The Seattle region’s technology landscape was in the spotlight over the weekend in Davos, Switzerland, where top corporate executives and global leaders were gathered for the World Economic Forum.
Brad Smith, the Microsoft president and chief legal officer, showed the Seattle Tech Universe map during an event Friday night in Davos to help make his point about the ways universities and industry can collaborate to foster innovation.
Unveiled in December by Madrona Venture Group and the Washington Technology Industry Association, the Seattle Tech Universe is a visual guide to Seattle’s complex technology ecosystem — showing the impact of University of Washington spinoffs and employees who leave tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon to launch their own startups. Many Seattle startups also share parentage, with founders coming from a combination of Microsoft, Amazon, and UW.
Asked why Smith was showing the map at the event, a Microsoft representative explained that he was talking about the connection between leading universities and innovation ecosystems, using the University of Washington as an example. Smith also talked about the evolution of the innovation ecosystem around Cambridge University in the UK, and the opportunities that exist at Princeton University and other areas around the world. (The event was hosted by Princeton.)
The map was designed by Killer Infographics. Click below to view a larger version, and find out more here.
(Thanks to GeekWire reader and Princeton alum Mike McDevitt of Foundry Interactive for alerting us to the map’s appearance in Davos.)
