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Canadian entrepreneur

Simon Tian
Tian as a guest speaker at the Wearable Technology Show in London, 2014
Born (1994-02-24) February 24, 1994 (age 30)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma materMarianopolis College (attended)
OccupationCEO of Fonus
Awards

Simon Tian (born February 24, 1994) is a Canadian businessman, inventor, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Fonus and Neptune. Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Tian dropped out of pre-university college at the age of 17 to start Neptune, and, as of late 2017, has raised around $7 million from private investors as well as a total of more than $2 million from crowdfunding sources alone. Tian is a 2015 Thiel Fellow, having been awarded $100,000 by PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel through the Thiel Foundation, and was named one of the top 30 Quebecers under 30 by Les Affaires in 2014.

Early life

Tian was born to Chinese Canadian parents in Montreal, Quebec, in 1994. He was raised in Brossard, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, and attended secondary school at Jean de la Mennais College, a French-speaking school in La Prairie, Quebec. Tian is fluent in English, French, and Mandarin. Tian is also a classically-trained pianist, having won first place in piano performance at the Canadian Music Competition in 2008 at age 13.

Career

Tian started Neptune, a wearable technology company, in January 2013, while he was 17 and still studying at Marianopolis College, in Westmount, Quebec. Before building a prototype or incorporating the company, Tian posted some conceptual drawings of a smartwatch, the Neptune Pine, on the internet and issued a press release announcing the product's launch. He received more than 20,000 orders for the device in a few weeks. Following the interest in his conceptual drawings, Tian dropped out of school and travelled to China to meet with manufacturers to have the device developed. In November 2013, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the product's development. Within 27 hours, the campaign surpassed its funding goal of $100,000, and went on to raise more than $800,000 in 30 days.

The Pine was prominently featured in the 2017 film The Fate of the Furious, the CBS TV series Extant produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Halle Berry, as well as the music video for the song Smartphones by Trey Songz. The device received mixed reviews from the press, with many criticizing its large size and functionality.

In November 2015, Tian was invited by the Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre to attend the 2015 Montreal Trade mission to China as one of the city's representatives. Tian raised US$1.15 million for the Neptune Suite in 2015, estimating the products would be ready for shipping in April 2016. However, Tian claims that the project ultimately needed more financing to be realized, and that the funds he had raised were not sufficient to complete development of the product. In late 2017, Neptune, Tian's first company, was acquired for an undisclosed amount.

In November 2019, Tian announced the launch of Fonus, an American telecommunications company based in Santa Monica, California, operating as a mobile virtual network operator on AT&T’s network. The company offers a single monthly prepaid plan as opposed to the usual multi-plan offerings of other carriers, providing users with unlimited data, unlimited calls and texts worldwide, and free roaming in the United States, Canada and Mexico at a fixed monthly fee. The data operates on AT&T's cellular network in the United States, whereas the calls and texts are provided through Fonus' proprietary voice over IP (VoIP) application.

In late 2023, Tian unveiled global wireless plans on Fonus with unlimited data, calls & texts in over 50 countries, starting at US$19.99 per month. International calls to over 85 countries are included and unlimited. The plans provide 5G speeds worldwide and are available in physical SIM and eSIM formats. Mobile hotspotting, visual voicemail, and Wi-Fi Calling are also supported.

In May 2024, Tian announced a strategic partnership between Fonus and Tata Communications, leveraging Tata’s proprietary platform to expand and streamline Fonus’ wireless coverage worldwide.

References

  1. Bogart, Nicole. "Canadian entrepreneur wants to replace your smartphone with smartwatch 'hub'". Global News.
  2. "Neptune's Duo will put your whole world on your wrist". VentureBeat.
  3. "Fonus claims to be the world's first global carrier". MobileSyrup. November 21, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "Once you have this smartwatch, you may throw out your smartphone". CBC.
  5. "This 19-year-old Montreal teen has raised over $200,000 on Kickstarter for his Neptune Pine smartwatch". Financial Post.
  6. "How a Canadian whiz kid plans to upend the smartphone market". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  7. Alois, J. D. (December 22, 2013). "Neptune Pine SmartWatch Crowdfunds Over $800,000 on Kickstarter". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  8. Czikk, Joseph (May 28, 2015). "Neptune Pine's story a testament to 'just do it' mentality". Montreal in Technology. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  9. "Billionaire Peter Thiel is giving these 20 kids $100,000 to drop out of college and start companies". Business Insider.
  10. "Montreal whiz kid to be paid $100,000 to quit school". CTV Montreal.
  11. "$100K to drop out of school: 4 Canadian students win fellowship". CBC.
  12. "Four young Canadians ditch school for $100K fellowships | Toronto Star". Toronto Star.
  13. "Top 30 des jeunes de 30 ans et moins en TI". www.lesaffaires.com (in French). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  14. "Eventful: EWeek Keynote Speaker: Fireside Chat with Simon Tian, Founder of Neptune". Eventful. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  15. "Canadian Music Competition 2008 / Results / Detailed Results / Piano – Canadian Music Competition". www.cmcnational.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "How a Canadian whiz kid plans to upend the smartphone market". The Globe and Mail.
  17. "Teen Dropout Gets $200,000 In Crowdfunding For This Invention". The Huffington Post.
  18. "Neptune Pine SmartWatch Crowdfunds Over $800,000 on Kickstarter". Crowdfund Insider. December 22, 2013.
  19. "Yes, we really had to wear this in public to review it for you". Digital Trends.
  20. Aguilar, Mario. "The Joy and Misery of Life With a Grotesquely Large "Smartwatch"". Gizmodo.
  21. "Behold: a wristband that replaces your phone with a dumber phone". Engadget. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  22. "Liste des Participants à la Mission Chine" (PDF). Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. October 2015.
  23. "Neptune Suite – One Hub, Infinite Possibilities". Indiegogo.
  24. "Eine Million US$ kam für diesen Computer der Zukunft zusammen – weshalb es ihn trotzdem nie geben wird". Aargauer Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  25. vbcam (March 6, 2014). "4 Kickstarter projects take on tech giants in the wearables industry". VentureBeat. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  26. ^ "US MVNO Fonus launches unlimited USD 30 plan with AT&T 5G". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  27. ^ "Fonus launches $30 cellular plan with up to 5G speeds of unlimited data, unlimited calls & texts worldwide via the Fonus app, and free roaming across North America". PRWeb. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Fonus launches global wireless plans with unlimited data, calls & texts all over the world, starting at US$19.99 per month". PRWeb. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  29. ^ McKenna, Alain (November 27, 2024). "Vie numérique: Dire adieu aux frais d'itinérance, est-ce possible ?". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  30. "Transforming customer experience worldwide: Fonus visionary growth as a global MVNO powered by Tata Communications MOVE™". www.tatacommunications.com. May 31, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
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