FACING down stiff competition to win fame and big prize money? Forget singing for Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. Try sequencing DNA for a panel of technology investors.

Yes, something like an “American Idol” for the technorati may be coming to Silicon Valley.

Venture capital firms are considering contests that offer competing engineers and entrepreneurs multimillion-dollar prize purses if they come up with innovative technologies in various industries.

I would love to see this happening. VCs will get a better return on their cash, and it will inspire a lot more forward thinking than we have today.

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[via The New York Times]