GE Vice Chair Comstock on Digital Expansion and Ventures

The transcript discusses the transition to a vice chair role at GE, highlighting the company's focus on innovation and digital industrial strategy. It covers GE's efforts in Silicon Valley, core innovation, and partnerships, including a collaboration with Microsoft on the Predix operating system. The role of GE Ventures in fostering new business initiatives is explored, along with the strategic move of GE's headquarters to Boston. The discussion concludes with the impact of global technological changes and the importance of innovation-friendly policies.

What was one of the challenges mentioned by the speaker about their new role at GE?

• Difficulty in hardware development

• Decreased focus on innovation

• Increased number of meetings

• Lack of digital services

How does GE plan to maintain its innovation strategy?

• By focusing solely on core innovation

• By acquiring only large companies

• By reducing its focus on renewable energy

• By balancing core innovation with new ventures and partnerships

What is the purpose of the Predix operating system?

• To replace all cloud-based systems

• To serve as a platform for the industrial Internet

• To manage GE's financial operations

• To focus solely on consumer data

What is a key aspect of GE's partnership strategy?

• Avoiding collaborations with startups

• Identifying competitive advantages and forming partnerships

• Focusing only on hardware development

• Doing everything independently

What is one of the roles of GE Ventures?

• To focus solely on internal projects

• To invest in and partner with startups for commercial applications

• To develop only renewable energy solutions

• To manage GE's marketing strategies

Why did GE move its headquarters to Boston?

• To focus on traditional manufacturing

• To integrate with the local startup and academic ecosystem

• To reduce operational costs

• To distance itself from Silicon Valley

What does the speaker suggest is necessary for fostering innovation?

• Increased bureaucracy

• A strong focus on traditional methods

• Great education systems and the right infrastructure

• Limiting technological advancements