Biography
A creator of modern technology was born in 1960. Driven by curiosity and creativity, Scott Alan Jones emerged from formal education prepared to make sparks fly in the technological world. After graduating with honors from Indiana University with a degree in computer science with a focus on chemistry and biology, Scott worked as a research scientist at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the early 1980s, establishing a footing in robotics, vision systems, optical storage, parallel computing, the Internet, and other bleeding-edge technologies.
In 1986, Scott combined this technical knowledge with his propensity for innovation when, at age 25, he co-founded his first company, Boston Technology, Inc., where he created a voice-mail system. Amid deregulation and the divestiture of AT&T, Bell Atlantic and other "Baby Bells" approached potential voice-mail developers, asking them to provide a sophisticated system. Already having prepared patent applications for voice-mail technology that could handle entire metropolitan areas, Scott started well ahead of the competition. He aggressively promised Bell Atlantic to deliver in three months what would have taken competitors years to deliver. Working night and day, Boston Technology delivered a voicemail system that was faster, more scalable, more reliable, more user-friendly and 20 times bigger than those of competitors such as AT&T, Siemens, Northern Telecom and others. Since that beginning in his mid-20s, Scott's resulting patented inventions have been implemented by nearly every major telephone company in the world and have enabled those companies to offer highly profitable voice-mail services to hundreds of millions of their customers.
After leaving Boston Technology, Scott returned to Indiana and, in 1996, co-founded Escient, LLC, which he later transformed into Gracenote, one of the first companies to develop the music recognition software that is now at the heart of several Internet music products, such as Apple's iPod and iTunes, the music services of AOL and Yahoo, and Sony's VIAO computer line. Gracenote has added another tune to its repertoire as one of the first companies to offer legal downloads of millions of song lyrics.
Scott also was chairman of other companies that provided a wealth of advanced, user-friendly products, services and technologies for home entertainment, data storage, and the Internet. In 1999, Scott formed Escient Technologies (which became Escient Technologies, LLC), as a high technology accelerator and management company to channel those promising new technologies into strategic positions in the marketplace.
With his ongoing goal of creating devices and products that simplify peoples' lives, Scott remodeled part of a 1930s mansion in Carmel, Indiana, and built a significant addition to it, including a massive great room and a world-class theater. His residence marries an English country manor to 21st century technology. The estate serves first as a family home for himself and his three sons. In addition, it is utilized both as a living lab for new digital home technologies and also as a testing ground for his robot team's "future automobile." Finally, Scott's home is the site for numerous business and charitable events throughout the year. His home has been featured by CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, MTV, HGTV, MSNBC and others.
Scott's business leadership roles continue today, including Chairman of Gracenote, Chairman of Gazelle TechVentures, Chairman and CEO of Precise Path Robotics, Chairman of Grow Indiana Media Ventures, and co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ChaCha Search.
An active leader in his community, Scott serves on numerous boards, including the Indianapolis Zoo and the Indianapolis Children's Museum. In 1994, he established the Scott A. Jones Foundation. Its goal is providing a cross-section of all children with the tools to reach their full potential through educational and cultural activities. An additional focus is the advancement of technology through support of educational and research organizations that seek advances in information technology, communications, transportation, and medical/life sciences.
Today, as a technological pioneer, community leader, philanthropist, serial entrepreneur and inventor, Scott continues to be passionately focused on making the world a better place.
