Igniting Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the AI-Age
FOCUS QUESTIONS
IMPACTS
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New AI-courses
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Cutting-edge industry research
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Pedagogical innovation
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Groundbreaking scholarly research
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Babson AI capability-building
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Industry partnerships
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Theme leadership at the Babson AI Generator Annual Conference
LEADERS
Erik Noyes
Director and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship
Michael London ’92 and Stephen H. Kramer ’92 Term Chair in Entrepreneurship
Leader of the The Generator’s AI Entrepreneurship & Business Innovation Specialty Lab
“AI is the single most important technological, societal, ethical, and business innovation issue of our time. Leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all kinds must understand both the opportunities and risks presented by the emerging AI-age.”
AI research interests
- AI for business innovation
- AI for the rapid prototyping of entrepreneurial ideas
- AI & experiential entrepreneurship education
- AI and the future of innovation management
Erik Noyes is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. An expert in innovation, growth strategy, and AI, Noyes teaches courses in entrepreneurial thinking, new venture creation, and business innovation. His research examines entrepreneurship, disruptive innovation, and AI in entrepreneurship and innovation. He teaches Entrepreneurial Opportunities in AI at Babson, among other graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship courses. Prior to joining Babson, Noyes consulted with companies like Nokia, Motorola, BMW, and Hewlett-Packard Healthcare to explore new growth businesses.
Recent publications
“Entrepreneurship Education at the Dawn of Generative Artificial Intelligence.” Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy (EE&P).
Faculty Profile
Ruth Gilleran
Professor of Practice, Operations and Information Management
Co-Director of Foundations of Management & Entrepreneurship (FME)
Co-leader of The Generator’s AI Entrepreneurship & Business Innovation Specialty Lab
“AI has unleashed a digital workforce that can assist entrepreneurs at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey, from ideation to venture growth.”
AI research interests
- Gaining efficiencies using AI
- Managing change amidst the AI digital workforce
- Creating closed AI large language models
- Training AI systems
Ruth Gilleran is a Professor of Practice in the Operations and Information Management division. She teaches courses in digital technologies as well as entrepreneurship and her research interests lie at the intersection of the two, namely tech entrepreneurship. For the past several years, Gilleran served as the co-coordinator of Babson’s core undergraduate technology course, and she now co-leads its year-long flagship entrepreneurship program. Prior to joining Babson, Gilleran served as Assistant Vice President of Computer Associates’ enterprise business and data analytics applications.
Recent publications
“Supervised Machine Learning: An Experiential and Reflective Session.”
Faculty Profile
INITIATIVES
Babson's Generator Hosted Second Annual Entrepreneurship & AI Buildathon
The Generator, Babson's interdisciplinary AI lab, hosted its second annual Entrepreneurship & AI Buildathon on April 5, 2025, following its inaugural event in November 2024. The first Buildathon drew over 200 students from Babson, Olin, and Wellesley colleges to the Weissman Foundry, where students competed to identify entrepreneurial opportunities enabled by AI with the winning team receiving $2,500. The second Buildathon attracted over 220 students from twelve universities, including MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Stanford, forming more than 40 teams. The event was co-hosted with Microsoft Research and featured three different project tracks. The winning team, Terraflex, developed an AI-powered prosthetic foot attachment that dynamically adapts to uneven terrain, inspired by the zygodactyl feet of roadrunner birds. The team, consisting of four Olin College students and one Stanford undergraduate, won both the first-place prize of $2,500 and the Nature-Inspired Design Prize valued at $60,000.
The AI Entrepreneurship & Business Innovation Lab launches research program to study frontiers of multimodality in entrepreneurship
The AI Entrepreneurship & Business Innovation Lab has launched a groundbreaking research initiative focused on multimodal AI applications in entrepreneurship. This program will investigate how entrepreneurs are leveraging advanced AI technologies that can process and integrate multiple forms of data—including text, images, audio, and video—to create innovative business solutions. The research aims to identify emerging opportunities, challenges, and best practices as multimodal AI reshapes how new ventures are conceived, developed, and scaled. By studying these technological frontiers, the lab seeks to provide valuable insights for entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-driven business innovation.
The Generator hosts 15+ events exploring intersections of AI and entrepreneurship
Throughout 2024 and into 2025, The Generator hosted a series of over 15 events designed to explore the dynamic intersections between artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship. This comprehensive programming brought together innovators, founders, researchers, and industry leaders to examine how AI is reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape. Through workshops, panels, networking sessions, and interactive demonstrations, participants dive into practical applications of AI in startups, discussing emerging business models, and exploring the challenges and opportunities that arise when cutting-edge technology meets entrepreneurial vision. As the series continues, upcoming events will further foster collaboration, spark new ideas, and equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and connections needed to successfully integrate AI into their ventures.
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