Enterprise

Artificial intelligence in the next generation enterprise

Rethink Robotics, IBM TJ Watson, Splunk, Kiva Systems are few of the many emerging enterprises that promise the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize the way enterprises operate and do business. This promise is not new and AI has been touted as the savior in the past. This panel will explore the current industry trends and discuss if this AI revolution is real or another mirage. What are the current opportunities and challenges that are driving the growth of AI in enterprises. Where does the VC industry see this going?


Mobile

SoLoMo and the future of commerce

New mobile solutions in the shopping and buying value chain are cropping up to help retailers and consumers alike. How will new technologies employ social networks, GPS, and smart phones to change the way we shop? This panel will explore the opportunities and challenges surrounding the evolving mobile commerce landscape.


Education

Digitalizing accessibility to quality education

How can a student in a remote village in India take a statistics course in MIT? What if she could take the course in Hindi? How can a public school teacher use technology to align students with varying abilities and language skills? The education system is going through radical transformation in which traditional studying-in-classrooms model is fundamentally questioned for relevance. This trend has already started in countries such as South Korea that will by 2015 completely digitalize all textbooks. Our panel will touch upon three main topics:

  1. 1) How is technology evolving the classroom model?
  2. 2) What opportunities are being explored in the education industry through increase demand for classroom technology?
  3. 3) How does digitalizing the classroom help bridge the achievement gap, if at all?

Hear the perspectives of the President of a prominent VC firm managing a portfolio of innovative educational technology companies, the Director of a VC firm who is dedicated to fostering early-stage innovation, a career educator who has leveraged technology in the classroom, the founder of a teacher capacity building company with deep expertise in technology and education, and a senior manager in a premier consulting firm focusing on education.


Intellectual Property

Shield or Sword: The Changing Role of Patents in the Invention Economy

In recent years, the intellectual property landscape has changed drastically: Congress has passed legislation to redesign key features of the U.S. patent system, numerous companies have purchased or sold patent portfolios valued in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, and dozens of companies have become embroiled in what has become widely known as the “mobile patent wars.” What has motivated these changes in the IP landscape and how do they affect entrepreneurs, start-ups, and venture investors? When should patents be used offensively as a monetization strategy and when should companies restrain themselves from asserting patents? How can start-ups protect themselves from the mounting risk of patent infringement? More generally, what does all of this mean for the future of the invention economy?