Latest news with #UCBerkeley
TechCrunch
2 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
2 days until TC Sessions: AI at UC Berkeley
In just 2 days, TechCrunch Sessions: AI takes over UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall for a one-day summit built for the minds shaping AI. Expect hard questions, bold ideas, and real insight—designed to challenge your assumptions, sharpen your competitive edge, and maybe — just maybe — redefine the trajectory of your research, your product, or your company. Whether you're an AI researcher, engineer, or founder, this summit offers insights into the forefront of AI development and its applications. Don't miss the opportunity to engage with leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence. Experience it all at a low rate while you still can: Save $300 on your ticket and get a second pass for 50% off. Prices jump when the event doors open. Register your tickets now. Voices shaping the future of AI — live on our main stage and in breakouts And that's just the front row. You'll also hear from top voices at OpenAI, Cohere, Oracle, Linear, Amazon, Recursive Ventures, the EU and U.K. governments, and a sharp lineup of new founders you'll want on your radar. Explore the full TC Sessions: AI speaker and agenda lineup. Image Credits:Max Morse for TechCrunch Step into the future of AI — here's what you'll experience at TC Sessions: AI Main Stage sessions with boundary-pushers across research, policy, infrastructure, and venture. Hands-on breakouts that go deep — smaller rooms, sharper convos, actionable takeaways. Intentional, meaningful networking via Braindate — connect over shared interests, not random small talk. Live startup pitch-off with real-time VC feedback during So You Think You Can Pitch. After-hours Side Events around Berkeley — because breakthrough ideas don't have to stay inside the venue. Don't pay more at the door — grab your ticket now Save over $300 on your ticket right now . . Bringing a friend? Get a second pass for 50% off. Feeling lucky? Play our AI Trivia Countdown challenge for a shot at $200 off and a free guest ticket. Doors open June 5 — and that's when the discounts disappear. Whether you're building your first agent or managing a multi-stage portfolio, TC Sessions: AI is where the most important conversations are happening. Register now to secure your low ticket deals.
Axios
2 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
UC Berkeley, Stanford face risk as Trump administration targets international students
California has more international students than any other state, per data from NAFSA, an international education nonprofit. Why it matters: The Trump administration is halting student visa interviews and revoking visas for Chinese students amid a political pressure campaign against colleges and universities and a broader immigration crackdown. By the numbers: Of all international students studying in the U.S. during the 2023-24 school year, about 12.5% were doing so in California, 12.1% in New York and 8% in Texas. International students have been a major economic engine in California, contributing $6.4 billion during the 2023-2024 academic year. The big picture: The student visa pause comes as the Trump administration has been criticizing U.S. colleges and universities for failing to crack down on what it describes as heightened antisemitism as students protest Israel's actions in Gaza. The State Department is considering broader vetting of student visa applicants' social media posts. The revocation of Chinese students' visas in particular is tied to concerns that their government is using them "to steal intellectual property on Beijing's behalf," a State Department official told Axios' Marc Caputo. Zoom in: Bay Area universities, including UC Berkeley and Stanford, are especially exposed to the administration's crackdown. At the start of the 2024-25 school year, UC Berkeley had 7,355 international students, or about 16% of the campus population. While just 9% of Stanford's undergraduate students in the 2023-24 academic year were international, they accounted for 35% of graduate students, per the university. The largest share of international students from both universities were of Asian descent, with UC Berkeley's largest representation (35.6%) coming from China. What they're saying: The UC system is "very concerned" about the student interview visa pause and believes "it is critical that interviews resume as quickly as possible to ensure that applicants are able to go through the process and receive their visas on time so they can pursue their education," spokesperson Rachel Zaentz told Axios in a statement. "Our international students and scholars are vital members of our university community and contribute greatly to our research, teaching, patient care and public service mission," she added. Stanford University President Jon Levin wrote in a Linkedin post in late May that the U.S. has long attracted "the best and brightest students from around the world," adding that "it's self-defeating to send away young people with so much potential to contribute to the country." Flashback: The international student population at many UCs started falling after bending to pressure from state officials that it concentrate more of its resources on state residents. The legislature in 2021 forced UCSD, UCLA and UC Berkeley to make a 4% cut to their international students — a decade after the schools ramped up recruiting international students and the larger tuition they pay. Stunning stat: At UC Berkeley alone, new international student enrollees dropped by 42% last year.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Who is Curtis Yarvin? Meet the ‘intellectual source code' of the second Trump administration
Curtis Yarvin, a tech entrepreneur turned political theorist, has emerged as one of the most controversial and influential minds behind the radical ideological shift shaping Donald Trump's second presidency. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Known online by his former pseudonym Mencius Moldbug, Yarvin champions a vision of government that replaces democracy with a CEO-style autocracy. Once confined to obscure blogs, his ideas are now seeping into mainstream conservative politics, embraced by figures close to Trump's inner circle. Yarvin's journey from Silicon Valley coder to anti-democracy philosopher offers insight into the new authoritarian playbook being tested in real time in Washington. Curtis Yarvin's influence on Trump's second term While Yarvin has never held public office, his ideas have penetrated Trump-aligned circles in striking ways. The Trump administration's second-term playbook featuring the purge of career civil servants, erosion of checks and balances, and elevation of loyalist executives bears strong resemblance to Yarvin's vision of streamlined, top-down control. Often described as the 'intellectual source code' of this new governance model, Yarvin has provided the ideological framework for dismantling liberal democratic norms. Figures such as Vice President J.D. Vance have echoed his call to dismantle the so-called 'deep state,' while tech billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have embraced Yarvin-esque principles of elite rule, efficiency over democratic process, and corporate-style governance. Musk's expanding influence in areas from space to education has even led some to describe him as an unelected 'czar' — a real-world manifestation of Yarvin's authoritarian, CEO-led state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now From math prodigy to tech dropout Born in 1973 into a liberal, secular family, Curtis Yarvin was raised in Maryland by a diplomat father and a Protestant mother. His paternal grandparents were Jewish-American communists, marking a sharp contrast to the ideology he would later adopt. A child prodigy, he entered Johns Hopkins's Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth and graduated high school by age 15. He studied at Brown University and briefly pursued a PhD in computer science at UC Berkeley before dropping out to join the 1990s tech boom. Immersed in Silicon Valley's libertarian culture, he became increasingly drawn to right-wing philosophy. The birth of a radical ideology Yarvin's intellectual transformation was heavily shaped by libertarian thinkers like Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard, whose distrust of empiricism and belief in rule-by-logic appealed to his analytical mind. In the mid-2000s, writing under the name Mencius Moldbug, Yarvin began articulating a new political philosophy that would become known as the 'neo-reactionary' or 'dark enlightenment' movement. At its core, Yarvin's ideology calls for the abolition of democracy, which he considers corrupt, inefficient, and irredeemable. He proposes replacing it with a CEO-style government led by a singular, powerful executive much like a monarch or corporate boss who rules without elections or opposition. Yarvin also supports a rigid social hierarchy, rejecting the notion of political equality in favour of order, elitism, and stratification. Key concepts: The Cathedral and patchwork rule One of Yarvin's most influential concepts is 'the Cathedral', his term for the network of universities, media, and bureaucracies that he believes enforces liberal ideology and suppresses dissent. According to Yarvin, these institutions maintain cultural dominance in the West and must be overthrown to enable true political reform. Yarvin also advocates for 'patchwork sovereignty', a model in which the world is divided into autonomous, city-sized 'sovereign corporations' (SovCorps). Each one would be run like a business, governed not by public vote but by executive fiat. In this vision, citizens would act as customers rather than voters free to exit but without democratic input or protections. Controversy, criticism, and legacy Yarvin is frequently criticised for promoting 'human biodiversity', a euphemism for race-based intelligence theories. Though he denies being a white nationalist, his work is widely condemned as providing intellectual cover for racist and elitist worldviews. His admiration for authoritarian regimes in China and Rwanda, which he describes as 'efficient,' has raised alarm about his disregard for civil liberties and human rights. Critics argue that Yarvin's work is a pseudo-intellectual justification for totalitarianism, masking authoritarian ambitions in dense, provocative prose. He often uses irony and satire to deflect responsibility for the more extreme interpretations of his writing, but the impact is real: his language, metaphors, and frameworks are now reflected in mainstream policies and talking points on the American right. Why he matters now Curtis Yarvin is no longer a marginal internet theorist. His anti-democratic, elitist vision is shaping real-world policy in one of the world's most powerful democracies. By calling for the destruction of democratic institutions, the elevation of an unelected elite, and the transformation of government into a hierarchical corporate structure, Yarvin has become the intellectual vanguard of a post-democratic future. In the second Trump administration, that future may no longer be hypothetical.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
No product, no pitch, just buzzwords: Indian-origin UC Berkeley grad claims he tricked VCs with fake startup idea
NEW DELHI: An Indian-origin UC Berkeley graduate has sparked a debate about the startup funding ecosystem after claiming he received responses from 27 venture capitalists—four of whom asked for a meeting—by posing as a fake founder with no real product or pitch, but with the right mix of elite buzzwords. Bhavye Khetan, who earned a bachelor's degree in Operations Research and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley , said he cold-emailed 34 VCs while pretending to be a founder. In a widely shared post on X, he wrote, 'I made a fake founder persona. No product. No pitch. No deck. Just: Stanford CS, Ex-Palantir, and used the word 'AI' 3 times. Sent cold emails to 34 VCs. 27 replied. 4 asked for a call. This game is rigged in ways most people don't understand. ' — bhavye_khetan (@bhavye_khetan) The post went viral, amassing over 1.2 million views and 22,000 likes, as it resonated with users frustrated by what they see as superficial filters in the venture capital world. Khetan suggested that investor interest is often driven more by pedigree and jargon than by substance. His experiment, he said, showed that what catches the attention of investors isn't always a solid business plan or innovation. 'Who would have thought having shiny logos on resume makes people more likely to wanna talk to you,' one user responded. Khetan's critique adds to ongoing concerns about how early-stage startups are evaluated and the role of branding over actual potential. The incident also sheds light on how tech and venture capital ecosystems can sometimes favour image over idea. Responding to Khetan's post, a user on X said, "Your point may be valid, but your example is useless. 1. People complain VCs don't take cold inbound. So don't complain if they try to. 2. Most VCs take thousands of meetings a year. Taking a meeting isn't a very big sign. 3. My guess is that a Palantir alum is good signal."
India Today
8 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
Indian-origin man fakes founder identity, claims he fooled 27 investors with AI-laced CV
An Indian-origin UC Berkeley graduate claimed to have tricked 27 investors into responding to cold emails by faking a founder profile, with no real product, pitch, or a now-viral post on X, Bhavye Khetan, a graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, claimed he fooled dozens of venture capitalists (VCs) using a fictional founder identity packed with popular keywords. There was no company and no idea, just a made-up resume with the right names in the right detailed the experiment in his post, saying he posed as a Stanford computer science graduate and ex-Palantir employee, while using the term 'AI' thrice in his email pitch. Out of 34 investors he reached out to, 27 replied, and 4 asked for a call. 'I made a fake founder persona. No product. No pitch. No deck. Just: Stanford CS, Ex-Palantir, and used the word 'AI' 3 times... This game is rigged in ways most people don't understand,' he post pointed fingers at the start-up ecosystem and suggested that investor interest often leans more on buzzwords and branding than actual substance. He added that it's less about what you build and more about who you appear to a look at the viral post here: The post has garnered millions of views and divided opinions all across the internet. advertisementA section of the internet argued that cold emails are part of the VC routine, so a reply doesn't prove much. 'Your point may be valid, but your example is useless... Most VCs take thousands of meetings a year. Taking a meeting isn't a very big sign,' said a user added a shocking anecdote: 'I heard about a guy who faked his CV with similar founder, tech nonsense and landed major consulting and then executive jobs this way. Now he's CFO at a Fortune 500, clearing 500K a year.'However, not everyone was impressed. One of the users said, 'This is stupid. You lied. Stanford is meaningful. Palantir is meaningful. AI is meaningful. The only person acting inappropriately is you.'Another questioned the impact of the act: 'If you lie, of course, they'll take your call. But you won't get far once they realise you're faking it.'See the comments here: Bhavye Khetan's post stirred up uncomfortable questions around how start-up funding works. If a fake founder with a trendy CV and buzzwords can create face value for themselves, the system might need more scrutiny and fewer Reel
