ASU+GSV Summit

ASU+GSV Summit
Name	ASU+GSV Summit
Status	Active
Genre	Conference
Frequency	Annual
Venue	Varies
Country	United States
First	2010s

ASU+GSV Summit is an annual convening that brings together leaders from Arizona State University, GSV Ventures, Silicon Valley, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and international technology and investment hubs to discuss innovation in K–12, higher education, workforce development, EdTech, and public-private collaboration. The Summit functions as a nexus for executives from Microsoft, Google, Apple Inc., Amazon (company), Facebook, LinkedIn, Coursera, Udacity, Khan Academy, Teach For America and venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and New Enterprise Associates to present strategies, form partnerships, and showcase startups.

Overview

The event operates at the intersection of academic leadership from institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University with corporate influence from Intel Corporation, IBM, Cisco Systems, Salesforce, Oracle Corporation and investment groups including Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, SoftBank Group, Accel Partners and Benchmark (venture capital) . Policy and philanthropic voices such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and Lumina Foundation frequently attend alongside nonprofit organizations like RISE (organization), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Bank, OECD and Brookings Institution. Startup showcases draw founders backed by Y Combinator, Techstars, 500 Global, StartX and accelerators affiliated with MIT Media Lab and Harvard Innovation Labs.

History and Development

Founded amid growing convergence among Arizona State University leadership, GSV Capital, Michael Moe (entrepreneur) and investors from Silicon Valley Bank and Goldman Sachs, the Summit evolved from regional meetings into an international forum engaging stakeholders such as Secretary of Education (United States), state governors like Doug Ducey and mayors like Eric Garcetti. Early years featured partnerships with research centers at SRI International, RAND Corporation, American Institutes for Research and EdSurge, while later iterations incorporated global delegations from United Kingdom, India, China, Brazil and Kenya and policy delegations including representatives from European Commission, UNESCO and OECD Directorate for Education. Influential reports from McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and Boston Consulting Group helped shape programming and investment narratives.

Annual Conferences and Programming

Typical programming includes plenary sessions, breakout panels, startup pitch competitions, and networking events that connect stakeholders such as university presidents from Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and deans from Harvard Graduate School of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education with corporate strategists from Accenture, Deloitte Digital and McKinsey Digital. Sessions have focused on initiatives by organizations like Project Lead The Way, Common Core State Standards Initiative, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate and workforce programs from National Association of Manufacturers, Carnegie Mellon University and General Assembly (company). The summit’s startup competitions have spotlighted companies later supported by Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, NEA and corporate venture arms such as GV (company), Intel Capital and Salesforce Ventures.

Notable Speakers and Participants

Speakers and attendees have included academic leaders such as Michael Crow, Clayton Christensen, Drew Gilpin Faust, Leah Busque, corporate executives like Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Reed Hastings and investors including Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, John Doerr, Mary Meeker and Fred Wilson. Policy makers and philanthropists have included Arne Duncan, Betsy DeVos, Jeb Bush, Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Laurene Powell Jobs and Priscilla Chan. Notable entrepreneurs and innovators such as Sebastian Thrun, Andrew Ng, Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Fei-Fei Li and founders from Coursera, edX, Udemy, Duolingo and MasterClass have led discussions on learning science and artificial intelligence.

Impact and Criticism

Proponents argue the Summit accelerates deals among stakeholders including Pearson PLC, McGraw Hill Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kaplan, Inc., Chegg, Inc. and startup investors from Tiger Global Management, Insight Partners and Blackstone Group while influencing policy conversations involving U.S. Department of Education, state education agencies, international ministries such as Ministry of Education (India) and workforce development programs linked to U.S. Department of Labor and ILO. Critics have raised concerns similar to critiques lodged against entities like Forbes, Bloomberg L.P., Wired (magazine), and TechCrunch regarding commercialization of public services, conflicts of interest involving venture firms like TPG Capital and KKR & Co. Inc., and the balance between profit-driven models championed by Coursera partners and mission-driven nonprofits such as Khan Academy and Teach For America. Scholars from Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Law School, NYU Wagner School and think tanks like Center for American Progress and Cato Institute have debated the Summit’s influence on pedagogy, credentialing, and labor markets.

Partnerships and Sponsorships

Organizers collaborate with corporate sponsors and institutional partners including Adobe Inc., Netflix, Walmart, Target Corporation, AT&T, Verizon Communications, T-Mobile, Samsung Electronics and philanthropic partners like The Walton Family Foundation and Annenberg Foundation. Academic partnerships often involve research centers at Johns Hopkins University, UCLA, University of Texas at Austin, Northwestern University and University of Chicago. Media partners have included The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Economist and Reuters, while broadcast and streaming partners such as CNN, Bloomberg Television, BBC News and NPR cover major announcements and keynote addresses.

Category:Conferences in the United States