During his commencement address, Georgia Tech graduate Christopher Klaus announced that he would cover the costs for any graduate who wanted to incorporate a business. Klaus aims to support the entrepreneurial dreams of every Tech graduate this year. “If every graduate takes him up on his offer, the gift could be worth millions,” Klaus said.
Klaus founded the cybersecurity company Internet Security Systems in 1994 while a student at Georgia Tech. He dropped out as a sophomore to focus on his startup, which went public and was later acquired by IBM for over $1 billion. Klaus has been giving back to Georgia Tech for decades.
Klaus supports Georgia Tech entrepreneurs
He donated equity that funded the Klaus Advanced Computing Building on campus and helped launch the school’s accelerator, CREATE-X.
“This isn’t about really covering the cost of the incorporation,” Klaus said. “It’s about saying, ‘Hey, I believe in you guys, and I’m willing to not only tell you that you should do a startup, I’m going to help you.'”
Georgia Tech’s president, Ángel Cabrera, praised Klaus, calling him their version of Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. “The difference with the other cases,” Cabrera added, “is that after he was successful, his immediate next thought was, ‘How do I help others make their dreams come true?'”
Though Klaus never completed his degree, Georgia Tech earned him an honorary doctorate during the commencement ceremony.
“I’m kind of framing it as this has been a 30-year detour from getting my degree,” Klaus joked. Klaus follows other high-profile commencement gifts at Atlanta universities, such as Pinky Cole Hayes gifting Clark Atlanta graduates their own LLCs and Robert Smith paying off Morehouse College graduates’ student loan debt.