UK Horizons: FRC — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation

Successful coordinated research programmes, like those at ARPAs, have often resulted from exceptional contractors. Many of the best contractors leveraged organisational models uncommon in academia or VC-funded startups. They combined technical ambition, a willingness to build real technology for actual users, and flexible management structures all under one roof to tackle ambitious R&D problems which made the programs a success. These organisations were driven by the pursuit of an ambitious North Star technical vision, not revenue-maximisation. And they pursued this vision with a mix of contracts and grants. We call organisations that do this Frontier Research Contractors (FRCs). Two of ARPA’s most impactful  programmes, the original internet and autonomous vehicle projects, were both led by FRCs. FRCs are also often referred to as 'BBNs' by researchers, inspired by the early internet (ARPAnet) contractor, Bolt, Beranek & Newman.

Coordinated Research Programs — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation (V2)

In many cases, ambitious R&D problems are not well-suited to individual academic labs, startups, or other existing institutions.

Joseph Jacks bets on open source startups, a 'paradox of philanthropy and capitalism' | TechCrunch

Joseph Jacks and OSS Capital have sought some of the earliest stage open source startups, and funded them through their formative years.

For Small Businesses

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) supports transformative research ranging in scale from molecular to societal to deliver health breakthroughs in years, not decades.

The Beginning of the End of Big Tech

From politicians to VC firms, everyone is falling out of love with the massive, money-oriented, global technology titans. In their place, we have the chance to build something open and trustworthy.

Meet the Big if True Science Accelerator Americas Cohort — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation

Renaissance Philanthropy’s Big if True Science (BiTS) Accelerator has launched our Americas cohort, with support from Coefficient Giving . After a highly competitive international selection process, we're delighted to introduce the 14 exceptional scientists and innovators in this cohort. Selecte

The Rise of the Silicon Valley Small Business

What you need to know about the next big startup archetype

Silicon Valley has forgotten what normal people want

Did the tech industry get high on its own supply?

Outsourcing plus LocalAI will soon become more economical vs Frontier labs | SignalBloom AI posts

Outsourcing plus LocalAI will soon become more economical vs Frontier labs

My Experience with Leverage Research

I was part of Leverage/Paradigm from 2017–2019. This is a description of my time there.

Industrial Research Labs Were Invented In Europe But Made The U.S. A Tech Superpower

It's a small number of research labs inside tech giants that are driving the rapid rise of AI today. But this is not the first time such labs have taken center stage, a new study shows.