USC Viterbi Receives $10M Gift for Entrepreneurship Program

Engineers are instinctive innovators – and now a $10 million gift to launch the William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub supercharges the support for entrepreneurial students at USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The gift enables TIE Hub - USC Viterbi to incubate even more student ventures, developing a curated mentorship network and AI-native infrastructure to allow student teams to build faster and more cost-effectively. Discover more about the gift and entrepreneur-philanthropist William Wang here: https://lnkd.in/gJAu7hmk Congratulations to the amazing team supporting USC Viterbi entrepreneurs: Ellis Meng, Ralph Lin, Tatum Verona, Oscar Neyra-Nazarrett, Dr. David Gerber, Trina Gregory, Denise McKenzie

Over the past few years, the startup momentum coming out of USC Viterbi School of Engineering has been incredible. Today, we’re pouring gasoline on that fire. We are thrilled to announce a historic $10M gift from VIZIO founder William Wang (BS '86) and Sakura Wang to establish the William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub. Over the coming years, this investment will allow us to: 📈 Scale Founder Support: Empower over 2,000 student and faculty founders with hands-on venture building, capital access, and top-tier mentorship. ⚙️ Accelerate Lab-to-Launch: Turn breakthrough engineering research into market-defining commercial ventures. 🚀 Launch 100+ New Startups: Deepen our connections with the VC community, industry partners, and alumni network to scale bold ideas into real companies. William’s journey from a Viterbi engineer to building VIZIO into a household name proves what happens when resilience meets opportunity. Now, he and Sakura are helping us build the ultimate launchpad for those who follow. We can't wait to show you what’s next! If you're a founder ready to build, a VC looking to find the next generation of founders, or a partner who wants to get involved—reach out. Let's build! Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gJAu7hmk A massive thank you to our team for pushing the boundaries of what we can build together: Ellis Meng, Ralph Lin, Tatum Verona, Oscar Neyra-Nazarrett, Stacyann P. Russell, Denise McKenzie, Dr. David Gerber, and Trina Gregory. #USCViterbi #Entrepreneurship #Startups #DeepTech #VentureBuilding #USCFounders  #USC #Engineering #Innovation #USCstartups #SiliconBeach #usctiehub

Engineers are instinctive innovators – and now a $10 million gift to launch the William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub supercharges the support for entrepreneurial students at USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The gift enables TIE Hub - USC Viterbi to incubate even more student ventures, developing a curated mentorship network and AI-native infrastructure to allow student teams to build faster and more cost-effectively. Discover more about the gift and entrepreneur-philanthropist William Wang here: https://lnkd.in/gJAu7hmk Congratulations to the amazing team supporting USC Viterbi entrepreneurs: Ellis Meng, Ralph Lin, Tatum Verona, Oscar Neyra-Nazarrett, Dr. David Gerber, Trina Gregory, Denise McKenzie

What does it take to turn an idea into a $2.3 billion company? VIZIO founder and USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumnus William Wang is paying it forward with a $10 million gift to help the next generation of USC innovators take their own big swings.

Entrepreneurial students at CEE and across USC Viterbi School of Engineering are now supported by a $10 million gift to launch the William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub. This is big news for CEE. Entrepreneurship is central to our department's culture, anchored by the annual Das Family Innovate x LA Student Competition where student teams apply civil and environmental engineering concepts to develop pitches for high-impact ventures. Discover more about the gift here: https://lnkd.in/gJAu7hmk Congratulations to the amazing team at TIE Hub - USC Viterbi: Ellis Meng, Ralph Lin, Tatum Verona, Oscar Neyra-Nazarrett, Dr. David Gerber, Trina Gregory, Denise McKenzie

Engineer-entrepreneurs at USC Viterbi School of Engineering are now supported by a $10 million gift to launch the William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub. Discover more about the gift here: https://lnkd.in/gJAu7hmk Congratulations to the amazing team at TIE Hub - USC Viterbi: Ellis Meng, Ralph Lin, Tatum Verona, Oscar Neyra-Nazarrett, Dr. David Gerber, Trina Gregory, Denise McKenzie

Georgia Tech Deepens Ties Between Campus and Startup Community Georgia Tech is rolling out two new initiatives aimed at tightening the link between its research campus and Atlanta's wider startup ecosystem, part of a broader push to position the university as a central node in the city's technology and entrepreneurship landscape. The programs, known as Tech Square Tech Hop and Avant South, are designed to make it easier for researchers, students and outside entrepreneurs to interact, share knowledge and build ventures together. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dGXCi-vu #AcademicindustryPartnerships #AtlantaTechnologyEcosystem #CampusEntrepreneurshipPrograms #InnovationHubDevelopment #ResearchCommercialization

Champaign-Urbana ranked #10 on Business Insider's best college towns list, and University of Illinois Research Park was highlighted for its economic impact. Research Park and EnterpriseWorks startup incubator give University of Illinois graduates a reason to stay in Champaign-Urbana, supporting the companies and startups where that talent lands. It's a strong example of what a research university and its surrounding community can build together. Read more using the link in the comments 🔗

💡 Innovation doesn't start with a startup. It starts with curiosity. On Wednesday, July 29th, our Founder and Executive Director, Erika Ebbel Angle, is attending StartupBREW Fargo to connect with the incredible entrepreneurial community being built by Emerging Prairie. At Science from Scientists, we believe today's STEM students are tomorrow's scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and founders. That's why we're passionate about inspiring the next generation through hands-on STEM experiences that help students see what's possible. We're excited to connect with educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who are helping shape the future of innovation in Fargo.

"College dropouts who became successful entrepreneurs famously include the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Now as more Americans rethink the value of college, the idea of bypassing a degree is gaining luster among a new set of founders. Peter Thiel’s $250,000 fellowship for dropouts who start ventures is more competitive than ever since its 2011 launch, and Palantir Technologies has started a similar program for high-school graduates. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a Stanford University audience this year that noncollege paths had only become more viable since he dropped out in 2005. Those who go on to build or lead big companies remain rare: Stanford Graduate School of Business research on more than 4,000 founders of U.S.-based billion-dollar startups found 4.1% were dropouts. Many who’ve made it say it didn’t happen organically. They methodically built the networking support and leadership skills people often start to pick up in college. Here’s how four said they did it:" https://lnkd.in/gWxtWGcd