Gov. Phil Murphy will announce Monday at Princeton University plans to establish a spot for generative artificial intelligence research & development in the state, numerous people told ROI-NJ.
Details are limited, but such an announcement, scheduled for 11 a.m. at the school, has long been hinted at by the governor himself. Murphy mentioned it throughout his recent nine-day trip to East Asia — and, just last week, when Nokia Bell Labs announced it was staying in New Jersey, relocating to the HELIX in New Brunswick.
Murphy, on that day, said the state has the science, technology, engineering & mathematics talent to compete with Silicon Valley, where so much of the AI research currently is located.
“We’ve got talent, particularly STEM talent, just as much as Northern California,” he told the crowd, saying AI is going to be an area the state is laser-focused on.
AI research obviously is exploding around the world. Establishing a strong presence in New Jersey obviously would be good for the state’s efforts to become an even greater player in the global innovation economy.
The center will be at Princeton and done in conjunction with Princeton — which is advantageous for a number of reasons.
Princeton is a hub for science and research. In fact, computer science is the most popular major at the school. The program has many prominent CS alums, including Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and executive chairman of Alphabet.
Schmidt, and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, made a substantial gift to the school in 2019 to expand the computer science program.
In addition, the Princeton name obviously plays well globally, which will help attract talent.
Then, there’s the location. Being on the East Coast may be a better location for companies — and countries — in Europe and the Middle East that are looking to expand their AI efforts.
In addition, creating a hub for AI in New Jersey would enable top thought leaders on the East Coast to remain here.
