Electrical Engineer & Open-Source Hardware Innovator; Founder of Adafruit Industries; Advocate for STEM Education
Limor Fried Biography
Limor Fried is an American electrical engineer, entrepreneur, and a leading figure in the open-source hardware movement. Fried earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and computer science and a Master of Engineering in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She founded Adafruit Industries in her MIT dorm room to provide electronics kits for hobbyists. Adafruit has since become a major provider of educational electronics and resources for makers and educators.
Adafruit designs, manufactures, and sells electronics products, components, tools, and accessories, and produces educational resources, including live and recorded videos, focused on electronics, technology, and programming. Fried has maintained Adafruit as a bootstrapped company, manufacturing exclusively in New York City, which allows for flexibility in design and innovation. Adafruit has been recognized among the top manufacturing companies in the United States and as a leading manufacturer in New York City by Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies. A significant technical contribution from Adafruit is CircuitPython, a branch of MicroPython developed to simplify experimentation and education on microcontrollers. The open-source microcontroller driver libraries developed by Fried are widely adopted in the maker and electronics education communities.
Fried has played a central role in the open-source hardware community, participating in the first Open Source Hardware Summit and contributing to the drafting of the Open Source Hardware definition. Known by the moniker ladyada, in reference to Ada Lovelace, Fried is active in mentoring and advocating for open source initiatives, women business owners, and the New York City technology sector. Through Adafruit, she supports STEM education and promotes access to technology for women and underrepresented groups via free learning guides, community forums, and open-source projects.
Fried's work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her contributions to open source hardware and software, the Most Influential Women in Technology award from Fast Company, and recognition as the first female engineer featured on the cover of Wired Magazine. She has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur Magazine, a Champion of Change for Making by the White House, one of America's Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes Magazine, and a Women in Open Source Community Award winner. Fried also received the GitHub Hardware Hacker Award for advancing hardware accessibility and was named to Forbes' America's Greatest Innovators list. Her contributions have significantly influenced electronics engineering, open-source hardware, and STEM education, shaping how technology is learned and created.
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What topics does Limor Fried speak about?
Limor Fried is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Female Leadership, Futurism, Influential Women, Innovation, Inventors, STEM, STEM Education, Technology, Women in Business, Women in Tech -
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Limor Fried is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Limor Fried for your event is available upon request. Limor Fried generally travels from New York, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Dr. Monica F. Cox, Helen Greiner, Kavita Shukla, Megan Smith and Debbie Sterling. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Limor Fried for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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