Arthur van Hoff (born 16 February 1963) is a Dutch computer scientist and businessman.
Arthur van Hoff | |
|---|---|
 Arthur van Hoff at Jaunt VR, Feb 2016 | |
| Born | 16 February 1963 |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Alma mater | University of Strathclyde |
| Occupation(s) | Computer programmer, entrepreneur |
| Employer | Jaunt |
| Known for | Early contributor to the Java programming language |
| Spouse | Marleen Zwiers |
| Website | about.me/avh |
Biography
After studying computer science at the University of Strathclyde and Hogere Informatica Opleiding,[1] Van Hoff joined Sun Microsystems as an engineer with the Distributed Objects Everywhere team.[2] In 1993, he joined the Java development team,[2] writing the language's compiler and taking responsibility for its first release to Netscape in August 1995.[3][4] In 1996, he left Sun, feeling that the options to develop Java outside of the organization were "too tempting", and established the startup Marimba, serving as its Chief Technology Officer.[5] At Marimba, Van Hoff led the engineering team in developing a pull technology-based software distribution system, Castanet.[6]
In 2002, Van Hoff left Marimba,[7] which was acquired by BMC Software for $240 million.[8] He started Strangeberry, a startup that developed software to play computer-stored content on televisions. It was acquired by TiVo, Inc. in January 2004[7] and he joined TiVo as Principal Engineer. He resigned from TiVo in 2005[9] and later joined Flipboard as their Chief Technology Officer.[10] He left Flipboard in November 2012[11] and started Jaunt Virtual Reality with co-founders Tom Annau and Jens Christensen.[12] He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer of Jaunt, Inc., as well as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence of Redpoint Ventures.[1]