IFC: Silicon Valley; Disrupting Silicon Valley with AI

Course Number 6094

Senior Lecturer Mark Roberge

January; J; 3.0 credits
Fall On-Campus Course Sessions: Thursdays 3:10 PM – 5:10 PM: 9/11, 9/25, 10/30, 11/13, 12/4*
January Immersion Dates: Arrive Sunday, Jan 4 and depart Sat, Jan 10th
Course Fee: $1,900 (see note on Financial Aid)

Immersive Field Courses: IFCs require a firm commitment and carry a financial obligation. Financial aid is available in the form of a student loan, a need-based HBS scholarship, or a combination of both depending on your individual circumstances. The Add/Drop process at the start of the term is the mechanism for any IFC enrollment changes, and, after that point, the course fee is non-refundable. Refer to the GEO website for full details on IFCs and be sure you understand the Course Policies and Course Fee & Financial Aid. Visit IFC Financial Aid for a quick assessment to determine your eligibility and process or contact finaid@hbs.edu for more information.

Enrollment Capacity: Limited to 45 MBA students (due to the nature of IFCs, auditing is not permitted)

Course Overview

Twenty-five years ago, the Internet changed the landscape of the tech sector. Nearly every category incumbent across B2B and B2C was disrupted by Internet-first startups that dominate today’s “most valuable companies” list. Will history repeat itself as we enter the age of AI? Will a new cohort of native AI startups reshape the tech sector? Or will the incumbents maintain their leadership positions?

In this course, “Disrupting Silicon Valley with Artificial Intelligence”, we will explore these questions. During the Fall, students will be assembled into teams of 6-8 and assigned to an AI research project submitted by one of our sponsor companies. Last year’s projects were submitted by OpenAI, Waymo, NVIDIA, LinkedIn, HubSpot, Meta. Students will meet regularly throughout the fall with Professor Roberge to discuss research findings and brainstorm potential implications.

We will conclude the research phase of the course in early January and travel to Silicon Valley to present our findings to executives from these companies and meet with AI thought leaders in the region. Past guests include:

Jay Puri (COO, NVIDIA)
Tekedra Mawakana (CEO, Waymo)
Dmitry Shevelenko (CBO, Perplexity)
Aliisa Rosenthal (Head of Sales at OpenAI)
Dylan Field (Founder/CEO, Figma)
Drew Houston (Founder/CEO of Dropbox)
Yamini Rangan (CEO, HubSpot)
Ryan Roslansky (CEO, LinkedIn)
Scott Belsky (CSO, Adobe)
Frederick Kerrest (co-founder of Okta)
Sid Sidbrandij (Founder, CEO of GitLab)

Course credit and fees

Students will receive 3 credits upon successful completion of this course.

HBS will provide logistical support for the immersion (including accommodations, select meals, and local travel arrangements). Students will be charged a course fee of GEO will input fee towards defraying a portion of these costs. Students are responsible for booking and paying for their own round-trip air travel and any costs associated with required visa documentation and immunizations. Students should ensure adequate processing time for all visas, as travel fees are not refundable if a student does not secure visas on time.

For detailed information about what the course program fee includes and excludes, as well as information about student accommodations, please visit the GEO website or email geo@hbs.edu.

GEO continuously evaluates the safety and logistical feasibility of running Immersive Field Courses in each location. Please be aware that IFCs can be canceled at any time due to changes in global health and safety or other unforeseen circumstances. Students will not be redistributed into another IFC, nor will a new course be developed. Course fees will be refunded.

*Note: Students can enroll in this IFC and Professor Roberge’s Entrepreneurial Sales 101 course. The course meeting times do not conflict.