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Alex Klokus

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Alex Klokus
Picture of Alex Klokus in a blue suit.
Alex Klokus in 2023
Alma materNew York University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, investor, media executive, executive producer
Known forFounding Futurism, Gravity Blanket, Tomorrow Farms, SALT fund
Notable workTrust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, I Am Human

Alex Klokus is an American entrepreneur, co-founder of the technology news website Futurism, a co-founder of Gravity Blanket, and an executive producer. In 2017, Klokus was inducted into the Forbes 30 Under 30 in its media category alongside his Futurism co-founder Jordan Lejuwaan. Klokus is currently a founder and managing partner of the SALT fund. Klokus is a moderator at the SALT iConnections conference and World Government Summit.

Education

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Alex Klokus received his undergraduate degree from New York University's Stern School of Business,[1] where he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma in its 2012-2013 induction year.[2]

Corporate ventures

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Futurism

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Alex Klokus and Jordan Lejuwaan[3] founded the technology news website Futurism through a Knight Foundation grant[4] in 2017,[5] 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.[6][7] Futurism entered into partnerships with the Prime Minister's office in 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 partnerships 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.[8]

Klokus and Futurism co-founder Jordan Lejuwaan were inducted into the media category of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017.[3][9]

Futurism was acquired by Singularity University in 2019[10] before subsequently selling it to Recurrent Ventures in July[11] 2021.[12][13]

Gravity Blanket

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Main article: Gravity Blanket

The Gravity Blanket is a crowdfunded weighted blanket product originally developed by Futurism which received generally favorable reviews from customers and the media, being considered one of the best inventions of 2018 by Time magazine.[14] When Futurism was sold to Singularity University, Futurism's product the Gravity Blanket was spun off into its own company,[15] Gravity Brand Holdings LLC,[16] which was then led by Klokus[15] and Mike Grillo[17] before its 2021 acquisition by Win Brands Group.[16]

Futurism Studios

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Klokus launched Futurism's film and TV arm. In 2018, Futurism Studios signed a deal with WME and subsequently produced documentary films such as Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain and the Facebook Watch narrative drama[18] series Glimpse.[19] In 2020 it helped to produce the Australian science fiction film 2067.[20]

SALT

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Alex Klokus is a founder and managing partner of the SALT fund.[21][22] Through this fund, he invested in and co-founded Tomorrow Farms.[23][24]

Other ventures

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Alongside AJ Scaramucci, Klokus co-founded "The Pineapple Palace" co-working space and a startup called Pandos.[25] Klokus co-founded the cryptocurrency investment fund Kyber Capital.[26]

Film production and conference moderation

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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. He has hosted multiple SkyBridge Alternatives Conference panels and also served as a moderator for the 2019 World Government Summit.[27]

Film production

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In 2018, Klokus executive produced the 2018 documentary film Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain alongside Zach LeBeau, Arie Levy-Cohen, and Joseph Lubin.[28] 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.[28][29]

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,[30] alongside American director Geoff Clark.[31] 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.[32][33][34] Praised as "an optimistic, wholesome antidote to fearmongering", the film contemplates the existential question "What makes us human?"[35] The film won Best Director at the Oslo Film Festival[36] and Best Feature at the Other Worlds Film Festival in Austin, Texas.[37]

Conference moderation

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In 2021, Klokus moderated a SkyBridge Alternatives Conference discussion with American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku about the future of humanity.[38] The following year, Klokus moderated two discussions: a discussion with Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies about the promise psychedelic substances might have for mental health treatments,[39] and an interview with Harvard theoretical physicist Avi Loeb discussing the Galileo Project and whether humanity is alone in the universe.[40] In 2023, he hosted Stanford Professor Dr. Garry Nolan[21][41] and, the following year, 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.[42][43]

References

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  1. ^ Thomas, Remya (2017-01-09). "NYU Entrepreneurs Steal the Show on Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017". NYU Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  2. ^ "Members Inducted 2012-2013" (PDF). New York University Stern School of Business. 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Futurism". Forbes. 2017. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ "Knight Prototype Fund invests in 20 new projects focused on data-driven storytelling and community problem-solving". Knight Foundation. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. ^ "About Us". Futurism. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (2018-03-27). "Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Brooklyn's Futurism Forge Content Partnership". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2018-03-27). "Image Nation Forms Content Tie Up With New York Science & Tech Site Futurism". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "NYU Entrepreneurs Steal the Show on Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017". NYU Entrepreneurship. 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  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. ^ Ducharme, Jamie (2018). "Blankets That Ease Anxiety: The 50 Best Inventions of 2018". Time. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ a b Patel, Sahil. "'Gravity' Blanket Maker Sold to Holding Company for Direct-Commerce Brands". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  17. ^ "Gravity Products CEO Mike Grillo: DTC is not a business model". Digiday. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  18. ^ Clark, Geoff (2018-09-13). "Glimpse: The first original, narrative drama from Futurism Studios is here". Futurism. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  19. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 4, 2018). "Futurism Studios Ramps Up Production And Distribution Plan, Signs With WME". Deadline. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  20. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 9, 2019). "Futurism Studios Joins First Narrative Feature In Shape Of Oz Sci-Fi '2067' Starring Ryan Kwanten & Kodi Smit-McPhee — Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Alex Klokus". SALT. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  23. ^ Hall, Christine (2022-05-06). "Tomorrow Farms wants to revamp the pantry". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  24. ^ "Tomorrow Farms - Company Profile". Boring Business Nerd. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  25. ^ Mascarenhas, Natasha (2020-10-15). "Startup founders set up hacker homes to recreate Silicon Valley synergy". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  26. ^ "SALT — Alex Klokus". SALT. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  27. ^ "Dubai World Government Summit 2019 schedule for Monday February 11". The National. March 1, 2020. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  28. ^ a b 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ "I AM HUMAN | 2019 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  32. ^ Stewart, Dillon (January 27, 2020). "I Am Human Documentary Features FES Center, CWRU". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  33. ^ "'I AM HUMAN': Are Brain Implants the Next Evolutionary Leap?". Dell. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ Pardes, Arielle. "Brain-Machine Interfaces Could Give Us All Superpowers". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  36. ^ "I Am Human". Oslo Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  37. ^ "Past Festival - Award Winners". Other Worlds Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  38. ^ "SALT — The Future in 2050 with Dr. Michio Kaku & Alex Klokus | #SALTNY". SALT. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  39. ^ "SALT NY: Psychedelic Renaissance: Breakthrough Mental Health Treatments". Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. September 29, 2022. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  40. ^ "Professor Abraham (Avi) Loeb". Harvard Center for Astrophysics. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  41. ^ "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.
  42. ^ Whiteside, Steph; Coulthart, Ross (2024-05-30). "Aliens are interacting with humans: Ret. Army Col". NewsNation. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  43. ^ "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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