Vivek Wadhwa

Editor’s note: The world’s entrepreneurs used to dream of coming to Silicon Valley because it was the innovation capital of the world and there were few opportunities elsewhere.  This is no longer the case, writes former Triangle tech entrepreneur turned academic and author Vivek Wadhwa. SAN FRANCISCO – Apple is facing accusations that it copied Chinese innovations in the iPhone 7.  Indeed, China’s smartphone manufacturers released dual-camera systems and handsets without headphone jacks long before Apple did.  And the stickers and animations that Apple is adding to iMessage are a direct knockoff from China’s WeChat. This is quite a twist from the...

Elon Musk recently laid out a “master plan” for where his company, Tesla Motors, is heading. The vision is undoubtedly ambitious: four new kinds of Tesla vehicles, solar initiatives, autonomous driving technologies and a ride-sharing program. Judging by the subsequent 3 percent dip in Tesla’s stock price, the markets don’t appreciate Musk’s vision or the promise of these technologies. They don’t understand the exponential advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, storage and solar energy, or the scale advantages that come from building technology platforms. Tesla may well stumble because it is trying to do too much too fast, but Musk’s vision is sound. The most...

Editor’s note: Business leadership is not a popularity contest; the best companies are run by enlightened dictators, writes former Triangle tech entrepreneur turned academic and author Vivek Wadhwa. SAN FRANCISCO – “The Soviet Union I left behind was a dictatorship but the workplace was a democracy; America may be free but the workplace is a dictatorship” said Len Erlikh after I hired him at First Boston (now Credit Suisse First Boston) in 1986. Being of the Jewish faith, he had fled the U.S.S.R.’s religious persecution. Erlikh’s words have always stuck with me. It is true that in capitalism, the...

Editor’s note: Former Triangle tech entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa is a Fellow at the Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and Faculty and Advisor at Singularity University.  He is author of The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent, which was named by The Economist as a Book of the Year of 2012, and of Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology, which documents the struggles and triumphs of women. SAN FRANCISCO – Gawker infringes on...

Editor’s note: Former Triangle tech entrepreneur turned academic, blogger and author Vivek Wadhwa says Apple needs a huge creative boost – one it could gain by acquiring Tesla and naming Elon Musk as its CEO. SAN FRANCISCO – Apple’s dismal earnings announcement last month shows why it badly needs to rethink its innovation model and leadership. Its last breakthrough innovation was the iPhone — which was released in 2007. Since then, Apple has simply been tweaking its componentry, adding faster processors and more advanced sensors, and playing with its size — making it bigger in the iPad and smaller...

With the advent of synthetic biology and gene editing tools, there are amazing breakthroughs being made in medicine, energy and food. Within a few years, we will see cures for debilitating diseases, new biofuels, and grains that can be grown in extreme climates. We will also have many new nightmares: bioterrorism and well-meaning experiments that get out of hand. Imagine a superbug that can cure — or kill — millions of people or a virus which targets one person, say, a U.S. president. This is not science fiction; it is happening. In 2011 a scientist, Craig Venter, created a...