Dr. Richard Corey

Dr. Richard Corey is a researcher, technologist, and entrepreneur in human collaboration, best known for founding the award-winning VEMI Lab at the University of Maine. He is one of only a handful worldwide with a Ph.D. in Human Collaboration/Collaborative Technology Practices. Under his leadership, VEMI has secured $16M+ in grants, contracts, and gifts, published hundreds of papers, spun out ventures such as Kinotek and Unar Labs, and alumni have contributed or created technologies including Alexa (Amazon), Waymo (Google), and Disney+. His work has been featured in 280+ media and academic publications, and he is a sought-after advisor to Fortune 500 companies on collaborative team formation and human-technology interaction.

Corey also brings deep entrepreneurial roots, having co-founded Net Quarters (acquired 1999) and served as Founder/CEO of Artistek Design (1995–2010), where he created and open-sourced the first implementation of the animated GIF, which has now become a ubiquitous communication tool.

His career-derived frameworks (Collaboration Readiness indexing, Complementarity mapping, and boundary-object workflows, etc.) are embedded in Ateklo’s operating system, ensuring teams and ventures are formed on evidence rather than intuition and positioned to outperform traditional venture startups. This blend of domain leadership, applied technology R&D, and talent development shapes Ateklo’s capacity to consistently transform overlooked talent and research into enduring enterprise value.