Mike A. Horton is an American engineer and entrepreneur who has made contributions to the fields of electrical engineering and navigation technology. He is best known as the project creator and co-founder of GEODNET, a decentralized real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning network. Horton currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Anello Photonics. Earlier in his career, he co-founded and led Crossbow Technology. Horton's public profiles include X and LinkedIn.

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Early Life and Education

Mike Horton was born on October 23, 1973, in Austin, Texas. He pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering. At UC Berkeley, Horton conducted research into microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor technology through the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center. His research focused on acceleration sensors and laid the foundation for many of his subsequent innovations.

Crossbow Technology (1995–2011)

In August 1995, Horton co-founded Crossbow Technology with Professor A. Richard Newton, his advisor at UC Berkeley. The company was based on MEMS inertial sensor technology research and initially focused on motion-based input devices. This technology eventually found applications in gaming devices like the Nintendo Wii. Crossbow raised venture funding from Cisco Systems, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Paladin Capital to support its expansion. Under Horton's leadership, Crossbow became the first company to receive FAA TSO certification for a silicon MEMS-based attitude and heading reference system, enabling solid-state replacement of mechanical gyroscopes in general aviation. Crossbow's innovations extended to UAV guidance systems and precision agriculture equipment. The company also developed several generations of Mote hardware — including the Mica2, MicaZ, IRIS, iMote2, and TelosB — which became integral to the UC Berkeley Smartdust/TinyOS research community, with applications ranging from crop monitoring to homeland security. From its founding through 2010, Crossbow's cumulative delivered revenue exceeded 18 million. Moog Inc. subsequently acquired the remaining business in 2011 for approximately $32 million.

Post-Crossbow: Investing and Advisory (2011–2019)

After the Moog Inc. acquisition, Horton led its Navigation, Guidance, and Sensors business unit. He was also involved in angel investing through Band of Angels and Sand Hill Angels, focusing on startups in IoT, AI, edge computing, drones, and advanced sensing technologies. Horton also served as a consultant at SunSkyStar, advising on scalable sensor data backends and GPS integration with LIDAR.

Anello Photonics (2020–Present)

In February 2020, Horton co-founded Anello Photonics, where he serves as Chief Technology Officer. Horton invented the SiPhOG™ (Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope), a gyroscope that uses silicon photonic waveguides to harness the Sagnac effect for inertial navigation. This replaced traditional mechanical gyroscopes with an optical solution applicable to autonomous vehicles, UAVs, and robots. In August 2023, Anello Photonics announced the first board-mountable optical inertial navigation system.

GEODNET

As the project creator and co-founder of GEODNET, Horton has led efforts to establish a decentralized GNSS reference network under the GEODNET Foundation, a Singapore-based non-profit. GEODNET provides centimeter-level positioning accuracy through a global array of GNSS reference stations, leveraging a DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure network) model. The network compensates station operators using GEOD tokens, deployed on Solana, IoTeX, and Polygon, and rewards high-quality geodetic-grade data via a proof-of-accuracy protocol. Applications include precision agriculture, autonomous vehicle navigation, drone operations, geospatial mapping, and robotics.

In May 2025, GEODNET was cited by members of the U.S. Congress during FIT21 (Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act) hearings as a real-world example of blockchain technology delivering public benefit (see testimony: U.S. Congress testimony). Coverage and interviews about GEODNET include The American Surveyor and Inside Unmanned Systems. GEODNET raised an $8 million strategic funding round led by Multicoin Capital. By 2025, the network had expanded to more than 19,500 registered stations across both developed and developing regions.

Recognition and Patents

Horton has received several awards for his contributions to technology. In 2003, MIT Technology Review named him one of the top innovators under 35. Sensors Magazine recognised him as one of the top 50 sensor technology experts globally in 2019. He received Best Presentation Awards at the Institute of Navigation GNSS+ Conference in 2021 and 2022. Horton holds over 20 US patents across MEMS, navigation systems, photonics, and decentralized network architectures.