There are 498 private AI companies valued at over $1 billion. A new initiative in the Hankamer School of Business has many hoping number 499 comes from Baylor.
“Think you’ve got the next big idea in AI?” asks the flyer for Baylor’s inaugural AI Venture Challenge, a Shark Tank-style startup competition in which Baylor students can win up to $3,000 in funding for their AI business plans.
The challenge came from the desk of Business School Dean Dr. David Szymanski, who, in his first year at Baylor, has pushed for the adoption of AI across all business disciplines. Working alongside the entrepreneurship department, Szymanski wanted to lead something that combines a top-10 program with the popular technology.
“We have a top entrepreneurship and innovation program,” Szymanski said. “And so what you really want to do is ask the question, ‘What would a leader in this field do?’… It’s about being out in front, seeing things differently and seeing opportunities in the marketplace that other people don’t.”
For Szymanski, the answer is AI. From an institutional perspective, staying ahead of the workplace skills of the future is essential, Szymanski said. And on the student side, it’s a way to build AI proficiency and a chance to get a business off the ground.
Full story: New venture competition brings AI startup craze to Waco – The Baylor Lariat
