USC Receives $200 Million for AI Research, Renames Computing School
Mark Stevens, a venture capitalist and NVIDIA board member, and his wife Mary donated $200 million to the University of Southern California for artificial intelligence research. The university will rename its computing school the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
The gift brings the couple's total contributions to USC to $292 million. Stevens is an alumnus of the university, which already has several centers named after them.
USC launched its computing school in 2024 and plans to introduce an artificial intelligence bachelor's program this fall. The donation will support the school's expansion and research initiatives.
USC President Beong-Soo Kim said in Tuesday's announcement that the gift positions the university to capitalize on opportunities in AI development. "As AI becomes ever more powerful, it creates enormous opportunities to improve lives and solve some of our greatest challenges, if used the right way," Kim said.
The donation reflects growing institutional investment in generative AI and related fields. Universities are competing to attract talent and resources as companies and governments increase spending on AI research and development.
The funding also supports AI education initiatives aimed at training the next generation of researchers and practitioners in the field.
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