NSF funding crucial for computing breakthroughs: Turing Laureate

“Virginia Tech is proud to support the Virginia Fast-Track License—an innovative, startup-friendly IP licensing framework developed as part of Virginia’s new Lab-to-Launch initiative,” said Grant Brewer, President of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties. “With licensing terms that are among the most generous in the country, we believe this initiative will encourage the transformation of university innovations into successful new companies. By enabling home-grown technology startups to more easily access and commercialize research, the Virginia Fast-Track License will help fuel economic growth and deliver lasting benefits to both the local community and the broader national economy.”

Turing Award recipient David Patterson shares a compelling narrative about the impact of his 40-year academic research career funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). His work has catalyzed the emergence of billion-dollar enterprises, generated job opportunities spanning 44 states, and yielded substantial economic benefits for the nation, translating to over $1,000 in federal taxes for every $1 of initial funding. The reduction of federally supported academic research jeopardizes innovation, employment, and economic growth. https://lnkd.in/gXPwnCeR

The world’s first web search engine wasn’t built in Silicon Valley.  It was built at the University of Stirling Before Google. Before Yahoo. Before Bing. In 1993, Computer Science graduate Jonathon Fletcher created JumpStation. The first web search engine that let people actually search page content. Armed with nothing but a campus computer lab and late nights, he built the foundation every search engine still follows today. It didn’t have investors. It didn’t make headlines. But it shaped the model the internet runs on. Big ideas don’t just come from Silicon Valley. They come from the University of Stirling. Stirling Success Stories [1] 🚀  (Full story in comments 👇) #StirlingSuccessStories #Entrepreneurship #StirlingUniversity #Google #Innovation #TechHistory

The burgeoning alternative education movement spearheaded by Silicon Valley elites is fundamentally reshaping the future of learning, creating strategic implications for business leaders and innovators alike. Figures like Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and Naval Ravikant are not just investing; they're actively building new educational models. Elon Musk’s ventures, including Ad Astra, founded in 2014 on the SpaceX campus, and Xplor Education in Bastrop, Texas, highlight a shift towards personalized, problem-solving-focused learning. Xplor, specifically for children of SpaceX and Boring Co. employees, is Montessori-inspired, emphasizing STEM, AI, ethics, and consciousness. This trend extends to microschools like Alpha School, which leverages personalized AI tutors, signaling a major technological integration. For decision-makers, this evolution represents both disruption and immense opportunity. The global AI in education market, projected by Precedence Research, is set to skyrocket from $7.05 billion in 2025 to $112.3 billion by 2034. This growth isn't just about new tools; it's about a philosophical shift, aligning with the techno-libertarian 'exit' philosophy and the school-choice movement, bolstered by legislative changes like President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' passed in July. Venture capital is taking notice, with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) pouring investments into edtech companies such as Wonderschool, Altitude, and Odyssey. Understanding these shifts is crucial for anticipating workforce development, identifying investment opportunities, and navigating the evolving talent landscape. How will this alternative education paradigm impact traditional institutions and the broader economy in the next decade? #TechStrategy #Innovation #BusinessIntelligence #AtlasMedia #EdTech #FutureOfEducation #AIinEducation

"The Arkansas Research Alliance, or ARA, made an award of $1.8 million to the University of Arkansas to ramp up economic development efforts. The award comes via a larger $8 million award to the alliance from the National Science Foundation's E-CORE program to grow the state's research capacity, accelerate commercialization of research and increase the number of career pathways in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics."  https://lnkd.in/d2vVJHsg

𝙷𝙿 𝙶𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎: 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆? Everyone’s heard of HP, one of the first major tech companies to emerge in Silicon Valley (before the name even existed), but how many know about Prof. Frederick Terman (outside of Silicon Valley insiders, of course)? 🤔 Terman, a visionary Stanford professor, introduced the idea of applied science, pushing for the practical use of academic knowledge to solve real-world problems. He encouraged students like Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to take their ideas beyond the classroom and HP was the first to turn that into something big: turning a vision into a thriving company that merged academia with industry. By creating the Stanford Industrial Park, Terman helped spark the entrepreneurial vibe we now associate with Silicon Valley, earning him the title of the Godfather of Silicon Valley. In the picture, you see me at the iconic HP garage, where Hewlett and Packard kicked off their journey in the late 1930s. For me, it’s also a reminder that anyone can be a builder: in this case, a professor with a clear vision who believed that, with the right tools and skillset, his students could become world-class entrepreneurs. Professor Terman shaped a generation of founders who went on to change the world: the creators of HP, the pioneers of the semiconductor industry (the very foundation of Silicon Valley), and even a co-founder of Intel. Terman’s vision still lives on in Silicon Valley today and with the right push, skills and mindset, anyone can build something big.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced it will not provide funding to nonprofit Natcast through the CHIPS Act. Natcast was created in 2023 to advance R&D for semiconductor technologies and help startups bring new technologies to the market. Fidelis Companies https://lnkd.in/eRYNp5iY

Silicon Valley became the world's tech capital through a small shift at Stanford. In the 1930s, Frederick Terman began encouraging his engineering students to start companies locally rather than head east. More engineers stayed, more companies started, and more VCs arrived. This led to the creation of network effects that made the Bay Area home to trillion-dollar companies and almost half of all big tech engineers. This same principle that transformed Silicon Valley applies to your daily habits as well: One small habit raises awareness, that awareness spills into related areas, and next thing you know you have a network of positive behaviours all reinforcing each other. The key is picking a habit so small it requires no willpower, then sticking with it long enough to let it compound. More about this and my own transformation in my blog, link below

💸 Phasecraft raises $34M to bring quantum computing to the real-world The round was co-led by Plural, existing investor Playground Global, and Novo Holdings’ Quantum Fund in its first direct quantum software investment, the round also included participation from existing investors LocalGlobe, AlbionVC, and Parkwalk Advisors. Ashley Montanaro, Co-Founder and CEO of Phasecraft, said: “We’re actively creating quantum advantage at Phasecraft. Our algorithms are delivering meaningful results now, whether it’s simulating the physics of complex materials or optimising the structure of a large energy network, whilst our partnerships with the world’s top quantum hardware providers increase the impact our algorithms will have for commercial applications." 📖 Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eZBPxziR #StartupsMagazine #Startups #Entrepreneur #Fundraising #Funding #Investment

UNSW has launched a new investment platform, Barker Street Ventures, which is designed to bridge the ‘valley of death’ between research and commercialisation. Barker Street Ventures invites the University’s alumni to invest directly in startups commercialising research in areas such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, life sciences, defence and the energy transition. “We have over 360,000 alumni as former students and graduates of the university, and a lot of those people want to give back,” said UNSW pro vice-chancellor for industry and innovation, Stephen Rodda. The platform draws inspiration from similar models at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in the UK, and Alumni Ventures in the US. Read the full story by Hugo Mathers 👉 https://lnkd.in/gue3w-wn