Tobias took an academic route. He obtained his master’s degree and PhD in computer science at the University of Zurich. He then went on to become a postdoc at Yale and ETH Zurich, and a guest researcher at the University of Chile and Stanford, before joining the Computer Science Department at VU Amsterdam as an assistant professor. His award-winning dissertation on controlled English for knowledge representation was the starting point for many further papers on the Semantic Web. He has been widely recognized for his fundamental contributions to the concept of nanopublication and its implementation. Tobias has also hatched ideas for how to revolutionize knowledge sharing and at some point realized that the best way to put his ideas into practice was as an entrepreneur. His perseverance and passion for semantic technologies led to the prototype of Nanodash and his vision for the knowledge space. This laid the foundation for Knowledge Pixels. Today, Tobias’ main task is to further develop our software and the concepts behind it.
Philipp always found the idea of machines and humans meeting halfway when they communicate fascinating. When he learned about nanopublication, he was immediately excited by its possibilities. His drive and optimism were the initial spark for founding Knowledge Pixels. Philipp is also passionate about organizations, how they operate and develop work cultures, how they grow and evolve, and how these processes can be fostered and guided. He has a master’s in business administration from the University of Zurich, and brings deep expertise from his previous work in a wide variety of industries. Among other positions, he was production coordinator at Condor Films, a team leader at a cultural center, and a management assistant at IBM. He served as a customer service manager and most recently as the head of finance at Republik during the Swiss online magazine’s start-up phase. At Knowledge Pixels, he focuses on business development and marketing, as well as handling financial and legal matters.