Bill Ackman's $400 million brain institute was inspired by his daughter—and built outside elite universities, which he says are losing talent

Fortune · 39

Bill Ackman and Neri Oxman are launching the Ackman Oxman Institute in Manhattan to pursue neuroscience and longevity research outside elite universities. The Pershing Square Foundation is donating roughly $400 million in Pershing Square stock to anchor the institute, with another gift of a similar or larger size planned. The institute will shift from traditional academic priorities toward patient-centric translation and will use its own venture funding and company-building to turn discoveries into treatments and devices.