Bill Gross founded Idealab, an incubator of new inventions, ideas and businesses.

Why you should listen

Bill Gross is the founder of Idealab, a business incubator focused on new ideas. (He's now the chair and CEO.) He helped create GoTo.com, the first sponsored search company. He also created the Snap! search engine, which allows users to preview hyperlinks. 

Gross has been an entrepreneur since high school, when he founded a solar energy company. In college, he patented a new loudspeaker design, and after school he started a company that was later acquired by Lotus, and then launched an educational software publishing company. Now, he serves on the boards of companies in the areas of automation, software and renewable energy.

Bill Gross’ TED talks

More news and ideas from Bill Gross

Live from TED

Death, disaster and drugs: A recap of TED University 2015

March 19, 2015

Audience members give talks during a session of TED University. From Ebola to better businesses, from diabetes to disasters, the talks took on big topics: A type-A response to Type 2 diabetes. Kicking off the session, Laurie Coots shares her personal story of how she beat Type 2 diabetes and regained control over her health. […]

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Science

3 teenage thinkers with big ideas for energy

April 30, 2013

[ted id=1727] Taylor Wilson has been called “The Boy Who Played With Fusion” by Popular Science magazine. At age 9, Wilson stunned tour guides at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with his complex understanding of rocket science. At 12, he set out to make a “star in a jar.” By 14, Wilson […]

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