DataRobot provides companies with the artificial intelligence to manage the massive amounts of data available to them in order to deliver critical business insights . Throughout the pandemic , DataRobot has worked alongside the state ’ s COVID-19 task force .
“ DataRobot has provided the daily reports on cases and hospitalizations that were used to help drive the state leadership ’ s responses and decision making ,” Wright says . “ Health care organizations throughout the state are continuing to use DataRobot to prepare for future variants or even pandemics .”
State officials are also using DataRobot ’ s artificial intelligence cloud platform to monitor more than $ 1 billion in credit card transactions to systematically identify fraud and abuse . Data management is just one technology sector taking root in the Mountain State .
“ West Virginia has a very strong community of innovators and world-class capabilities to support startups in the medtech and health tech , data and the Internet of Things , energy , transportation and cybersecurity sectors ,” Biller says . “ We also have a growing fintech and digital gaming startup sector in the state .”
Biller acknowledges that statewide , movers and shakers as well as state institutions will need to adapt a new mindset to nurture these new companies .
“ West Virginia can support startup efforts by becoming more agile in its thinking ,” she says . “ Whether systematically or because their market forces them to do so , startups often pursue a range of different approaches to solve problems . These pivots are not atypical in the startup world . West Virginia , in contrast , has grown its economy in a linear fashion , and our mental model of how businesses are built often draws heavily on these past experiences .”
John Chambers , former executive chairman of Cisco Systems and CEO of JC2 Ventures , says that a startup economy is the worthwhile outcome of the input of many sectors in the state that evolve and support each other .
“ Startups will be the engine , along with working with large companies ,” Chambers says . “ This is the way we capture the heart and soul of young people , not just from our state but from all over the eastern half of the nation .”
This progression toward a startup economy means changes in the higher education focus . Those changes help to fuel the new economy as it grows and evolves .
Sarah Biller , Executive Director , Vantage Ventures
John Chambers , CEO , JC2 Ventures
Brad Smith , President , Marshall University
“ Our ability to convene the academic , private and public leadership together and use this collective force to support companies that are building breakthrough technologies is unrivaled anywhere in the country . We have applied this force to punch above our weight and attract globally significant startups to establish operations in West Virginia .”
“ Startups will be the engine , along with working with large companies . This is the way we capture the heart and soul of young people , not just from our state but from all over the eastern half of the nation .”
“ West Virginia is experiencing its broadest economic expansion in a decade . The end of last year showed a quarterly growth of 7.3 %, ranking us 10th in the nation . The state is successfully transitioning into the startup state we collectively envisioned .”
Photo by Wing 2 Wing Foundation .
Dan Wright , CEO , DataRobot
“ This is only the beginning of West Virginia ’ s transformation as a startup state . I like the idea of a new Silicon Valley in West Virginia , one that is accessible to an entirely new employee base with fresh perspectives and game-changing ideas .”
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