Rapid Grants
Research project, event, community chapter? We fund ambitious people doing concrete work to make AI go well.
Typical grants
Up to $10k
Decision time
Around 5 working days
Grants made
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Funding given out
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What this program is for
Over the past few months, we have given out nearly $50,000 in small grants to people in the BlueDot community. Now we are going bigger.
Rapid Grants fund whatever it takes to remove the barrier between talented people, great ideas and their best work on AI safety. We fund everything from compute for projects, events you want to run, travel to hubs, community building, and more.
If you are unsure whether to apply, the default is simple: apply.
Good fit
You are doing something concrete - a research project, an event series, community building, or fieldwork - and a specific cost is the bottleneck. We fund compute and API credits, events and meetups, research access, travel, community chapters, project tooling, and high-impact wildcard projects that do not fit a category yet.
Use judgment
General-purpose equipment, productivity subscriptions, or vague plans without evidence of work already underway. Stipends and living expenses are not our default, but we consider them for high-impact work - apply and make the argument.
How it works
01
Apply
Tell us what you are doing, what you need, and how much it costs. Five minutes, no lengthy proposals.
02
Get a decision
We usually reply within five working days.
03
Get paid
We pay upfront by default. In some cases we reimburse after - we will tell you which.
04
Do the work
Use the funding for what we agreed on. If your plans change materially, let us know.
05
Share your impact
A short update when the work is done - what you did, what came of it. No formal report, just close the loop.
Beyond the grant
Community
We keep a community of grantees, and depending on the work and timing, we may invite grant recipients into programming, events, or other opportunities.
Projects we have funded
Frequently asked questions
Yes. If the work is underway and the need is concrete, applying is usually better than self-screening out too early.
BlueDot course participants, alumni, facilitators, and active community members. If you are in our network and doing excellent work on AI safety, you are likely eligible.
Yes. We have funded meetup series, venue costs, and community events in multiple countries. Show us the plan and the specific costs.
Both. In many cases we send the money upfront as a grant, and in other cases we reimburse later.
Yes. We fund travel for conferences, collaboration, and fieldwork. Show us why being there matters for the work.
Rapid Grants typically range from $50 to $10,000. If your need is substantially larger, get in touch - we may be able to help through another program.
