facebook'". Digital Trends. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  8. ^ DiSabatino, Jennifer. "New Software Aimed at Making IM Secure". Computerworld. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  9. ^ "Akonix Systems, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  10. ^ "Quest Software Confirms Its Place as the Unified Communications Authority". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  11. ^ "After Pulling Plug, Veoh Networks' Dmitry Shapiro Says Litigation "Choked Off Our Oxygen" | Xconomy". Xconomy. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  12. ^ "Watch It, YouTube: Veoh's Dmitry Shapiro Has a Plan to Win the Video Wars". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  13. ^ Rao, Leena. "Veoh Lays Off 25 Employees And Shifts Focus Away From Competing With YouTube And Hulu". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  14. ^ "Veoh Files for Bankruptcy After Fending Off Infringement Charges". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  15. ^ "Veoh Cleared In Universal Music Group Copyright Suit - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  16. ^ "Veoh CEO Dmitry Shapiro Resurfaces at…MySpace Music". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  17. ^ "Myspace Music Loses Another Exec: CTO Dmitry Shapiro". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  18. ^ Lunden, Ingrid. "'Anonymous' Social Network Anybeat Is Getting Bought And Shut Down. Dmitry Shapiro Going To Google+?". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  19. ^ "Dmitry Shapiro to Join Google+ as Head of Product". Pando. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  20. ^ Grove, Jennifer Van. "Who's behind the mysterious money hunt downtown?". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  21. ^ "Google Exec Reportedly Starting Company in San Diego". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  22. ^ "Local Startup Releases Augmented Reality App". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  23. ^ Maiberg ·, Emanuel (2024-10-16). "AI-Powered Social Media Manipulation App Promises to 'Shape Reality'". 404 Media. Retrieved 2024-10-16.