The Next Zuckerberg? Simon Cowell & Will.i.am Are on the Hunt

For years, media mogul Simon Cowell has been trying to find the next great voice in pop music. Now, he wants to find the next great mind in entrepreneurship.

Cowell--the former American Idol judge and current judge on Fox's The X Factor--is developing a new television show with Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.i.am that aims to discover America's next big tech mind, The Sun reports.

Fox, the network that has produced Cowell's past two hit television shows, did not respond to an interview request at time of press.

"Singing and performing create a couple of jobs," Will.i.am told The Sun. "But this will create lots."

The idea is certainly not new. ABC's Shark Tank features entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to a panel of accomplished entrepreneur-venture capitalists including Mark Cuban, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran, and Randi Zuckerberg, Mark's older sister, is developing a reality show for Bravo about start-ups in Silicon Valley cleverly titled Silicon Valley Start-Ups.

But Cowell's show will almost certainly be tinged with his signature snark. If he is as hard on aspiring Steve Jobses as he has been on aspiring Whitney Houstons, participants better have thick skin.