Singularity University Announces New and Updated Programs to Prepare Leaders for Disruptive Times, Identify Strategic Opportunities, Achieve High-impact Growth, and Build a Better World

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF., and COLUMBUS, OHIO – Sept. 12, 2017 – Singularity University (SU), a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges, has announced new and evolved programs for individuals, startups, and large organizations. The announcement was made to 1,600 participants attending this week’s SU’s second annual Global Summit in San Francisco.

As advanced or exponential technologies (such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, digital biology, and robotics) continue to develop at faster rates, it is becoming more challenging for organizations of all sizes to see far enough into the future to plan for how technologies and trends will disrupt as well as create opportunities for businesses and world markets. SU is dedicated to helping people learn to break free of the assumptions they have today, delivering the tools, partner and community networks, and exponential mindset they need to be successful and solve the global challenges we face.

“The world is changing faster than our linear-thinking brains can keep up,” said Carin Watson, EVP, Learning & Innovation at Singularity University. “Exponential technologies and new business models enabled by digitization and democratization are impacting every industry in unprecedented ways. SU aims to help leaders better understand, anticipate, and respond to the future. The pace and approach that got us here aren’t sufficient to get us there. Our wide range of programs, diverse faculty network, and global community of change agents help individuals and organizations learn to embrace an exponential mindset, develop new skills and tools, and pursue unexpected collaborations that result in both bottom line and social impact.”

Enterprises and Large Organizations Require Leaders Who Know How to Succeed in a World of Disruption Caused by Exponential Technologies

The enterprise programs announced this week as new or evolved underscore SU’s commitment to deepening the support to help drive organizational transformation. They include:

• The all-new Program for Exponential Leadership prepares leaders to anticipate and leverage disruption in technologies, markets and business models, while learning to be futurists, technologists, innovators, and impact-drivers in equal parts to create long-term value. Program participants will develop a specific roadmap for exponential change and are assigned a coach to ensure they are successful in the long term.
• The Exponential Technology and Startup Radar enables enterprises to identify competing startups and disruptive technologies that will likely impact their business or industry. Offered as a one-month or three-month sprint, it delivers real-time insights about emerging technology and trends along with strategic recommendations to help innovation leaders predict when and how disruptions are coming, so they can make the right decisions today.
• Disruption Workshops are designed for innovation, product, and strategy teams to speed large organizations’ ability to generate future-shaping breakthroughs with exponential technologies. Participants develop disruptive new business models and seek new opportunities at the edge of the business.
• Exponential Strategy Programs are custom 1-3 day programs, designed to educate management teams about the unique disruptive forces affecting their competitive landscapes and business.
• Prototyping Sprints and Team Incubation enable large organizations to innovate at the speed of a startup. Innovation teams learn to rapidly test, learn, iterate, and vet ideas to the proof-of-concept stage through to pilot. SU can drive the process in one-week sessions, or show organizations how they can drive the process themselves internally over the course of several months.

Impact-Driven Startups Need Long-Term Support to See Them Through

Recognizing that it takes time to solve big problems, SU is announcing SU Ventures, to provide end-to-end support for visionary, future-shaping entrepreneurs and startups—from concept to prototype to funding to market entry to scale, and beyond. Unlike traditional short-term incubators and accelerators, it’s the first and only program dedicated to startups that apply emerging technologies to address the largest challenges facing humanity today. SU Ventures helps startups:

• Source the capital they need from angel investors,VCs, and SU’s Impact Partners
• Iteratively test their innovations during pilots with SU global partners in the Fortune 1000 and into field deployments with development organizations for real-world feedback and analysis that is funneled back into design
• Connect with global experts, SU faculty, industry leaders with expertise in exponential technologies and their impact on market trends
• Learn how to accelerate breakthroughs
• Get the support they need in an “all-you-can-engage” format for as long as they are in business

SU’s flagship Global Solutions Program (GSP) now also feeds into SU Ventures in a more intrinsic way as many GSP participants ideate solutions leveraging exponential technologies and bold thinking to solve humankind’s global challenges: energy, environment, food, water, shelter, security, prosperity, space, governance, and disaster resilience. Out of the GSP ideas come the seeds for moonshot initiatives—those impacting global challenges and making a difference in the lives of 1 billion people around the world within 10 years. Selected teams are invited to participate in the SU Ventures Incubator to evolve their ideas into startups and innovative solutions. The 2017 GSP cohort focused on solving the challenges facing our climate and environment. To learn more about innovative projects developed during GSP 2017, please see Singularity University Completes 2017 Global Solutions Program.

New Immersive Open Enrollment Programs for Everyone

Singularity University has also expanded its portfolio of short programs for individuals, whether they are seeking their first introduction to the world of exponentials, to deepen their expertise in a given technology or global challenge, or to stay abreast of the innovations, players, and issues shaping the future.

• Foundations of Exponential Thinking brings SU’s perspectives and tools to cities, initially in the U.S. In a focused 3-day learning program, mid- and senior-level leaders become future-focused leaders. Topics include: core exponential trends driving the future, the risks and opportunities they represent, and methods of leveraging exponential technologies to solve the world’s grand challenges. The program will equip participants to become change agents to influence the direction of their organizations.
• Re[solve] is a new series of 3-day programs focused on the global grand challenges identified by SU as the most critical to solve using exponential thinking, tools, and technologies: water, food, energy, environment, shelter, disaster resilience, prosperity, security, shelter, education, and global health. The first three Re[solve] programs announced are: Re[solve] Learning, Re[solve] Energy+Environment, and Re[solve] Food. In these experiential programs, participants will learn how to “be exponential” in moving beyond current assumptions of how to solve for these issues. They will learn a new exponential approach to “re-solve” them, as well as recommit or “resolve” to personally make a difference.
• Experts on Air is a new weekly webcast series that features virtual presentations and live Q&A with change-makers who are working on cutting-edge exponential technologies and innovation. Through these webcasts, SU experts bring you the latest breakthroughs from their fields, give meaning and context to our changing world, and provide actionable insights and frameworks for your daily life and business. Recent speakers have included: Lisa Kay Solomon, SU Chair, Transformational Practices on How to Be A Great Leader in Exponential Times; Pascal Finette, SU VP of Startup Solutions on Between the Zeros and Ones: Decoding Digitalization; and Jason Dunn, Co-founder and CTO of Made In Space on How New Manufacturing Processes in Space Will Disrupt Industries on Earth.

ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY (SU)

Singularity University (SU) is a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges and build an abundant future for all. SU's collaborative platform empowers individuals and organizations across the globe to learn, connect, and innovate breakthrough solutions using accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital biology. A certified benefit corporation headquartered at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley, SU was founded in 2008 by renowned innovators Ray Kurzweil and Dr. Peter H. Diamandis with program funding from leading organizations including Google, Deloitte, and UNICEF. To learn more, visit SU.org, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @SingularityU, and download the SingularityU Hub mobile app.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jessica Kersey, jessica.kersey@su.org

650-868-9295

Ashley Bushala, ashley.bushala@ogilvy.com, singularityu@ogilvy.com

847-989-0745