After the talk, O’Sullivan participated in an interactive panel moderated by Kieran Drain, managing director and entrepreneur in residence at Applied Materials, Inc. The discussion explored the intersections of research, investment, and innovation, focusing on their impact on society. Panelists included Duncan Turner, General Partner at SOSV and global managing director of HAX, SOSV’s pre-seed program for hard tech, as well as Susan Schofer, Partner at SOSV and chief science officer at HAX.
After touring Ohio State’s Main and West Campus research facilities, the panel headed to the Student Entrepreneurs’ Center for the 2024 President’s Buckeye Accelerator. There, students from six ventures that had received $50,000 awards reported on their progress during the year-long accelerator program.
Before becoming an active investor in climate tech, O’Sullivan was an entrepreneur himself. His first startup, MapInfo, popularized computer street mapping. Additionally, he is a principal donor to Khan Academy and is credited as co-creating the term “cloud computing.”
O’Sullivan challenged the narrative of high failure rates of start-ups entering the deep tech landscape, while speaking earlier in the day, offering a more optimistic view for eager student entrepreneurs.
“Everybody assumes that the odds are very low to succeed in deep tech. That’s true to be a billionaire, OK? That’s definitely true,” he said. “But we have a ton of success with startups that build multi-million-dollar revenue, multinational, profitable businesses.”
Of the companies supported through SOSV, a study showed a promising landscape for their startups, with more than 45 percent of these ventures remaining alive and well after eight years — a testament to their resilience and potential. Beyond mere survival, some startups have thrived, with acquisitions and valuations in the billions of dollars marking their progress.
