Draft:Alex Klokus

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Alex Klokus
Alma materNew York University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, media executive, executive producer
Known forFounding Futurism, Gravity Blanket
Notable workTrust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, I Am Human

Alex Klokus is an American entrepreneur, the founder of the technology news website Futurism, and an executive producer.[1] In 2017, Klokus was inducted into the Forbes 30 Under 30[2] in its media category alongside his Futurism co-founder Jordan Lejuwaan.[3] Klokus is currently the founding and managing partner of the SALT fund, which is part of SkyBridge Capital. In 2023 Klokus moderated a SALT iConnections conference session titled "The Pentagon, Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Crashed UFOs" that featured Standford Professor Dr. Garry Nolan.

Education[edit]

Alex Klokus attended New York University, where he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma in its 2012-2013 induction year.[4]

Career[edit]

Futurism[edit]

Alex Klokus and Jason Lejuwaan[3] founded the technology news website Futurism through a Knight Foundation grant[5] in 2017,[6] with Forbes subsequently reporting later that year that the site received more than three million visitors a month with its media content generating over 140 million monthly views.[7][8] Futurism entered into partnerships with the Prime minister's office of Dubai to offer an Arabic language version of Futurism and with the White House for "South by South Lawn" and other events. The company established a "native advertising arm" with Nokia and other companies.[3] Prior to the company's formal launch, it was a technology meet-up discussion group in New York City.[9]

Futurism was acquired by Singularity University in 2019[10] before subsequently selling it to Recurrent Ventures in July[11] 2021.[12][13] When Futurism was sold to Singularity University, Futurism's product the Gravity Blanket was spun off into its own company,[14] Gravity Brand Holdings LLC,[15] which was then led by Klokus[14] and Mike Grillo[16] before its 2021 acquisition by Win Brands Group.[15]

Film production[edit]

Alex Klokus has served as executive producer on multiple films, one of which won a Best Feature award and debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2018, Klokus executive produced the 2018 documentary film Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain alongside Zach LeBeau, Arie Levy-Cohen, and Joseph Lubin. The film, which was written and directed by British American actor Alex Winter, covers the evolution of blockchain technology and its divisive nature while considering whether it is an economic bubble.[17][18]

The following year he served as executive producer for the documentary I Am Human, which debuted at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival to wide acclaim,[19] alongside American director Geoff Clark.[20] I Am Human follows the medical cases of three patients undergoing complex experimental brain treatments with the goal of regaining lost abilities, including body movement and vision.[21][22][23] Praised as "an optimistic, wholesome antidote to fearmongering", the film contemplates the existential question "What makes us human?"[24] The film won Best Director at the Oslo Film Festival[25] and Best Feature at the Other Worlds Film Festival in Austin, Texas.[26]

SALT[edit]

Alex Klokus is the founder and managing partner of the SALT fund,[27] which is part of the American investment firm SkyBridge Capital.[28] He has hosted SkyBridge Alternatives Conference panels with Dr. Garry Nolan[27][29] and retired Lieutenant colonel Karl Nell, a former member of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, about their experiences and beliefs relating to unidentified flying objects.[30][31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2018-08-02). "'Trust Machine: The Story Of Blockchain' — First Teaser For Alex Winter Doc Narrated By Rosario Dawson". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  2. ^ "NYU Entrepreneurs Steal the Show on Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017". NYU Entrepreneurship. 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  3. ^ a b c "Futurism". Forbes. 2017. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ "Members Inducted 2012-2013" (PDF). NYU Stern School of Business. 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "Knight Prototype Fund invests in 20 new projects focused on data-driven storytelling and community problem-solving". Knight Foundation. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ "About Us". Futurism. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  7. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (2018-03-27). "Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Brooklyn's Futurism Forge Content Partnership". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2018-03-27). "Image Nation Forms Content Tie Up With New York Science & Tech Site Futurism". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  9. ^ MacFarlane, James Michael (2020-05-19). Transhumanism as a New Social Movement: The Techno-Centred Imagination. Springer Nature. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-3-030-40090-3.
  10. ^ Willens, Max (2019-03-15). "Gravity blanket seller Futurism acquired by Singularity University". Digiday. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ Kamer, Foster (2021-10-25). "Long Live Futurism.com: This Website Is Free Again, Thanks to You". Futurism. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  12. ^ Cartwright, Lachlan; Tani, Maxwell (2021-07-26). "Futurism Bought by VC-Backed Firm Seeking to Become Next Big Media Power Player". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  13. ^ Perlberg, Steven. "Recurrent Ventures has just raised $75 million. Here's how the little-known but highly acquisitive company is planning to become the next digital-media empire". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  14. ^ a b Coffee, Patrick (April 27, 2021). "Gravity Blanket's CEO shares how he used his advertising experience to launch a business that doubled its revenue in three years". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  15. ^ a b Patel, Sahil. "'Gravity' Blanket Maker Sold to Holding Company for Direct-Commerce Brands". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  16. ^ "Gravity Products CEO Mike Grillo: DTC is not a business model". Digiday. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  17. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2018-08-02). "'Trust Machine: The Story Of Blockchain' — First Teaser For Alex Winter Doc Narrated By Rosario Dawson". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  18. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (2018-10-25). "Review: In Boosting Blockchain, 'Trust Machine' Chains Itself In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  19. ^ Niesel, Jeff. "Documentary Film 'I Am Human' to Have Its Cleveland Premiere on Jan. 30 at the Hanna Theatre". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  20. ^ "I AM HUMAN | 2019 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  21. ^ Stewart, Dillon (January 27, 2020). "I Am Human Documentary Features FES Center, CWRU". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  22. ^ "'I AM HUMAN': Are Brain Implants the Next Evolutionary Leap?". Dell. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  23. ^ Hayes, Dade (2019-03-11). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Shorts Lineup; Feature Slate Includes John DeLorean, Muhammad Ali, Chelsea Manning – Update". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  24. ^ Pardes, Arielle. "Brain-Machine Interfaces Could Give Us All Superpowers". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  25. ^ "I Am Human". Oslo Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  26. ^ "Past Festival - Award Winners". Other Worlds Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  27. ^ a b Chung, Frank (May 20, 2023). "Stanford professor says aliens are '100 per cent' on earth, US is 'reverse-engineering downed UFOs'". News.com.au. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Alex Klokus". SALT. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  29. ^ "Stanford Professor Says Aliens Are '100%' Living Among Us | 98.1 The Breeze". The Morning Breeze w/ Carolyn McArdle & Cort Johnson. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  30. ^ Whiteside, Steph; Coulthart, Ross (2024-05-30). "Aliens are interacting with humans: Ret. Army Col". NewsNation. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  31. ^ "Excoronel de EE UU: «La inteligencia extraterrestre existe e interactúa con la humanidad»". El Nacional (in Spanish). May 31, 2024. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
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