Startup Education Series:
Reimagining Venture Capital and Funding for Innovation

Wednesday, August 7, 2024  6:00 - 7:30 pm PT
via Zoom

Please join the MITCSD and the Caltech Alumni Association for an engaging discussion with Dr. Abhilash Mishra (Caltech PhD 2017) and Linda Kinning on the critical need to create ecosystems that support innovators worldwide as they tackle societal challenges. Building on our previous conversation with Dr. Mishra, we are excited to have Linda, who leads Equitech Futures Venture Studio, a venture studio dedicated to solving problems with and for the global majority.

About our Speaker: Linda Kinning


Linda has spent the past 10 years bringing ideas, products, and communities to life in domains ranging from theatre, AI research, to startups in the US and Asia. She is the director of the venture studio at Equitech Ventures working hand-in-hand with founders on building AI tools for the global majority. She helps first time founders innovate and build human-centered startups from idea stage to launch. She has worked in AI research at the University of Chicago and in the nonprofit sector in higher education and the arts. She received her MBA from Chicago Booth in behavioral science, strategy, and entrepreneurship and is currently based in Chicago. You can read more about her work and experience here.

About our Speaker: Dr Abhilash Mishra


Dr Abhilash Mishra is the Founder and Chief Science Officer of Equitech Futures, a global fellowship and applied research lab supporting emerging innovators who want to use technology to tackle societal challenges. He also holds an appointment at the University of Chicago, where he is the founding director of the Xu Initiative on Technology and Public Policy. His current research focuses on developing new applications of AI tools to solve challenges in climate, education, and healthcare and understanding associated risks. He has also worked extensively on novel approaches to data education and upskilling in the age of AI.

Abhilash is trained as a physicist and holds a PhD from Caltech and an MPhys from the University of Oxford. He received the Rhodes Scholarship in 2008, the Clinton Global Initiative University Distinguished Alumni Award, the KVPY Fellowship from the Government of India, and the Goldman Sachs Global Leader Award. He has served on the selection committee for the Rhodes Scholarships and as a technical advisor to social impact startups.

The Zoom link will be in your registration confirmation email. 

Send your questions and comments to Megan MacDonald at Equitech Futures, megan@equitechfutures.com.

Registration questions should be sent to MITCSD Programs, programs@mitsandiego.org.