Ken Griffin’s $3 billion gift exemplifies Florida’s new mindset: from attracting innovation to creating it

Yesterday, Ken Griffin announced a $3 billion gift to Carnegie Mellon University, the largest gift by an individual in the history of American higher education. Two billion dollars will support CMU Miami, a new campus in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood that plans to enroll its first students in 2028.

For Florida, this is a generational investment in the talent, research, and industries that will shape our economic future. Our ambition is to become the place where the next generation of great American companies is built. CMU Miami can help those companies take root and grow.

The first phase of Florida’s growth story came from attracting success: convincing businesses and ambitious people from around the country to put down roots here. But the competition for the next generation of companies is intensifying. And as artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies reshape industries, the states that lead will be the ones that generate innovation — not just attract it.

As president and CEO of The Florida Council of 100, I spend much of my time telling Florida’s business story to the country and the world. Griffin’s gift helps us write its next chapter. By investing in research and education, Florida is strengthening its ability to incubate and develop new technologies and build companies. This gives us a stronger foundation for growth and a new way to compete.

And of course, all of that starts with ensuring we have world-class universities. Stanford’s presence and impact shaped Silicon Valley. Carnegie Mellon helped Pittsburgh become a center for robotics and autonomous vehicle research. CMU Miami can be a similar kind of engine for Florida.

CMU Miami will build on Carnegie Mellon’s long legacy of innovation. Carnegie Mellon researchers........

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