The fast-paced and competitive culture of tech startups typically favors execution over reflection. Think you have a good idea? Great – now build, test, iterate and ship as quickly as possible before the window of opportunity closes. Want to know what works? Just get the product out there – the market is your proving ground.

Abel Salinas, a PhD candidate at USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI), is too smart for speed. After completing a master’s in computer science back in 2022, he had the choice to enter the tech industry or continue at USC to embark on a PhD. Salinas had plenty of good ideas – but during internships at Google, Microsoft and Adobe, he had witnessed the potential for technological change to outpace human ingenuity. So, he chose the PhD path – four years of in-depth research to understand the mechanisms, glitches and social implications of machine learning.

“I knew I wanted to be at the forefront of technology and develop deep expertise in artificial intelligence,” said Salinas. “Pursuing a PhD made sense, in part because of my love of research, but also because I wasn’t afraid of playing the long game. It was clear to me that I wanted to establish a startup before graduating, and a doctorate at ISI gave me the chance to constantly learn from experts in their field and to plug into the USC innovation ecosystem.”

The power of prediction

The result is CommonGround: an AI-powered security platform that helps companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations identify early signals of risk and civil unrest. The tool is programmed to convert complex data (largely sourced from local signal intelligence) into insights that enable users to stay ahead of emerging threats, avoiding costly disruptions to operations and taking proactive measures to keep people safe.

Abel Salinas with PhD advisor and co-founder Fred Mortsatter, research associate professor of computer science at ISI

“These risk assessments are particularly applicable in countries where there is a comparative lack of data and where traditional security tools often have blind spots,” Salinas explained. “CommonGround was originally designed to focus on areas of Latin America and Africa. If we can demonstrate that the technology can be highly effective in socially and politically complex regions, we’ll be on track to scale CommonGround globally over the next few years.”

You might wonder whether Salinas’ entrepreneurial activities were considered a distraction from his academic obligations. Quite the opposite. CommonGround was co-founded by Salinas’ PhD advisor Fred Morstatter, research team lead at USC Information Sciences Institute and research associate professor at the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science at USC Viterbi and the USC School of Advanced Computing. Morstatter’s research focuses on social network analysis, misinformation detection, cultural modeling, machine learning and fairness in AI systems, and these factors come together in the development of CommonGround. Instead of acting as a top-down surveillance system, the platform is designed to foster greater understanding between organizations and the communities impacted by their initiatives.

“We’ve seen firsthand how this research translates into operational value for mining and energy,” said Morstatter. “Our early pilot partners have used our models to better understand how local communities respond to major projects, allowing them to anticipate tensions, adjust engagement strategies and reduce risk before issues escalate.”

Catalytic connections

Morstatter isn’t Salinas’ only supporter. During the four years of his PhD, the USC support structure for early-stage startups was expanding in scope and coordination. Salinas – pivoting between slow thinking and timely action – consistently took advantage of the multiple opportunities available to him.

He began as an inaugural Technology Innovation Fellow through the USC Viterbi School Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE), where the focus was on shaping the technology into a product, pairing technical development with structured guidance on use cases, pilot design and early deployment. Salinas then gained training in how to commercialize research at the USC Stevens Center for Innovation, where he learned how intellectual property is evaluated and licensed – the “tech transfer” involved in making the transition from the research lab to the marketplace.

With the technical direction and commercialization pathway identified, the focus shifted to validating market fit. A $50,000 grant from the NSF I-Corps program gave Salinas the chance to engage in over 100 customer discovery interviews, testing assumptions through direct engagement with potential users and further refining the company’s direction.

The next step was how to engage investors and future users. CommonGround joined the USC and Techstars University Catalyst, where Salinas developed the company’s pitch and external narrative through mentorship and structured feedback.

With the checklist of commercialization, validation and communication ticked off, CommonGround was ready to launch; here, once again, Salinas looked to his academic network for backup and received the reward for four years of steady progress. CommonGround became the first startup under USC’s Startup Launch Agreement, which licensed the technology in exchange for a small equity position, and covered legal formation costs which reduced the barriers to incorporation.

Effort and ease

If this makes the process of ideating, building and launching a company sound all too easy – rest assured, it wasn’t. True, Salinas’ strategic decision to incubate an idea within a university context might have provided him with a launchpad (not to mention, the full-funding of a PhD) but the process was fueled by persistence and hard work.

“Balancing research, finishing my dissertation and building a company has meant constantly switching between academic work and product development,” Salinas reflected. “It’s been a lot to juggle, especially while preparing to graduate this semester.”

That said, he knows that he took the path that made all the difference. “The challenge has been incredibly motivating – and now I’m seeing the expertise that I developed during my PhD being converted into a company with immediate impact as customers use the CommonGround to make operational decisions.”

A brief word of warning to those who now have multiple open tabs cross-referencing PhD programs, applications at the ready. The path of a doctorate isn’t guaranteed to be a straight shot to startup success. But if the research feeds your curiosity, you discover like-minded mentors and peers, and you find yourself pursuing an academic-adjacent business concept for the simple pleasure of the process… You’ve found a fail-safe source of reward.

Published on May 4th, 2026

Last updated on May 4th, 2026