The Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg has decided to enhance his company's portfolio by joining forces with 17 technology Universities to discuss upcoming projects. A few of the well-known institutions on the list are Harvard, Princeton, Texas A&M University, and the University of California at Berkely. As an incentive to working with Facebook, each school will be receiving a monthly sum for their efforts. At this time the social media company has not released a statement on specific details of the projects and how it will impact users.
Why Regina Dugan is running the project
If you haven't' heard the name Regina Dugan, here are a few important points you need to know about her and why she was selected for this project. Regina is a technology developer and inventor that worked at Google while leading the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) before she started working at Facebook. She now runs Facebook's Building 8 team and has a Masters of Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2013, she was named one of the "Top 10 Thinkers" by CNN and one of the "Influential Women of Wireless" by FireceWireless.
What we know about the project
While there is limited information from Facebook about the technology projects, Mark Zuckerberg has mentioned that he plans to invest hundreds of millions in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and connectivity.
The company has worked in the past with universities on artificial intelligence in addition to offering fellowships. In most cases, research partnerships with a company and schools can take between nine to twelve months to form. According to Regina Dugan, a new agreement has granted an opportunity for businesses to develop in a matter of weeks.
As we wait to find out what Facebook is planning, here are a few interesting facts about the social media platform:
- One of the first investors of Facebook was PayPal's co-founder Peter Thiel who has invested $1 billion
- Every second eight new users sign up for Facebook, which equals 7,246 users every 15 minutes
- The company makes $5.85 for each time a new user in North America signs up
- Facebook studies show that posts between the hours of 10 pm to 11 pm ET have an 88 percent greater chance of visibility
