High-tech and high purpose
Entrepreneur applies high-tech to social problems 
From: Mountain View Voice - March 22, 2002
By: By Pam Sturner 


Visiting the new quarters of Benetech, a technology nonprofit on California
Avenue in Palo Alto, is a little like touring a technology incubator circa
1997. 

The idea of marrying technology and philanthropy was virtually unheard of 20
years ago when Jim Fruchterman first sought a technical solution to a social
problem.  

As a partner in a startup devoted to optical character recognition, he wanted
to build an inexpensive reading machine for the blind. While venture
capitalists eagerly embraced the technology for lucrative applications, they
had no interest in Fruchterman's project, which had a potential market of
less than $1 million a year.  

http://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2002/2002_03_22.business.html