Mitch Kapor
Founder of Lotus and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Age
- 76 yrs
- Birthday in 360 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Software
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 3
- 0 followers
Mitch Kapor is an American entrepreneur who founded Lotus Development and co-created Lotus 1-2-3, the spreadsheet that made the IBM PC a business essential. He co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was the first chair of the Mozilla Foundation and invests in social-impact technology.
Biography
Background
Kapor studied cybernetics at Yale, worked as a disc jockey and taught transcendental meditation. He worked at VisiCorp, which sold VisiCalc.
Lotus 1-2-3
In 1982 he founded Lotus with Jonathan Sachs. Lotus 1-2-3 (1983) combined spreadsheet, charts and database, became the IBM PC’s killer app, and Lotus became one of the largest software firms.
EFF
In 1990, alarmed by government raids on hackers, he co-founded the EFF with John Perry Barlow and John Gilmore.
Later
He was the founding chair of the Mozilla Foundation (2003) and with his wife Freada Kapor Klein runs Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center, focused on diversity in tech.
Timeline
-
1950
Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States
-
1982
Founds Lotus
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1983
Lotus 1-2-3
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1986
Leaves Lotus
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1990
Co-founds the EFF
-
2003
Chairs the Mozilla Foundation
-
2011
Kapor Capital
Notable works
-
1983
Lotus 1-2-3 Software
With Jonathan Sachs.
Did you know?
-
1
He taught transcendental meditation before entering software.
-
2
IBM bought Lotus in 1995 for $3.5 billion.
-
3
Lotus 1-2-3’s name referred to its three functions: spreadsheet, charts and database.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Mitch Kapor?
Mitch Kapor is an American entrepreneur who founded Lotus Development and co-created Lotus 1-2-3, the spreadsheet that made the IBM PC a business essential. He co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was the first chair of the Mozilla Foundation and invests in social-impact technology.
How old is Mitch Kapor?
Mitch Kapor is 76 years old, born on 1 November 1950 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Where is Mitch Kapor from?
Mitch Kapor was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
What is Mitch Kapor known for?
Mitch Kapor is best known for Lotus 1-2-3 (1983); founding Lotus Development; co-founding the EFF (1990); Mozilla Foundation chair.
References
- Mitch Kapor — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Mitch Kapor (Q724160) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Mitch Kapor”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Mitch Kapor.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/mitch-kapor
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