Microgrants & training
Funding and structured support for individuals and teams working on d/acc-aligned projects—technical, legal, organizational, or community-led.
We care about the future of humanity. Transformative AI could bring extraordinary benefits—but it also creates structural risks we are not prepared for. We focus on d/acc: decentralized, defensive approaches that widen agency and reduce single points of catastrophic failure.
Why this matters
Serious analysis points to several pathways where advanced AI could destabilize societies or concentrate harm. We do not have to agree on every scenario to agree that prudence—and tooling—matter.
- Misalignment Systems may not robustly pursue the goals we intend, including under distribution shift and optimization pressure. Concrete Problems in AI Safety (Amodei et al., 2016)
- Malicious use and bad actors Capabilities that help defenders also lower the cost of attack for sophisticated and less-sophisticated adversaries. The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence (Brundage et al., 2018)
- Concentration of power Decisions about deployment, norms, and enforcement can accrue to a few firms or political elites, bypassing public deliberation. Toward Resisting AI-Enabled Authoritarianism (Barez et al., Oxford Martin AIGI)
- AI-enabled coups and capture Small groups with privileged access to advanced systems could plausibly exploit asymmetries in loyalty, secrecy, and planning to seize or hold power. AI-Enabled Coups (Kokotajlo & Palma, Forethought)
Our bet
We assume there will be failures—of alignment, of control, of institutions. Waiting for perfect safety is not a strategy. We want to help create tools, norms, and organizations that bound the worst outcomes: redundancy, verification, public goods, and defenses that do not depend on a single guardian.
What we provide
Funding, structured planning, and a cohort so your work can outlast a single grant cycle.
Paths to self-sustainability
Every project we back gets help developing a business or operating plan aimed at long-term independence, not perpetual grant dependence.
Incubation
We function as an incubator for d/acc organizations: shared context, mentorship, and connections so ideas can mature into durable institutions.
How it works
Answers to common questions about the program.
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How do I apply?
Browse the project list, pick a card that matches what you want to build, and open the application form from “Apply to work on this.” You’ll share your background, a résumé or link, and why you’re a good fit—we read every application.
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What happens if I’m selected?
You enter a structured incubation track. We hold weekly meetings with you (and your team, if you have one) to develop a business or operating plan, sharpen the product or service, and do targeted research (market, technical, regulatory—whatever the project needs).
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Can I talk to people who know the field?
Yes. We connect you with experts aligned with the area you chose—so you can ask concrete questions, sanity-check assumptions, and avoid reinventing wheels.
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Do I need to be in a specific city?
No. The program is fully remote. Meetings and mentor conversations happen over video; async work uses the tools your cohort agrees on.
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What am I working toward?
A credible plan for self-sustainability: revenue, grants, memberships, or another model that does not depend on us forever—plus the clarity to execute it. Microgrant funding and training are there to get you from idea to something that can stand on its own.