# Amir Ashkenazi

> Amir Ashkenazi is the founder and CEO of Airtop, the browser automation company formerly known as Switchboard. He co-founded Shopping.com, which went public in 2004 and was acquired by eBay in 2005, and Adap.tv, acquired by AOL in 2013. His latest venture grew from a remote guitar lesson into a collaboration platform before pivoting to automation for AI agents.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Airtop (formerly Switchboard)
- **Organizations:** Airtop, Switchboard, Shopping.com, Adap.tv, eBay
- **Nationality:** Israeli
- **Known for:** Co-founded Shopping.com and served as CTO before its 2004 IPO and 2005 eBay acquisition., Co-founded and led Adap.tv through its 2013 acquisition by AOL., Led Switchboard, winner of the 2023 Webby Award for productivity and collaboration.

## Career timeline

- **1997-1998** — Co-founded the comparison-shopping company that became DealTime and Shopping.com; accounts differ on the founding year.
- **2004** — Shopping.com completed its IPO in October.
- **2005** — eBay acquired Shopping.com; Ashkenazi subsequently held a product-search leadership role at eBay.
- **2006** — Co-founded Adap.tv, serving as CEO.
- **2013** — AOL acquired Adap.tv in September for a base purchase price of $405 million, plus a working-capital adjustment.
- **2020** — Founded Switchboard, inspired by the limitations of remote guitar lessons.
- **2022** — Switchboard opened its public beta in May.
- **2023** — Switchboard won a Webby Award in productivity and collaboration.
- **2024** — Pivoted Switchboard toward Airtop; his June 2025 essay places the decision approximately nine months earlier.
- **2025** — Sequoia noted the Switchboard-to-Airtop relaunch as of February 5.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Shopping.com and served as CTO before its 2004 IPO and 2005 eBay acquisition.
- Co-founded and led Adap.tv through its 2013 acquisition by AOL.
- Led Switchboard, winner of the 2023 Webby Award for productivity and collaboration.
- Reported five granted Switchboard patents in a May 2022 interview.

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Published Persist or Pivot? The Founder’s Hardest Decision, reflecting on the Switchboard-to-Airtop change.
- **2026-06** — Airtop’s blog lists articles under his byline about AI automation, marketing operations and revenue pipelines.

## Links

- Website: https://www.airtop.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirashkenazi
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AmirTime

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/amir-ashkenazi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11