Kevin Ashton

Born 1968; British; technology pioneer; co‑founder and former Executive Director of MIT’s Auto‑ID Center; originator of the term “Internet of Things”; entrepreneur and author of How to Fly a Horse.

Early life and education

Kevin Ashton was born in Birmingham, England, in 1968 and studied Scandinavian Studies at University College London from 1990 to 1994. [Wikipedia] [ETHW]

Coining the “Internet of Things” and the Auto‑ID Center

While working at Procter & Gamble in the late 1990s, Ashton explored applying RFID to consumer‑goods supply chains, leading to his loan to MIT to establish the Auto‑ID Center in 1999. The Center aimed to develop the Electronic Product Code (EPC) and RFID standards. [Newsweek] [MIT Auto‑ID Laboratory]

Ashton is credited with coining the phrase “Internet of Things” during a 1999 P&G presentation, linking ubiquitous sensing with internet‑based information systems. [IFM, University of Cambridge] [History of Information]

Under Ashton and colleague Sanjay Sarma, the Auto‑ID Center grew to over 100 corporate sponsors and later transitioned to the Auto‑ID Labs network and EPCglobal for standards governance in 2003. [MIT Auto‑ID Laboratory] [Newsweek]

Entrepreneurial and executive roles

After leaving the Auto‑ID Center, Ashton joined RFID startup ThingMagic and co‑founded Zensi, an energy‑sensing company. In April 2010, Belkin International acquired Zensi; Ashton became General Manager of Belkin’s Conserve business unit. [University of Washington News] [EE Power]

Publications and public profile

Ashton authored How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery (2015), published by Doubleday. The book argues that creativity is the result of incremental work rather than sudden genius and received the 2015 800‑CEO‑READ Business Book of the Year award. [Penguin Random House] [Kirkus Reviews] [ETHW]

Legacy and influence