| Michael Breidenbrücker | |
| Birth Date: | 6 January 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Vorarlberg, Austria |
| Alma Mater: | University of Applied Arts Vienna |
| Occupation: | Entrepreneur |
Michael Breidenbrücker (born 6 January 1972) is an Austrian entrepreneur, artist and engineer. He is best known as a co-founder of Last.fm, a founder of RjDj and a partner at the venture firm Speedinvest. He has worked with musical artists such as Hans Zimmer, Imogen Heap, Air and Booka Shade. In 2011, he produced Inception The App with Christopher Nolan and Hans Zimmer, which reached number 5 in the US App Store charts.[1] Between 2000 and 2002, he headed the masters programme in interactive digital media at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London.[2] He studied digital art at the University of Applied Arts Vienna with Peter Weibel.[3]
In 2002, Breidenbrücker co-founded the Internet radio site for streaming music Last.fm Ltd. and managed it as CEO from 2002 until 2005. Using a recommend system called Audioscrobbler, Last.fm records users' different musical tastes and makes recommendations. The site also offers different social networking features, allowing users to share their tastes. In May 2007, the company was acquired by CBS Interactive for US$280 million (UK£140 million).[4] In 2003, Last.fm received an Honorary Mention in the Prix Ars Electronica in the category Net vision.[5]
In 2008, he founded RjDj (Reality Jockey Ltd.), a London-based music technology startup. RjDj produced and distributed a network of mobile applications and sold additional musical content within this network.
Mobile applications created with RjDj:
RjDj ceased trading in 2013. In 2016, a revised edition of the RjDj App was released under the name "Hear".[6] [7]
In 2011, Breidenbrücker joined the founding team of the Vienna-based venture firm Speedinvest.[8] He was originally in the investment committee of Speedinvest. In the second Speedinvest Fund, he joined the partner team and headed the company builder Speedinvest Studio.
In 2012, he joined the team behind the Zurich-based app discover startup 42matters.[9]
In 2016, Breidenbrücker co-founded of Senseforce, an IIoT company.[10] Senseforce was renamed Paze Industries and in 2023, was taken over by Viennese Software company Workheld.[11]
Breidenbrücker was born in Vorarlberg, Austria [12] After high school he moved to Sweden to study engineering. He then moved to London to study Art.