Josh Siatkowski | Staff Writer
There are 498 private companies that exceed $1 billion. We hope that the new initiative of the Hankamer School of Business will bring No. 499 to the Baylor.
“Do you think you have the next big idea in AI?” Baylor students ask the flyer about Baylor's first AI Venture Challenge, a shark tank-style startup competition that can earn up to $3,000 in funding for AI business plans.
This assignment came from the desk of Dr. David Symansky, dean of the School of Business. David Symanski promoted the adoption of AI in all business areas in his first year at Baylor. Working with the Entrepreneurship department, Szymanski wanted to lead the top 10 programs combined with popular technology.
“We have top entrepreneurship and innovation programs,” says Szymanski. “So what you really want to do is ask, 'What do leaders in this field do?” It's about looking at things, seeing things differently, seeing opportunities in a market where there are no others. ”
For Szymanski, the answer is AI. From an institutional perspective, it is essential to go beyond future workplace skills, Szymanski said. And on the part of students, it's a way to build AI proficiency and an opportunity to get the business out of the ground.
Students with ideas must submit their business plans through the survey by September 30th. According to Dr. Lee Grumbles, a clinical professor in Entrepreneurs and Corporate Innovation, the only requirement is that each team consists of 1-3 students, all students are undergraduate students, and the business is AI-based.
Following the initial survey, the top 10 teams advance to the final round on October 21st. This includes presentations in front of a panel of two entrepreneurship professors and one industry expert. While around 25 teams have already expressed interest, Grumbles said they hope that 75 or 100 teams will apply and turn the challenge into a regular event.
Students outside the business school are welcome to meet with computer science students in their class throughout the week. There are also no restrictions on how your business plan is developed. This submission could be an idea from a day ago, or a more developed, already existing business.
“The term startup is quite broad,” Grumbles said. “Companies that have been open for two years are still considered new ventures. They are ideas for new startups that are still in the screening stage, or LLCs have already formed.”
It's a unique challenge from Baylor, but the push towards adopting AI in entrepreneurship is on track. There are already over 10,000 AI startups around the world, and the funds continue to grow. Of these, 1,300 have already exceeded the $100 million valuation threshold, with new home-built billionaires appearing like never before.
While funding for Baylor's challenges may not create a billionaire, the winner will split the $5,000 prize money. The high prize will be awarded $3,000, with the second and third winning $1,500 and $500 respectively. However, the flyer states that prizes can be paid in the form of scholarships.
As AI continues to quickly track the future, Szymanski hopes competition and other AI initiatives will become the norm, not just for Baylor students.
“I think what we'll see in another three to six months is that we probably don't intend to have these separate conversations about AI,” Szymanski said. “It's going to be part of what we are and what we are doing.”
