AI Safety Seed Funding Network—Join as a Donor or Investor

Summary

You can now express interest in joining Catalyze Impact’s seed funding networks for AI safety organizations. We offer a non-profit Seed Funding Circle for individuals and organizations with $15k+ annual donation capacity and an Investor Network for VCs and angel investors with $20k+ annual investment capacity. Joining does not create any obligation to invest or donate. For more information, please visit this page.

Express your Interest

With the AI safety field still being remarkably small relative to the challenge it addresses, new organizations can have an outsized impact on humanity’s future. At Catalyze, an incubator for AI safety organizations, we aim to facilitate this. We are currently open to expressions of interest to join either or both of our funding networks.

Seed Funding Circle

This network focuses on providing early-stage funding to exceptional non-profit founding teams which aim for large contributions to the AI safety field. A relatively small amount of capital (of around $50k-300k) from our network can serve as a catalyst, enabling the launch of new ambitious AI safety organizations.

Circle members can either personally make funding decisions, or defer to independent regrantors who are experts in the AI safety field. Each round features 3-6 organization proposals, primarily incubated through Catalyze Impact’s selective incubation program. The circle is a good fit for individuals & organization representatives who have the capacity to donate $15k or more per year and who are excited to support high-leverage interventions while embracing a hits-based, risk-tolerant approach. Joining the circle does not create an obligation to donate a minimum amount in any proposal round.

Investor Network

Through this network, we facilitate early-stage investments in exceptional founding teams which aim for a strong impact on AI safety. These companies play into emerging large-scale market demands, with the AI Assurance Technology market—which enables the safe use and governance of AI—projected to grow to $276 billion by 2030.

This network is a good fit for venture capitalists and angel investors with the capacity to invest $20k or more per year and who care about furthering the AI safety field. Start-ups eligible to apply have typically not received investment before and are primarily incubated through our selective incubation program. Joining the network does not create an obligation to invest a minimum amount in any pitch round.

Practical Details

Both networks require a low time commitment of roughly 2-10 hours per round (we anticipate 2 rounds a year). The next non-profit proposal round and for-profit pitch event will take place in early February 2025, with a focus on new technical AI safety organizations. If you’re interested in participating in either round, we recommend expressing interest by January 10th 2025 to participate in pre-round coordination and networking opportunities. If you’re unsure you meet all the criteria, we encourage you to apply anyways.

To learn more about the networks and practical details, please read this page. Feel free to contact funding.network@catalyze-impact.org with any questions. You can express interest in joining either or both of the networks here.

Crossposted from EA Forum (44 points, 1 comment)