The NYU Tandon Future Labs: Guiding New York Entrepreneurs to Success

Speaker:

Steven Kuyan
Director of NYU Tandon Future Labs and Entrepreneurship
NYU Tandon Engineering School

Abstract:

The NYU Tandon Future Labs consists of the Data Future Lab, the Digital Future Lab, the Urban Future Lab, and the Veterans Future Lab. Together they form the first public-private partnership with New York City tasked with creating a sustainable incubation program focused on increasing the success rate of new ventures and generating positive economic impact. The labs provide guidance, expertise, resources, and an entrepreneurial community needed to succeed in today’s innovation economy.

In particular, the Data Future Lab incubates early-stage businesses that are working with computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, or building intelligent conversational agents. The Digital Future Lab houses early-stage startups focused on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), video, cloud computing, or digital media, while the Urban Future Lab is New York City’s hub for smart cities, clean energy, and smart grid technology. Finally, the Veterans Future Lab, focuses on the needs of military veterans who are seeking to transition to civilian life as an entrepreneur. Located in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, this lab houses early-stage businesses led by military veterans and contains a prototyping space available to the public via membership. A unique public-private-academic partnership, the Future Labs have shown that they can shorten the time from idea to real-world impact and helping make New York City one of the fastest-growing hubs of tech entrepreneurship in the country.