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USC Receives $200 Million Gift to Create New School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence
The gift, one of the largest in the university's 146-year history, renames its School of Advanced Computing after the couple and funds a universitywide push into artificial intelligence. Mark Stevens, a USC alumnus and early Nvidia investor, has a long history of giving to the school. The donation comes as other billionaires pour hundreds of millions into AI programs at peer institutions.
May 7, 3:03 AM·2m read1 source
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Mark Stevens and his wife Mary are donating $200 million to launch a universitywide AI initiative at the University of Southern California, the school announced on Tuesday. The gift is one of the largest in USC’s 146-year history. In recognition, USC’s School of Advanced Computing housed within the Viterbi School of Engineering will be renamed the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
U.S. Army–affiliated research center that uses AI for military training simulations, and support USC’s new bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence and its AI for Business program. The donation will also fund the recruitment of AI researchers and back work spanning health sciences, security, business, and the arts.
Mark Stevens, 66, is a USC alum who earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and economics from USC in 1981 and a master’s in computer engineering from the school in 1984. He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989. He joined Sequoia Capital that same year, became a partner in 1993, and led Sequoia’s investment in Nvidia that year.
During his time at Sequoia, Stevens was part of the team behind early bets on Google, Yahoo, YouTube, and Nvidia. He left Sequoia Capital to start S-Cubed Capital in 2012 and now runs the family office in Menlo Park, Calif. 5 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He also owns a stake in the Golden State Warriors NBA team. Stevens has served on USC’s Board of Trustees since 2001. Mark and Mary Stevens gave $50 million to USC in 2015 to endow the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, which uses imaging tech to study Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and traumatic brain injury.
