Inside Singularity's second gathering of business heads in India

In 2008, NASA, Google and others founded Singularity University, offering executive programmes and workshops.  (@singularityu/x)
In 2008, NASA, Google and others founded Singularity University, offering executive programmes and workshops. (@singularityu/x)

Summary

  • The Silicon Valley think tank educates decision-makers on exponential technologies to improve efficiency manifold while bringing down costs.

On 27 and 28 September, around 100 industrialists, company heads, investment bankers, private equity players and start-up founders gathered for an “invite only" event in Mumbai. Over sessions spread across 48 hours, they practiced pitches using AI, discussed human longevity and its impact on demography and businesses, and analyzed complex market laws.

The participants, including Apcotex Industries Ltd chairman Atul C. Choksey, RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka, and family business adviser Rajiv Agarwal, had gathered for a two-day workshop by Singularity, a Silicon Valley innovation think tank. This was the second such event in India by Singularity, which educates corporate decision-makers on exponential technologies to improve efficiency manifold while bringing down costs.

The think tank—named after a hypothetical point in the future when AI would become smarter than humans, and also the theorical point of infinite density inside black holes—was founded in 2008 by Peter Diamandis, a serial entrepreneur and founder of over 25 firms, and American scientist Ray Kurzweil. According to the think tank’s website, the two founders “could see that the current education system was setting up leaders to fail, unable to keep up with the exponential pace of technological change. The world needed leaders who were empowered with not only a broad understanding of technology, but a grasp of the challenges humanity is facing and a fearlessly entrepreneurial mindset".

In 2008, NASA and Google, among others, helped establish the Singularity University, which offers executive programmes and workshops.

“There were cases studies, and we were made to come up with pitches in groups using AI; how demand and markets will change as longevity increases," said a business head who did not want to be named. “Concepts like biological aristocracy and impact on life spans on different genders were discussed."

Also read | India teams power our global AI ambitions, says IBM Research AI head

Choksey, chairman of synthetic rubber maker Apcotex Industries Ltd, found classes on generative AI, chat GPT, developments in space and clean energy interesting. “Longevity, science and medicine and space exploration were very interesting. There were 120 of us," he told Mint

Harsh Goenka and Rajiv Agarwal didn't respond to queries.

For programmes spanning a couple of days conducted by scientists and professors in California, Singularity charges about 20 lakh, Mint has learnt. In India, according to the people who attended the workshop, it charged about 2 lakh for a few hours.

“As one of the fastest-growing major economies with millions of leaders primed to lead the next generation of innovative solutions, India offers a dynamic environment for transformative thinking," said Singularity in an emailed response to Mint. “By introducing Singularity's methodologies and insights to this dynamic market, we aim to help catalyze new approaches to innovation and leadership."

This is their second summit in India, the first being in Bengaluru in 2022. The university told Mint that in one of the workshops in Mumbai, there were over 50 new business ideas. The lectures were on “Al, digital biology, space tech, energy plus more breakthroughs promising to revolutionize industries, extend human capabilities, and enhance quality of life".

The faculty included Aaron Frank, a researcher whose area of expertise include distributed ledger technology, mixed reality, fintech, foundational concepts, exponential thinking; and Gregg Maryniak, co-founder and original executive director of the XPRIZE Foundation. XPRIZE is a nonprofit that organizes billion-dollar competitions for technology solutions to help mankind. There was also Kris Verburgh, who has conducted research in longevity, medicine and biotechnology.

Also read | Fintechs take a fancy to small loans against stocks, mutual fund units, FDs

Invitations came from Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a global leadership community of over 35,000 chief executives; and Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO), another networking community of business leaders.

According to a company head who attended the programme, Indian business leaders often go to Singularity workshops held in the US, and now with them coming to India, more are expected to get access to their workshops.

“Singularity's expansion into India is driven by our belief that the future will require diverse perspectives," the think tank said in its response. “Leaders must not only be aware of emerging technologies but also understand their convergence and develop the mindset to drive profound innovation."

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