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The former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, is now in charge of an AI startup that is focused on biotech and scientific research. Schmidt’s new company will be a non-profit.
Eric Schmidt has previously warned about the dangers of unregulated AI and how it can affect the 2024 election. He said AI could turn the upcoming US election into a “mess,” and its abuse can even put people’s lives in danger. The former tech executive now wants to dive deep into AI by launching an AI science company.
According to the people familiar with the case, Schmidt started to hire top scientists for his new organization. Two of the most prominent scientists who joined Schmidt’s startup are Samuel Rodriques, founder of the Applied Biotechnology Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, and Andrew White, a University of Rochester professor. Andrew White also specializes in the application of artificial intelligence in chemistry.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt starts an AI-science company
The name of Schmidt’s startup is yet to be discovered, but it’s said to be an OpenAI-like organization. OpenAI is the ChatGPT parent company and one of the leading companies in AI development. It also first started as a non-profit organization. However, it changed its strategies after launching ChatGPT and accepting an over $10 billion fund from Microsoft.
Schmidt will personally fund this new company, but he might also accept investments. He’s offering competitive salaries and resources to hire more top scientists. There are no further details about the goals and prospects of this company.
In an article for MIT Technology Review, Schmidt said, “With the advent of AI, science is about to become much more exciting — and in some ways unrecognizable.” The former Google CEO added, “The reverberations of this shift will be felt far outside the lab; they will affect us all.”
Eric Schmidt and his wife also support other AI-science projects. Including the non-profit AI2050 and the AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.