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{{short description|Taiwanese-American and Canadian computer programmer and internet entrepreneur}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=September 2009}}
{{BLP one source|date = November 2019
}}
}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Benjamin Chiu
| native_name = 邱泽堃
| native_name_lang = zh
| other_names = Ben Chiu
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|12|27}}
| birth_place = [[Taichung]], [[Taiwan]]
| nationality = Taiwanese-American, Canadian
| alma_mater = [[University of Toronto]] ([[BSc]])
}}

'''Benjamin''' "'''Ben'''" '''Chiu''' ({{zh|s=邱泽堃|t=邱澤堃|p=Qiū Zékūn}}; born December 27, 1970) is a [[Taiwanese-American]] and Canadian [[computer programmer]] and internet entrepreneur. He is the founder of killerapp.com,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mcdonald |first=Maggie |date=14 August 1999 |title=Tales from the Valley |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16321995-300-tales-from-the-valley/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=[[New Scientist]] |language=en-US}}</ref> a popular comparison shopping site for computers and consumer electronics that was acquired by [[CNET]] Networks Inc. in 1999 for $50 million.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alan Hyde|title=Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWLbCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA222|date=11 June 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-45170-9|pages=222–}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Born in [[Taichung, Taiwan]], Ben who is an only child, moved to [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], at eight months of age with his mother (Hsiu Lan) and father (Sheng Dien) where they lived for six years before moving to [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], Canada. He attended high-school at [https://web.archive.org/web/20090127020720/http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/albertcampbell/history.html Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute] in [[Scarborough, Toronto|Scarborough]], [[Ontario]] and graduated with honors and awards in [[Computer Science]] and [[Visual Arts]]. In 1993 he received his [[bachelor's degree]] in [[applied science]], [[industrial engineering]] from the [[University of Toronto]].

When he was 11, Ben began to take an interest in programming. One summer, Ben's father assigned him to write a database system (using [[DBASE]]) for their family business. With help from his father, Ben started Linguasoft Corp. and sold his system to bookstores and libraries. To this day, the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] is still using his software.

Barely a teenager, Ben Chiu played [[table-tennis]] for the provincial (Ontario) team. Under the relentless training of renowned [[Yugoslavia]]n coach [[Zoran Kosanovic]], Ben won the Canadian National Championships (junior singles), Formosa Cup (men's singles) and took 2nd place at the 1984 U.S. Open (junior doubles).

In addition to high school, Ben also attended school for the gifted in visual arts. His art teacher once offered to buy one of his oil paintings but Ben declined. Some of his wildlife paintings have been displayed at the [http://www.mcmichael.com McMichael Gallery] in [[Kleinburg, Ontario]]. At the time, his style was inspired by [[Robert Bateman (naturalist)|Robert Bateman]], [[Glen Loates]] and [[Andrew Wyeth]].

== Career ==
In 1994 while the Internet was still in its infancy, Ben moved to [[Fremont, California]]
to help manage his father's publishing business--[http://www.panap.com Pan Asian Publications]. While buying computer hardware for the company, he discovered it was tedious to browse through thousands of magazine listings for the best deals.

Instead, he cut the spines off publications like ''[[Computer Shopper (US magazine)|Computer Shopper]]'' and ''[[PC Magazine]]'' and keyed all the specs and prices into a database, page after page, one page at a time. After e-commerce sites began to appear on the Internet, Ben developed a [[web crawler]] that would automatically gather and update prices around the clock. This was to form the foundation for his new company.

Ben formally incorporated KillerApp, Corp. in 1995 and went on to pioneer the concept of online comparison shopping (also known as the [[price engine]]). This paradigm shift proved devastating to the computer publication industry. "Print" simply could not compete with the timely content and convenience of these specialized [[search engines]].

The web crawlers at KillerApp ran 24/7, updating 1.5 million prices daily. Within two years, ''[http://www.shopper.com/ killerapp.com]'' was receiving 14 million [[page views]] per month and 1/2 million monthly users. The site was also generating 150,000 leads per month for its base of 360 merchants.

In order to sustain the growth of its business, Ben raised two rounds of funding from angel investors that included: C.S. Ho (founder of [[Mitac]]/[[Synnex]] and honorary chairman of [[Computex]]); Charlene Wang (president of [[First International Computer|FIC]] and daughter of tycoon [[Y.C. Wang]]); Ming Chien (chairman of FIC) and
[[Cher Wang]] (chairperson of [[VIA Technologies]] and daughter of Y.C. Wang).

In 1998, [[Ziff-Davis]] approached Ben with a buy-out offer. He declined but instead brought in [[Deutsche Bank]] to produce competitive bids. A long [[M&A]] roadshow ensued. Ben held [[due diligence]] discussions with [[Microsoft]], [[ZDNet]], [[Yahoo!]], [[CNET]], [[Excite (web portal)|Excite]], [[Lycos]] and [[Inktomi (company)|Inktomi]]. On March 23, 1999 he sold his company to CNET in a [[stock swap]] valued at US$54 million and joined CNET as the Director of Commerce Services.

== In the media ==
Ben Chiu is the second [[Taiwanese American]] (since [[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]] co-founder of [[Yahoo!]]) to appear on the cover of ''[[Wired Magazine]]''. [[Po Bronson]] chronicled Chiu's rags-to-riches story in his best-selling novel ''The Nudist on the Late Shift ({{ISBN|0-7679-0603-9}})''. His story has also been recounted in Chinese by Peggy Teng ({{zh|c=鄧海珠|p=Dèng Hai Zhü}}) in her book ''[http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php?item=0010012588 華裔網路英雄傳奇]'' (translation: Unique Passages of Overseas-Chinese Internet Heroes).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*[[Po Bronson]] (1999) ''[https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.07/pilgrims.html Wired Magazine 07/99: Gen Equity]''
*[[Po Bronson]] (1999) ''The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley ({{ISBN|0-7679-0603-9}})'' {{ISBN|0-7679-0603-9}}
*鄧海珠 (2000) ''[http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php?item=0010012588 華裔網路英雄傳奇﹕－有想法也能玩出一片天]'' {{ISBN|957-607-390-1}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/84721 CNET Acquires KillerApp Corp.]
*[http://www.shopper.com KillerApp.com is now CNET Shopper.com]
*[https://archive.today/20130131152602/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/69995615.html?did=69995615&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Mar+25,+2001&author=SHAWN+HUBLER&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=How+Green+Was+the+Valley;+Five+'poster+children'+for+Silicon+Valley's+heady+glory+days+reflect+on+money,+reality+and+changing+the+world. First LA Times Article: How Green Was the Valley?]
*[http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-123001yearpo,1,4909595.story?ctrack=1&cset=true LA Times Follow-up Article: Heading to Greener Pastures When the Valley Turns Brown]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiu, Ben}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:American computer businesspeople]]
[[Category:American emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:21st-century American publishers (people)]]
[[Category:American male table tennis players]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from California]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Taichung]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Toronto]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in information technology]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in software]]
[[Category:Canadian computer businesspeople]]
[[Category:Canadian computer programmers]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Taiwanese descent]]
[[Category:Canadian publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Canadian male table tennis players]]
[[Category:Canadian technology chief executives]]
[[Category:Canadian technology company founders]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada]]
[[Category:People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Fremont, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Taichung]]
[[Category:Taiwanese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Ben Chiu - Revision history

imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* External links */ add Category:20th-century American sportsmen