And why our 2023 regrant to Timaeus was goated We think the for-profit funding ecosystem has some cool properties. Different funders naturally come in at different stages, from angel investors who are good at spotting early opportunities to large funds who might invest in late-stage startups to public market traders....
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the design of grant programs, from small microgrants to regranting to ambitious new platforms to galaxy-brained schemes for impact markets. Here are five components that I think any grant program needs to be good: 1. Money This one is obvious: a grant program...
Blogs have shaped our philosophical worldviews, found us careers and friends, and changed our lives. There’s a good chance that a great blog of yore is the reason you’re reading this right now. But many great bloggers have stopped blogging. The pile-on dynamics of the internet discourage unfiltered thoughts, and...
You want to do something to help AI go well and are starting a project to make that happen. Should you create a nonprofit or a for-profit? A lot of charitably-minded people naturally default to “nonprofit.” Their goal is to do good things for others, not make money for themselves....
> Note: I'm crossposting Anton's newest article from his blog. Anton covers AI policy angles in a singular fashion; every article he writes is worth reading, and this one is unusually topical to Manifund. As someone who went on the ground for Bores, I'd like to see us learn &...
Some AI safety funders can take months to decide; others confirm in days. I’ve been on both sides of the grant application and know how crucial an early “yes” can be; “funding projects fast” has always been a core tenet of Manifund. Four new opportunities have popped up around the...
@habryka and I recently spoke about his plans to improve the AI safety funding ecosystem with a better S-Process platform, and my new incubator for EA/AIS software projects, Surplus (since launched; apply now!) We also cover: hot takes on different funders; what kinds of founders might succeed in the age...