# Eran Shir

> Eran Shir is a physicist and entrepreneur who cofounded Dapper, served as its founding CEO and later CTO, and joined Yahoo following its 2010 acquisition. He subsequently cofounded Nexar with Bruno Fernandez-Ruiz. As of October 2026, official company pages list him as Chief AI Officer at Empiric Earth and cofounder and CEO of Mithran. His earlier work includes Cogniview and the DIMES distributed internet measurement project.

- **Role:** Chief AI Officer at Empiric Earth; Cofounder and CEO at Mithran
- **Organizations:** Dapper, Yahoo, Nexar, Empiric Earth, Mithran, Aleph, DIMES, Cogniview, Israel Center for Excellence through Education
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in theoretical physics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Master’s degree in theoretical physics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Doctoral studies; completion not established, Tel Aviv University
- **Known for:** Cofounded Dapper, acquired by Yahoo in October 2010., Coauthored the DIMES distributed internet measurement research., Cofounded Nexar and led the company from its launch until the September 2024 CEO transition.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Cofounded Cogniview, an early machine learning venture.
- **2005** — Coauthored DIMES: Let the Internet Measure Itself with Yuval Shavitt.
- **2006** — Cofounded Dapper with Jon Aizen and served as founding CEO.
- **2010-02** — Became Dapper CTO when James Beriker was appointed president and CEO.
- **2010-10** — Yahoo acquired Dapper; Shir subsequently led its global Creative Innovation Center.
- **2013-2014** — Served as entrepreneur in residence at Aleph.
- **2014-07** — Announced Karma, an app connecting entrepreneurs seeking and offering help.
- **2015** — Cofounded Nexar with Bruno Fernandez-Ruiz; unveiled a $4 million funding round.
- **2024-09** — Transitioned from Nexar CEO to Chief Product Officer as Zach Greenberger became CEO.
- **2026-02** — Appeared on Invested as Nexar cofounder, CPO and chairman.
- **2026** — Cofounded Mithran with Bruno Fernandez-Ruiz; listed as its CEO.
- **2026-09** — Empiric Earth launched following the Nexar-Nauto combination; its leadership page lists Shir as Chief AI Officer.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Dapper, acquired by Yahoo in October 2010.
- Coauthored the DIMES distributed internet measurement research.
- Cofounded Nexar and led the company from its launch until the September 2024 CEO transition.
- Led Yahoo’s global Creative Innovation Center.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Discussed Nexar, its CEO transition and AI development on episode 66 of Aleph’s Invested, published February 18.
- **2026-09** — Empiric Earth launched September 15 following the Nexar-Nauto combination and lists Shir as Chief AI Officer.
- **2026-10** — Official Mithran biography, checked October 26, lists Shir as cofounder and CEO of the company founded in 2026.

## Links

- Website: https://eranshir.medium.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eranshir/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/eranshir

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/eran-shir
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26