Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone Group LP, is making his mark on the future with a $350 million grant to MIT to study artificial intelligence.
Mr. Schwarzman's gift is providing the seed funding for a $1 billion commitment by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology "to address the global opportunities and challenges presented by the prevalence of computing and the rise of artificial intelligence," according to an MIT news release.
It is not the first time that Mr. Schwarzman's has given a gift to further the study of artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, he donated $5 million to the Harvard Business School for case studies and other programs exploring the implications of artificial intelligence on industries and business.
At MIT, Mr. Schwarzman's foundational gift will help establish the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, to be headquartered in a new building on MIT's campus in Cambridge, Mass.
Blackstone Group executives applauded Mr. Schwarzman's generosity.
During an Oct. 18 conference call on the manager's third-quarter earnings, Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer, mentioned the gift.
"His goal is to help the U.S. maintain competitiveness while also ensuring the study of the human impact of AI, particularly the potential for workforce displacement," Mr. Gray said. "We believe this is single-largest investment in computing and AI at any American academic institution. As always, Steve is a visionary looking forward."
