Creator of Shazam, tech inventor with 12 patents and pioneer of consumer AI
Chris Barton created Shazam — one of the world's most beloved and widely used applications, with over two billion downloads and 300 million monthly users — long before anyone knew the iPhone was coming. He conceived the idea in 2000, three years before iTunes and eight years before the App Store, at a time when every expert he consulted told him the necessary pattern recognition algorithm was impossible. He built it anyway, creating new technology, constructing a search engine supercomputer from scratch and assembling the world's largest music database to make a single thing effortless: identifying any song, anywhere.
In 2018 Apple acquired Shazam for a reported $400 million — the company's sixth-largest acquisition of all time. Before that, Chris had been a founding member of Google's Android Partnerships team, where he created the mobile operator partnership framework, and spent four years at Dropbox as one of its first 100 employees. He holds 12 patents, including one within the Google search algorithm, and today is building Guard, an AI system designed to detect drowning in swimming pools.
Grown up with a French mother and British father — both university professors — Chris has always held that his undiagnosed dyslexia is a superpower rather than a limitation, a perspective that informs both his approach to innovation and the keynotes he delivers to audiences across the world. He speaks on making impossible ideas real, eliminating friction to drive growth, and the mindset required to persist through obstacles that would stop most people cold.
Chris Barton is a keynote speaker based in New South Wales who speaks on artificial intelligence, business strategy and innovation. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Technology & A.I. are dramatically changing what's possible in our world. Our challenge as we create new things is to dislodge from the comfort of what we already know. Chris created Shazam after being told by every "expert" that his outlandish idea was impossible. It was an idea far ahead of its time – eight years before iPhone apps even existed. In this presentation, Chris helps audiences imagine and then create new visions for the future. He inspires with jaw-dropping stories about creating Shazam and shows how innovation comes from not just an idea, but from a series of insights to overcome obstacles along the way.
[Audiences learn a new framework of thinking to create change through technology]
Entrepreneurs have passion, ideas, and desire but can get stuck on the difficult journey to achieving their dreams. They want to bring something truly new to the world, but need to learn how to overcome big obstacles, choose their priorities, and convince others of their vision. Chris inspires and teaches entrepreneurs using the story of Shazam's creation including the scrappy and creative hacks that transformed an idea into a product with two billion customers.
[Audiences are inspired to embrace a mindset to create the next great companies]
We all know simple is great, so why don't all organizations create amazing things just like Apple? The reality is that friction permeates almost everything we do. This "extra effort" frustrates our customers, partners, and colleagues. In creating Shazam, Chris moved mountains to make one thing very easy – identifying any song. Shazam changed the way the world discovers music. Chris combines stories from creating Shazam with his twelve years at Android (Google) and Dropbox to provide concrete examples of how we can all push boundaries to eliminate friction.
[Audiences learn to identify and eliminate friction to drive growth]
A great idea gets you nowhere without tenacity. True disruption requires both persistence and creative solutions. In creating Shazam, Chris faced obstacles many thought were insurmountable. Most would have given up, but he refused. Instead, Chris challenged every assumption about the obstacles he faced. He shares stories and actionable lessons that inspire audiences to pursue their dreams. Chris urges audiences to question the status quo and to sweat the details on the path to redefining the future.
[Audiences learn new mindsets to break past barriers]
Chris customized a powerful keynote that delivered significant value for Coca-Cola. His messages sparked action among our executives and inspired our bottler partners toward our goals. Chris’s energy and enthusiasm really stands out. He is an inspiration with truly eye-opening insights and stories.VP Customer & Commercial Leadership, Coca-Cola
We recently had Chris Barton speak at our 40th anniversary celebration. He delivered what was by far the best one hour keynote that our clients and staff had ever seen. Chris was insightful, energetic, and entertaining speaker with thought-provoking ideas.CEO, Costa Rica, Porter Novelli
Your presentation at PDW was not just a highlight—it was a visionary revelation. It left us inspired and eager to embrace the future. The way you blended your life and Shazam story with a masterclass in innovation weaved through it resonated deeply with our audience.President, DPI
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