LIVE EVENT
GCN Investor Conference in Newport Beach, CA
OCT 15 · NEWPORT BEACH, CA
LIVE EVENT
An engineering powerhouse whose computer science department helped create the modern consumer internet.
The University of Illinois has one of the most consequential computer science lineages in the world. Mosaic, the browser that made the web usable for a general audience, was built at its National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Its engineering college is enormous and consistently ranked among the strongest in the United States, particularly in semiconductors, computing, and materials.
Urbana-Champaign is a small city, and the ecosystem is built around the university's Research Park rather than around an existing industrial base.
Chicago, two hours north, provides the market, capital, and corporate customers for most companies that scale beyond the campus.
Illinois alumni founded or co-founded a striking number of consequential internet companies, including PayPal, YouTube, and Netscape's browser lineage through Mosaic.
Current company formation is concentrated in semiconductors, developer infrastructure, agricultural technology, and enterprise software.
Local capital is limited, but the Research Park's corporate partners provide a route to pilots and strategic investment.
Chicago's venture community is the primary source of institutional capital, with Bay Area investors participating in stronger technical companies.
GCN’s global network includes millions of startups and founders and a broad community of investors, creating opportunities to discover potential connections across university communities.
.webp){kind=logo}
.png)
.png)