In evolutionary biology, an exaptation is a trait that is co-opted for a purpose other than that for which it had originally evolved. In a TEDx talk, Dave King explains how technology and big data can mimic exaptation to create new, cross-discipline ideas. You can watch it here.
Dave King has been involved in high-tech entrepreneurship since the early 1990s. He has over 15 years experience in all aspects of software development, from system architecture to large-scale database design to the psychology of user interfaces and management of Agile development teams. Dave helped pioneer paperless manufacturing information systems in the electronics industry, then focused on designing extensible software systems for ad hoc visualization and analysis of large-scale multidimensional datasets. In 2011, Dave saw the need for a more modular and cross-disciplinary approach to data science and founded Exaptive, Inc. in order to pursue ways that technology and community can be combined to facilitate innovation. In 2015, his company was named as one of five Cool New Vendors in the life sciences by Gartner and an Innovator of Year by the Journal Record and in 2016 was selected by the Bloor Group as one of the top 10 companies and technologies to watch. Dave holds a BS from MIT.
