Seed Grants
Funding to get a new AI safety or biosecurity project or organization off the ground.
Grant funding
$20k-$200k
Grant length
6-12 months
Decision time
About 4 weeks
What this is for
Seed Grants fund the first 6-12 months of a new project or organization that reduces risks from advanced AI or biological threats. They cover the stage before you're ready for larger institutional funding: testing the idea, building a first version, finding collaborators and early users, and developing a proposal that bigger funders can back.
You can use a Seed Grant for:
- Living costs, so you can work on the project full-time
- Compute, tools, equipment and other running costs
- Travel to meet collaborators, users and funders
Looking for something to build? Our missions page lists problems we'd like to see someone take on. You don't need to pick one of them to apply.
What we look for
Problem selection
You’ve thought hard about what challenges need to be overcome to make AI go well.
A well-reasoned hypothesis
You’ve got an initial strategy for how you’re going to solve that problem.
Evidence you can make it happen
Things you’ve already built, research you’ve done, or progress you’ve made on the idea.
A concrete plan
What you’ll do in your first few months, and how you’ll know it’s working.
What you receive
Funding
$20k-$200k for 6-12 months. If you need less than $20k, apply for a Rapid Grant instead, since it’s much faster.
Introductions to follow-on funders
When you’re ready to scale, we’ll introduce you to larger funders such as Coefficient Giving and Longview Philanthropy.
Connections
Introductions to people in our network who can help, including potential hires, advisers and early users.
What we expect from you
We keep this light.
- Monthly
A short update
What you did, what’s next and where you’re stuck. A few lines is fine.
- At the end
A short report
How it went against your plan, and any follow-on funding you raised.
If you stop working on the project before the grant ends, tell us and return the unspent funds.
Organizations we've helped fund
Recurrent Research
Research on data poisoning during pre-training.
Exona
Insurance for catastrophic risks from AI.
Arq Foundation
A European organization working on the transition to advanced AI.
Golemet
Research on collusion between AI agents.
Foldguard
DNA synthesis screening.
Formation Research
Research on lock-in and concentration of power.
Frequently asked questions
Rapid Grants fund smaller pieces of work, up to $20k, with a quick decision. Career Transition Grants fund you personally as you move into full-time AI safety or biosecurity work. Seed Grants are for starting something new: a project or organization that you plan to grow beyond yourself. If you're not sure which fits, pick the closest one and we'll move your application to the right route.
Right now we pay Seed Grants to individual founders. If you need the grant paid to an organization, say so in your application and we'll work out what's possible.
In some cases, where the work clearly serves the public good. Tell us about your plans in your application. These grants take longer to approve.
No. Solo founders are welcome.
No. Anyone can apply.
No. Missions are ideas we'd love to see someone take on, but we fund strong projects in any area of AI safety or biosecurity.
We make one Seed Grant per project. For the next stage, we'll introduce you to larger funders.
Most new projects change direction, and some stop. Tell us early. If you stop, you return the unspent funds.
We cannot send money to the following countries and territories: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Congo Republic, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, India, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, Yemen. We cannot fund individuals or organizations where doing so would breach applicable sanctions.
Unsure whether a restriction applies? Contact us before applying.
The grant is paid to you to support your AI safety or biosecurity project. It isn't a salary, an investment or a contract for services. Grants are often taxable income, and we can't give tax advice, so please check with a qualified advisor in your country.