US-based accelerator Singularity University to launch $50M venture fund to tackle world problems

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Jan 24, 2014 07:09 AM EST

Singularity University (SU) will launch its own $50-million venture fund later in 2014 to help tackle the major problems of the world, according to GigaOM.

SU is an education center and accelerator headquartered at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. The university will start raising capital on the second quarter of this year. The planned fund will focus of firms launched by students, graduates, and faculty members of SU, the report detailed.

The education firm is committed to pursuing exponential technologies such as robotics, nanotechnology, and biotech. SU develops these fields to help solve poverty, security, and education problems, the report explained.

The university was founded in 2008 by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil, a director of engineering at Google. SU has now grown to include educational programs for executives and graduate students. The firm also has a program that matches startups with prominent companies such as Coca-cola, Lowe's, Hershey's, and Unicef, the report said.

According to new venture development managing director Sandy Miller, for now, SU only accepts firms associated with its graduates. However, the university plans to start accepting outsiders in less than a year, GigaOM reported.

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