Joichi Ito is the founder and CEO of Neoteny (www.neoteny.com), a venture capital firm focused on personal communications and enabling technologies. He has created numerous Internet companies, including PSINet Japan, Digital Garage, and Infoseek Japan.

In 1997 Time magazine ranked Joichi as a member of the CyberElite. In 2000 he was ranked among the "50 Stars of Asia" by Business Week and commended by the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications for supporting the advancement of IT. In 2001 the World Economic Forum chose him as one of the 100 "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" for 2002.