The New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Hub plans to expand its reach, partnering with the global innovation platform Plug and Play as announced by the University last December. Plug and Play will operate the AI Hub’s AI Accelerator, which is set to officially launch this March.
The AI Hub is a state-backed initiative to elevate New Jersey as a leader in AI research, innovation, education, and development. Princeton University is a founding partner of the Hub, along with Microsoft and CoreWeave, an AI cloud-computing company.
As the name suggests, the AI Accelerator is intended to expedite the growth of local and global AI startups using Plug and Play’s wide-ranging network. With over 60 international locations, Plug and Play functions “as a bridge between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world, making innovation open to anyone, anywhere,” according to its website.
The Accelerator employs a two-pronged approach, providing New Jersey-based companies opportunities to connect with partners across the globe and attracting world-class startups to the state through Princeton’s research and innovation capacities.
In the University’s announcement, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play Saeed Amidi affirmed his team’s commitment to “making New Jersey a global leader for AI. Due to its world-class research institutions, thriving talent base, and institutional support, all the pieces exist to bring this partnership to life.”
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Executive Director of the NJ AI Hub Liat Krawczyk said up to 20 companies will be selected for the Accelerator’s first cohort.
“Plug and Play has gotten a lot of applications — very diverse entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey in terms of founding companies,” she said.
Central to the Accelerator’s mission is teaching these entrepreneurs how to employ AI beneficially to address present issues. “We want to make sure, in particular, that the developers have a foundational understanding of how to build an ethical viewpoint into what they’re building,” Krawczyk said.
“We [are] building a pipeline of companies that really anchor long-term economic growth for the state,” Krawczyk said about her plans to attract global talent to New Jersey. “We want to be the home where we’re accelerating breakthrough research, or we’re strengthening sector-specific AI ecosystems here locally.”
As for supporting local companies, Krawczyk explained, “Plug and Play also has a very robust ecosystem themselves. They’ve worked with over 100,000 startups. They’re in 25 countries. They have over 500 corporate partners. So this allows local companies to have access to a pretty wide breadth of clients and potential partners across the globe that have the top elements to be able to support them wherever they are.”
In the announcement, University Provost Jennifer Rexford explained the University’s role in the AI Accelerator, stating that “the partnership with Plug and Play will enable the NJ AI Hub to catalyze AI innovation, including opportunities for faculty and students to turn their novel ideas into successful products and companies.”
Krawczyk added that “there will be opportunities for students to be involved in different ways, but we’re still developing those.”
Haeon Lee is the associate News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading research coverage. She is from Brooklyn, N.Y. and often covers campus research and academic departments. She can be reached at hl1389[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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