TED's annual conference is attracting more than just ideas
As the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference has grown over the years, it has evolved from a place where people share ideas into a place where the technology industry seal the deals, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The conference is also heavily attended by CEOs, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists looking for the next big thing. This year, a Wall Street Journal reporter bumped into venture capitalists from many top firms including Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins and August Capital. Start-ups, such as Kickstarter, Tumbler and Uber, were also attendees.
The participants of TED compare the conference to the Sun Vally conference, the long-running conference in Idaho, where blockbuster media deals have been cut over the years. The Sun Vallye conference is hosted by the boutique investment bank Allen & Company. But the participants of TED say that the TED conference is more informant and open about technology than Sun Valley.
" It's not facilitated deal-making like Sun valley," Greg Waldorf, a CEO-in-Residence at Accel Partners and investor in Facbook, told The Wall Street Journal. " This is about hanging out and running into people."
Niklas Zennstrom, the co-founder of Skype and also a venture capitalist at London based Atomico, said his firm agreed on a venture financing deal with a handshake at a recent TED.
Andrew McLaughlin, the vice president of Tumblr, said that one of the reasons he came to TED this year was to scout for partnering opportunities. He is looking for a company with a range of technology that Tumblr can integrate into its blogging services. The partnerships that are made at TED is perhaps one of the most important parts about the conference.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com