Vertical Semiconductor, an MIT spinoff, is working to “commercialize chip technology that can deliver electricity to artificial intelligence servers more efficiently,” reports Stephen Nellis for Reuters. “We do believe we offer a compelling next-generation solution that is not just a couple of percentage points here and there, but actually a step-wise transformation,” says Cynthia Liao MBA '24.
A new study by researchers at MIT suggests that “the biggest and most computationally intensive AI models may soon offer diminishing returns compared to smaller models,” reports Will Knight for Wired. “By mapping scaling laws against continued improvements in model efficiency, the researchers found that it could become harder to wring leaps in performance from giant models whereas efficiency gains could make models running on more modest hardware increasingly capable over the next decade.”
Writing for Forbes, Senior Lecturer Guadalupe Hayes-Mota '08, SM '16, MBA '16 emphasizes the importance of implementing ethical frameworks when developing AI systems designed for use in healthcare. “The future of AI in healthcare not only needs to be intelligent,” writes Hayes-Mota. “It needs to be trusted. And in healthcare, trust is the ultimate competitive edge.”
Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with Wailin Wong and Cooper Katz McKim of Planet Money about the growing problem of data breaches in the U.S., noting how AI is feeding into the problem. “We've seen several examples of how cyber attacks have been greatly accelerated due to AI tools,” Madnick explains.
Writing for the Financial Times, Principal Research Scientist Florian Berg explores “reasons to be hopeful about the resilience of efforts to tackle environmental issues at the corporate level.” Berg explains: “When looking at reporting on carbon emissions, ESG data and money invested in sustainable investment strategies, we can see big increases in recent years.”
Prof. Pierre Azoulay speaks with WBUR’s Martha Bebinger about a new study examining the potential impact of NIH budget cuts on the development of new medicines. Azoulay and his colleagues found that “more than half of drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 used NIH-funded research that would likely not have happened if the NIH had operated with a 40% smaller budget,” Bebinger explains.
Fierce Biotech reporter Darren Incorvaia writes that a new study by MIT researchers demonstrates how potential NIH budget cuts could endanger the development of new medications. The researchers found that if the NIH budget had been 40% smaller from 1980 to 2007, the level of NIH cuts currently being proposed, “the science underlying numerous drugs approved in the 21st century would not have been funded,” Incorvaia explains. The findings suggest that “massive cuts of the kind that are being contemplated right now could endanger the intellectual foundations of the drugs of tomorrow,” explains Professor Pierre Azoulay.
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that more than half of the drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 are connected to NIH research that would be impacted by proposed 40 percent budget cuts, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
According to the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2025-2026, MIT has been named the No. 2 best university in the United States, reports Madison Lucchesi for Boston.com.
Edward Woodford SM '15 founded Zerohash, a crypto and stablecoin infrastructure company, aimed at helping “financial institutions and fintechs build out their own products for stablecoins, crypto trading, and tokenization,” reports Ben Weiss for Fortune. “Over eight years, Woodford has managed to ride multiple crypto booms and busts,” writes Weiss. “It’s not just that we’re a survivor,” says Woodford. “We’ve actually thrived in that market, and actually now, I think we can accelerate that even further.”
MIT has been named the second best university in the United States, according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings for 2025-2026, reports Alan Blinder for The New York Times.
U.S. News & World Report has named MIT the number two best university in the United States for 2025-2026, reports Emily Sweeney for The Boston Globe. The rankings “evaluated more than 1,700 colleges and universities in the United States, using up to 17 measures of academic quality and graduate success,” adds Sweeney.
MIT has been named the number two college in the United States in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking, reports Alia Shoaib for Newsweek. “U.S. News & World Report ranks more than 1,700 colleges using a weighted formula that considers factors such as graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, academic reputation, financial resources and student selectivity,” explains Shoaib.
Prof. Dimitris Bertsimas, vice provost for MIT Open Learning, speaks with Forbes contributor Aviva Legatt about AI usage among university students. “Universities have a responsibility to ensure students, faculty, and staff gain a strong foundation in AI’s concepts, opportunities, and risks so they can help solve society’s biggest challenges,” says Bertsimas.
Richard Locke PhD '89, the newly appointed dean of the Sloan School of Management, speaks with Bloomberg reporter Bill Donahue about his goals for his new role and his desire to help Sloan’s “brilliant, curious students” address urgent global problems. “For me, working at a place like MIT is a completely unexpected gift,” says Locke. “Every single day, I come to work with wonder and happiness. I’m in a world that I never imagined I would ever be in.”