Element
Element was founded in 2017 by the creators of Matrix, the open protocol for secure, decentralised communication. Matrix's mission is to free communication from proprietary silos, by allowing everyone to pick who hosts their communication, while still participating in a global open network. Matrix is governed by the non-profit Matrix.org Foundation.
Element's mission is to grow the Matrix ecosystem and fund development of the protocol by building apps and services on top of it.
Element is the flagship Matrix app. It is a secure messaging app and collaboration tool. It can be hosted for free on Matrix.org, or through a paid subscription from Element Matrix Services.
Element works with the French government on its Matrix-based messaging and collaboration solution, as well as Germany's Bundeswehr, the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, and the Texas Department of Emergency Management.
Matthew Hodgson is the CEO/CTO of Element and the technical co-founder of Matrix. Previously, Matthew was a technical lead at MX Telecom, where he designed & architected MX’s VoIP/Video softphone SDK and softswitch – which evolved into Amdocs’ Unified Communications offering after MX Telecom was acquired in 2010. Running the Amdocs UC business unit, Matthew drew on his startup background to rapidly deliver carrier-grade enhanced communication solutions to network operators. Element was created when the UC team span out of Amdocs in 2017 to focus independently on Matrix. He has specialised in real-time communication, interactive video and telephony applications for over 16 years and has a degree in Computer Science and Physics from the University of Cambridge.
Matthew’s dream is for there to be a free and open ecosystem for real-time communication on the internet as ubiquitous and vibrant as the Web itself – making it as easy and flexible to chat or call someone as it is to send someone an email.
Amandine is the Head of Operations and Products at Element, and co-founder of Matrix. She previously set up and led product management for the Unified Communications line of business within Amdocs and has 15 years of experience in mobile services and telecommunications. Amandine has a degree in telecommunications engineering from Ecole Supérieure de Chimie, Physique et Electronique de Lyon as well as an EMBA from ESC Rennes.
Amandine’s passion for enabling rich and ubiquitous communication between people got sparked when looking at her first diagram of a 3G network, just before it became commercially available: imagine a world where people can seamlessly send any kind of data (text, voice, video, images) to others! Matrix is the successor of the phone network and email, at last breaking open the barriers of communication.
