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

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

A part-time accelerator for scientists and technologists to design and pitch ambitious R&D programs. Meet our cohorts here.

Introducing the Inaugural EU Cohort of the Big if True Science Accelerator — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation (V2)

In June, we announced our partnership with SPRIND, Germany's Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, to identify and develop the next generation of leaders to design new R&D challenges and other kinds of coordinated research programs to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges. La

Charting AI’s Role in Scientific Discovery — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation

Renaissance Philanthropy, with support from Google.org , is conducting a landscape study of AI integration in scientific research — and we want your perspective.

Open Source for Science Fund Launches to Power AI-Driven Discovery

A new multi-donor fund by Renaissance Philanthropy seeded by Biohub and Wellcome opens its first call for proposals.

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.

BiTS FAQ — Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation (V2)

The weekly activities in the BiTS program evolve over its duration. The beginning of the program focuses on field strategy, which involves extensive data collection through conversations with experts to refine the initial idea. This is followed by a period of idea refinement, where fellows work on structuring their program, often using a framework of questions to clarify their concept. As the program progresses, the focus shifts towards producing and iterating on deliverables, such as a concise three-page program description and a 15-minute pitch deck for the program’s Demo Day. Throughout the program, fellows participate in weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions and small group meetings with other fellows.

Renaissance Philanthropy – A brighter future for all through science, technology, and innovation

Renaissance Philanthropy is a nonprofit that designs, incubates, and manages time-bound, thesis-driven philanthropic funds for science, technology, and innovation. Led by Tom Kalil and Kumar Garg, the organization has catalyzed $533M in philanthropic capital since 2024.

Infinite Researchers | AI-Powered Scientific Discovery

What happens to the speed of discovery if we have infinite researchers? Explore AI experiments accelerating breakthroughs.

Using X-Labs to Unleash AI-Driven Scientific Breakthroughs | IFP

How to adapt our science funding mechanisms to the unique infrastructure needs of large-scale AI projects

Prime Intellect on Twitter / X

Announcing our $130M Series A to build the Open Superintelligence StackLed by Radical Ventures, with NVIDIA, Intel Capital, Dell Capital, and existing investorsTrain, deploy, and continuously improve your own models using our stack.Own your intelligence. pic.twitter.com/BM31LfVUNQ— Prime Intellect (@PrimeIntellect) July 8, 2026

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.

Where are the field builders?

Appreciating the unsung heroes of technoscience.