Carnegie Mellon creates fund to invest in its recent graduates

One thing that's always upset me about CMU is how non-entrepreneurial they are. Google has a large presence there, and most major tech companies fly out for the job fairs, but startups are few and far between (Meebo and Palantir were the closest I saw 3 years ago).<p>I think a lot of it is a byproduct of their location: Pittsburgh is many years behind the valley on investor terms and incubator programs. As a result there are few startups there. Valley startups can't really afford to head out to Pittsburgh to recruit or promote entrepreneurship, especially when Stanford &#38; Berkeley are a car ride away (ditto with Boston/MIT).<p>There are many great people working on this problem inside CMU, but it's an uphill battle. I'm curious what the terms of this investment will be. The worst thing CMU can do is try to force entrepreneurs to stay in Pittsburgh. Fix the attitude, then the location will fix itself.

&#62; CMU spin-offs represent 34 percent of the total companies created in Pennsylvania based on university technologies in the past five years.<p>CMU has helped Pittsburgh rebrand itself from a coal-mining, steel-working town to a technological hub. I'm glad to hear that they want to continue the trend.

This reminds me, I have had an idea for advancing science through investing in graduate students and I would love to get some feedback on it.<p>How about creating a foundation that gives grants to students to support them while they get a Masters or PhD in two branches of science?<p>My assumption is that encouraging people to get high degrees in two or three branches of science will help bridge the 'specialization gap' that now exists between the branches. People on this program will be able to apply one area of science to another, which may create amazing applications.<p>How many people are there who have a PhD in biology _and_ a PhD in computer science? What about PhD's in mathematics and robotics?<p>I would apply immediately to anything resembling this.

There are several comments here concerned that CMU might want to keep their startups rooted in Pittsburgh. However, they have a Silicon Valley campus <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/silicon-valley/" rel="nofollow">http://www.cmu.edu/silicon-valley/</a> which seems to demonstrate that they have some interest in supporting those who want to be in the valley.

Glad to hear this - I hope other schools follow along in their footsteps. This is a good way to both invest in graduates, and improve the money problems many schools are facing (though, this is more of a long term result.)

Georgia Tech (my college) recently announced a similar thing. Basically a Y-Combinator for students and alumni. More details at flashpoint.gatech.edu (Website doesn't launch till tuesday, so you'll have to be patient)

Might actually be more efficient than begging for alumni donations. I would have let CMU put some dollars into my latest thing.

I heard President Cohon talk about it in today's commencement ceremony. That's great news!...to me :) (I'm a CMU alumni, CS School)

I'm wondering whether this fund excludes those in need of H1bs.

So this is yet another scheme where bankers grab ownership of fledgling companies at a massive discount because the visionary founders don't yet realize their company is worth far more than is being offered. Meanwhile press releases go out making it seem like it is some sort of non-profit charity that is doing good and the investors philanthropists.