| | November - 20188By Sarah Fay, Managing Director, Glasswing VenturesThe next big wave of value creation in technology is being driven by AI, similar to the advent of the internet in the 1990's--which brought a tsunami of disruption, behavior change, business opportunities, magical conveniences and unexpected challenges. As the market gears up for this next big shift, there is a sense of déjàvu for those of us who were there before --but we should also prepare for the unexpected...again. It is impossible to know how far technology will take us and how quickly. What we do know is that we are experiencing a dramatically accelerated pace of change which will up the ante for predicting value in AI based business concepts. How can we use lessons learned from previous waves while not missing the growth opportunities unique to this era?A big imperative is staying on top of early development trends and market movements. As investors in AI, Glasswing taps our ecosystem and environment to stay informed on trends and important developments. Part of that involves maintaining relationships with prominent academic institutions and professors. Glasswing's Boston location is an epicenter of AI invention, given our proximity to academic institutions where ideas are being identified, developed and incubated (MIT, Harvard, Babson, Brown, RISD, NYU, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, University of Toronto, MILA, etc.). Some professors in these institutions have reached rock star status in the AI ecosystem. Students reference with pride their programs and courses, which often require additional applications and testing for entry. Of course, the talent being churned out by these programs is essential to the start-up ecosystem, and another good reason for us to stay close to the source--we are always scouting for our portfolio companies. Professors are also making an impact outside the academic world. It is not uncommon for a prominent professor of AI to also have one leg in the corporate world, OPINIONThe Academics of Investing in AISarah Fay
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