Biography
The remarkable journey of a self-educated technologist who became a Silicon Valley visionary
Early Life and Education
Born into a middle-class Jewish family in San Francisco on January 27, 1945, Avram Miller is a fourth-generation San Franciscan. After graduating from Drew High School in 1963, he joined the United States Merchant Marines as a steward, sailing on the luxury liner President Cleveland between San Francisco, Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, and Manila.
Following his time in the Merchant Marines, Miller became involved in both the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-Vietnam Movement. In 1966, he worked in a government-sponsored tutorial program called The College Readiness Program, which prepared disadvantaged youth in East Palo Alto for college.
Miller's educational background is unconventional. He did not attend university in a traditional sense but is primarily self-educated. Despite this, he held academic appointments at two universities and became an Associate Professor before the age of thirty, demonstrating his exceptional intellect and practical expertise.
Personal Life
Miller has two adult children from his first marriage and married Deborah Neasi-Miller in 2003. He currently lives in Tel Aviv and travels extensively throughout the world. He continues to pursue his life-long commitment to music, including composing and playing jazz piano.
Legacy and Impact
Andy Grove once described Miller as a "nonlinear thinker that stirred up the others," saying "You always needed a wild duck like Avram, a nonlinear thinker that stirred up the others. I always try to have an Avram on my team. Always. They disrupt and create."
Miller's leadership in developing residential broadband laid one of the most important foundations for the construction of today's internet. His work in venture capital is well recognized, and his investments helped shape the early internet landscape. His unique ability to bridge medical science, technology, and business has allowed him to make significant contributions across multiple fields throughout his career.
In his book "The Flight of a Wild Duck: An Improbable Journey Through Life and Technology," Miller describes how luck, intuition, imagination, humor, and risk-taking enabled him to become one of Silicon Valley's visionaries and leading venture capitalists. He recalls his journey of overcoming childhood illness, a troubled family, and an inability to function in the education system to eventually become a senior executive at one of the world's leading technology companies.
As he continues his work in healthcare technology and advising the next generation of entrepreneurs, Avram Miller's legacy as an innovator, investor, and visionary in technology and healthcare continues to grow.