The Head Of Ted Pulls A Willy Wonka

You could be the next owner of everyone’s favorite technology, entertainment, and design conference. After running the show for a quarter-century, TED curator Chris Anderson is “issuing an open invitation to anyone who believes they might have the resources and the ideas to oversee TED for its next 25 years (and beyond!) to step forward,” he announced this week.

Qualifications: You must have 1) a creative vision for TED’s future, including how to leverage new tech like AI. 2) a commitment to keeping TED nonpartisan and free to watch, and to continue to license via TEDx. 3) enough funding to make it all happen: “The willingness to commit significant capital for the long term will be an important deciding factor,” Anderson noted.

The new TEDitor-in-chief will take control of all franchise operations. That will mean overseeing:

• TED’s self-titled business arm and the nonprofit that owns it, the TED Foundation, which has ~$25 million in reserve funds. Anderson is currently its sole director.
• TED’s annual flagship conference, which typically sells out its 1,500-seat custom theater in Vancouver. Most tickets to this year’s event—headlined by Sam Altman—cost $12,500, Wired reported.
• Billions of views and millions of paid subscribers across TED’s social media, newsletters, podcasts, and educational platform.

Well-endowed universities, Big Tech companies, and philanthropies are expected to apply. Anderson will make the final decision.—ML