Who we Are
Who we Are
“Around the world, a handful of visionaries are plotting an alternative online future. Is it really possible to remake the internet in a way that’s egalitarian, decentralised and free of snooping?”
Guardian UK
“Around the world, a handful of visionaries are plotting an alternative online future. Is it really possible to remake the internet in a way that’s egalitarian, decentralised and free of snooping?”
Guardian UK
“Around the world, a handful of visionaries are plotting an alternative online future. Is it really possible to remake the internet in a way that’s egalitarian, decentralised and free of snooping?”
Guardian UK
Autonomi is the culmination of an 18-year quest to deliver an Internet that’s not only democratised, secure, and permanently accessible; but challenges the very surveillance-driven business models that the current web finds itself upon.
A challenge adopted by founder and Scottish engineer David Irvine: to roll back the story of the web to its roots, and rebuild and reconfigure it from the ground up. A vision to combine the dormant space of all connected devices to form a globe-spanning encrypted data layer—a massive array of Internet disks—and stitch it into the fabric of the web as a common and permanently accessible tool we all have a slice of.
Irvine gradually assembled a team—and a company, MaidSafe—to doggedly pursue this vision. First in an ocean-going boat; then a dusty office above a bridal shop; a cold boatshed, and now a globally distributed squad of developers, thinkers, scientists, and PhDs.
He saw the potential to use this network to protect individual privacy and data security, first by eliminating central servers, and then by distributing data as encrypted chunks across this colossal network of commodity devices: turning the Internet itself into the common storage brain for all data—with computers and applications simply being the agnostic tools through which we reassemble our encrypted lives from anywhere. No middlemen nor gatekeepers required.
A singular vision, a complex problem, but an elegant and simple solution inspired by the self-organisational systems found in nature. A new and reformulated digital world where we are all free to communicate, collaborate, and build on ideas without the barriers of monopolies or constraints of scale.
A singular vision, a complex problem, but an elegant and simple solution inspired by the self-organisational systems found in nature. A new and reformulated digital world where we are all free to communicate, collaborate, and build on ideas without the barriers of monopolies or constraints of scale.
A singular vision, a complex problem, but an elegant and simple solution inspired by the self-organisational systems found in nature. A new and reformulated digital world where we are all free to communicate, collaborate, and build on ideas without the barriers of monopolies or constraints of scale.
Autonomi — the autonomous data layer formerly known as the SAFE Network — is now alive and kicking.
Autonomi is a set of protocols built by a dedicated team of engineers, scientists, thinkers, and PhDs, but it's a network diligently designed to be controlled by no one, so it's owned by us all. We, are the future of the Internet
Our team
Our team
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David Irvine
Founder & Chief R&D Officer
David Irvine (born 18 April 1965 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland) is a pioneering Scottish engineer and inventor, best known as the founder of MaidSafe. Irvine led MaidSafe to launch the world's first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014, setting a precedent for blockchain funding.
Holding over 40 patents in digital security and networking, his contributions have significantly advanced the fields of digital electronics and cybersecurity. Irvine's work emphasises creating a secure, accessible Internet, reflecting his commitment to digital rights and privacy. Before founding MaidSafe, Irvine accumulated diverse experience in engineering and IT, establishing himself as a visionary in technology.
David Irvine
Founder & Chief R&D Officer
David Irvine (born 18 April 1965 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland) is a pioneering Scottish engineer and inventor, best known as the founder of MaidSafe. Irvine led MaidSafe to launch the world's first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014, setting a precedent for blockchain funding.
Holding over 40 patents in digital security and networking, his contributions have significantly advanced the fields of digital electronics and cybersecurity. Irvine's work emphasises creating a secure, accessible Internet, reflecting his commitment to digital rights and privacy. Before founding MaidSafe, Irvine accumulated diverse experience in engineering and IT, establishing himself as a visionary in technology.
David Irvine
Founder & Chief R&D Officer
David Irvine (born 18 April 1965 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland) is a pioneering Scottish engineer and inventor, best known as the founder of MaidSafe. Irvine led MaidSafe to launch the world's first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014, setting a precedent for blockchain funding.
Holding over 40 patents in digital security and networking, his contributions have significantly advanced the fields of digital electronics and cybersecurity. Irvine's work emphasises creating a secure, accessible Internet, reflecting his commitment to digital rights and privacy. Before founding MaidSafe, Irvine accumulated diverse experience in engineering and IT, establishing himself as a visionary in technology.
Bux
CEO
Sarah Buxton, also known affectionately as ‘Bux’, is a pioneering leader in the decentralised space, focusing beyond the promise of web3 and the trading gains of crypto, to the opportunity for self-sovereignty and autonomy at scale. She is particularly passionate about giving power and access back to creators and producers worldwide.
Having spent significant time in the disruptive tech space, including a founder role within Gala—serving as their COO, helping to scale the business, before becoming CEO of their music division—she has gained valuable insights into the pitfalls and promise of introducing nascent technology to ‘the masses’.
Bux
CEO
Sarah Buxton, also known affectionately as ‘Bux’, is a pioneering leader in the decentralised space, focusing beyond the promise of web3 and the trading gains of crypto, to the opportunity for self-sovereignty and autonomy at scale. She is particularly passionate about giving power and access back to creators and producers worldwide.
Having spent significant time in the disruptive tech space, including a founder role within Gala—serving as their COO, helping to scale the business, before becoming CEO of their music division—she has gained valuable insights into the pitfalls and promise of introducing nascent technology to ‘the masses’.
Bux
CEO
Sarah Buxton, also known affectionately as ‘Bux’, is a pioneering leader in the decentralised space, focusing beyond the promise of web3 and the trading gains of crypto, to the opportunity for self-sovereignty and autonomy at scale. She is particularly passionate about giving power and access back to creators and producers worldwide.
Having spent significant time in the disruptive tech space, including a founder role within Gala—serving as their COO, helping to scale the business, before becoming CEO of their music division—she has gained valuable insights into the pitfalls and promise of introducing nascent technology to ‘the masses’.
Jim Collinson
Chief Strategy Officer
A tech strategist specialising in human-centred interaction with autonomous systems, privacy technology, and decentralised data. Jim has a background in networked systems and the arts—leading cutting edge music services, and open technology platforms.
Jim has been with MaidSafe for seven years, working with engineers, developers, and product teams in defining and designing how both individuals and institutions will interact with and benefit from this new distributed Internet technology. Creating new relationships with data: secure, sovereign, decentralised and permanently accessible.
Jim Collinson
Chief Strategy Officer
A tech strategist specialising in human-centred interaction with autonomous systems, privacy technology, and decentralised data. Jim has a background in networked systems and the arts—leading cutting edge music services, and open technology platforms.
Jim has been with MaidSafe for seven years, working with engineers, developers, and product teams in defining and designing how both individuals and institutions will interact with and benefit from this new distributed Internet technology. Creating new relationships with data: secure, sovereign, decentralised and permanently accessible.
Jim Collinson
Chief Strategy Officer
A tech strategist specialising in human-centred interaction with autonomous systems, privacy technology, and decentralised data. Jim has a background in networked systems and the arts—leading cutting edge music services, and open technology platforms.
Jim has been with MaidSafe for seven years, working with engineers, developers, and product teams in defining and designing how both individuals and institutions will interact with and benefit from this new distributed Internet technology. Creating new relationships with data: secure, sovereign, decentralised and permanently accessible.
Josh Wilson
Chief Technology Officer
An detail oriented engineer with over 15 years of experience and a particular specialist in decentralised and community driven open source projects—and with a deep understanding of the Autonomi tech stack. Josh brings hands-on leadership to asynchronous, distributed engineering teams.
Josh Wilson
Chief Technology Officer
An detail oriented engineer with over 15 years of experience and a particular specialist in decentralised and community driven open source projects—and with a deep understanding of the Autonomi tech stack. Josh brings hands-on leadership to asynchronous, distributed engineering teams.
Josh Wilson
Chief Technology Officer
An detail oriented engineer with over 15 years of experience and a particular specialist in decentralised and community driven open source projects—and with a deep understanding of the Autonomi tech stack. Josh brings hands-on leadership to asynchronous, distributed engineering teams.
Gill McLaughlin
Head of Marketing
A seasoned and highly regarded marketing head, strategy lead, and operations professional with over 25 years of delivering results for global enterprise and large-scale growth products. Gill has worked campaigns for everything from the largest Web3 and gaming projects, leading-edge OSS, to traditional blue-chip finance — and everything in between.
Gill McLaughlin
Head of Marketing
A seasoned and highly regarded marketing head, strategy lead, and operations professional with over 25 years of delivering results for global enterprise and large-scale growth products. Gill has worked campaigns for everything from the largest Web3 and gaming projects, leading-edge OSS, to traditional blue-chip finance — and everything in between.
Gill McLaughlin
Head of Marketing
A seasoned and highly regarded marketing head, strategy lead, and operations professional with over 25 years of delivering results for global enterprise and large-scale growth products. Gill has worked campaigns for everything from the largest Web3 and gaming projects, leading-edge OSS, to traditional blue-chip finance — and everything in between.
Andy Laverty
Non-Executive Director
Non exec director with extensive CFO private equity and blue chip international experience. Interim former CFO Sun Microsystems, Group CFO FNZ wealth management SaaS. A seasoned leader of large complex cross functional projects and extensive international experience
Andy Laverty
Non-Executive Director
Non exec director with extensive CFO private equity and blue chip international experience. Interim former CFO Sun Microsystems, Group CFO FNZ wealth management SaaS. A seasoned leader of large complex cross functional projects and extensive international experience
Andy Laverty
Non-Executive Director
Non exec director with extensive CFO private equity and blue chip international experience. Interim former CFO Sun Microsystems, Group CFO FNZ wealth management SaaS. A seasoned leader of large complex cross functional projects and extensive international experience
David Allan
Non-Executive Director
Qualified corporate lawyer with 35 years experience of M&A, equity funding and as a director in several tech start-ups.
David Allan
Non-Executive Director
Qualified corporate lawyer with 35 years experience of M&A, equity funding and as a director in several tech start-ups.
David Allan
Non-Executive Director
Qualified corporate lawyer with 35 years experience of M&A, equity funding and as a director in several tech start-ups.