The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced today the launch of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, an initiative funded by a $150 million endowment gift from the Schmidts that will catalyze a new scientific discipline at the intersection of biology and machine learning. Based in Cambridge at the Broad Institute, the center will bring together a global and collaborative network across academia and industry to promote interdisciplinary research between the data and life sciences to transform biology and ultimately improve human health. In recognition of the Schmidts’ gift, The Broad Foundation announced an additional $150 million endowment gift to the Broad Institute. To date, The Broad Foundation has pledged more than $1 billion to establish and endow the Broad Institute. Two recent revolutions inspired the creation of the Schmidt Center: the exponential growth and widespread adaptation of data technologies like machine learning and cloud computing, and the dramatic advances in generating massive amounts of data about living systems through next-generation DNA sequencing, single-cell genomics, and advanced medical imaging.
