AOL Begins Three-Year Sponsorship In MIT’s Media Lab

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AOL Begins Three-Year Sponsorship In MIT’s Media Lab

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AOL (NYSE: AOL) has signed up for a three-year, $200,000 “consortium sponsorship” of the MIT Media Lab. After reorganizing its advertising and content units over the past few months, AOL is now moving to reform its technology side. Late last month, after denying that CTO Ted Cahall was leaving AOL, the company confirmed his departure and said it is looking for a replacement. At the same time, AOL hired former Google (NSDQ: GOOG) exec Jeff Reynar as Head of Technology for Engineering and Products in New York. Reynar is charged with building out and managing AOL’s New York Technology Center. The center’s focus will be on AOL’s content business as Reynar heads up AOL’s engineering efforts. Reynar will also be in charge of managing the Media Lab partnership.

In addition to AOL’s Technology Center, the sponsorship was initiated by AOL Ventures, which is a one-part investment arm, one part way station for companies that don’t quite fit into the AOL’s current structure.

AOL reps wouldn’t comment on the $200,000 figure. The Media Lab’s site says that a “consortium sponsorship” requires a $200,000 fee to participate for at least three years. AOL chose the cheapest option. Entities that want to become a “consortium research sponsor” can choose a $400,000 three-year membership. To be a “consortium research partner,” which includes having an employee-in-residence, members must hand over $750,000.

The Media Lab, which MIT started in 1995, runs a number of research projects with assorted ad agency and media company sponsors. Its designers, engineers, artists, and scientists work in what MIT describes as an “atelier-style” across some 30 research groups. Release

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By David Kaplan