Fund for Science and Technology

What Fund for Science and Technology does

The Fund for Science and Technology (FFST) is a 501(c)(3) private foundation and part of the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem, created in 2022 through the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen (d. 2018) and publicly launched in 2025. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the foundation operates with a small staff (1–10 employees) under a board chaired by Jody Allen and CEO Dr. Lynda Stuart (M.D., Ph.D.), the former Gates Foundation Deputy Director for Vaccines & Biologics. FFST was seeded with approximately $3.1 billion from the Allen estate and has committed to deploying at least $500 million in grants over four years, structured around three programmatic pillars: bioscience (immunology, cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune disease, pediatric cell and gene therapies), environment (ocean health, climate solutions, biodiversity, geospatial science), and AI-for-good (GeoAI, AI for scientific discovery, AI for planetary health).

FFST does not develop or sell technology products; it is a grantmaking organization. Its 'products' are three grant programs — Bioscience Research Grants, Environmental Research Grants, and AI-for-Good Grants — distributed via direct, invitation-driven relationships rather than open proposal solicitation. Notable grantmaking activities include a $200 million commitment to the Allen Institute's Brain Health Accelerator (June 2026, a $400M initiative co-funded with the Bezos family, AWS, NIH, and EverythingALS targeting neurodegenerative diseases), a $15 million award to Scripps Institution of Oceanography (March 2026) for Deep Argo floats, environmental DNA, and Thwaites Glacier research, a grant to the SERVIR Global Collaborative (April 2026) for geospatial AI and climate resilience across the Global South, and an inaugural August 2025 cohort of Seattle-based grants to Benaroya Research Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle Children's Therapeutics, and the UW College of the Environment. FFST coordinates grantmaking with sister Allen entities — Allen Institute, Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), and Allen Family Philanthropies — creating an integrated scientific philanthropy platform.

The foundation has no traditional revenue model. It does not charge for products or services, does not disclose pricing, and explicitly does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Its 'go-to-market' is direct relationship-based grantmaking driven by program officers and a Scientific Advisory Council. As of 2026, FFST has assembled a full executive bench (CFO Elizabeth Carey, CPO Marc Malandro Ph.D., SVP Environment Maya Tolstoy Ph.D., VP Science Kathy Richmond Ph.D., Senior Director Legal Nikhil Pillai J.D.) and operates with marketing limited to a website (ff-st.org), LinkedIn, an email newsletter via Mailchimp, and earned media through outlets such as GeekWire, Fierce Biotech, Nature, and the Seattle Times.

Name

Fund for Science and Technology

Legal name

Fund for Science and Technology

Website

https://ff-st.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Science research grants
• Bioscience research funding
• Environmental science funding
• AI-for-good grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fund for Science and Technology is a 501(c)(3) private foundation that provides grant funding to scientific research organizations across three focus areas: bioscience, environment, and AI-for-good. The foundation deploys capital from a $3.1 billion endowment inherited from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, with a commitment to deploy at least $500 million over four years beginning in 2025. Recipients include research institutes, cancer centers, pediatric medical centers, university research colleges, oceanographic institutions, and international collaborative programs.

Product overview

Fund for Science and Technology is a private philanthropy foundation (501(c)(3)) focused on grantmaking rather than a traditional technology product company. The foundation operates three core grant programs: Bioscience Research Grants supporting health, medicine, and biotechnology research; Environmental Research Grants supporting ocean science, climate solutions, and environmental monitoring; and AI-for-Good Grants supporting artificial intelligence applications for planetary and human health. The foundation deploys at least $500 million over four years to mission-driven organizations working in these three focus areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bioscience Research Grants Grant funding for scientific discovery in health and medicine, food and agriculture, and biotechnology. Supports research organizations working on autoimmune diseases, cancer therapies, human immunology, biorepository infrastructure, and pediatric cellular immunotherapy clinical trials.
• Environmental Research Grants Grant funding for science and technology collaborations addressing planetary challenges including biodiversity, ocean health, climate impacts, and environmental monitoring. Supports oceanographic research, climate solutions, deep ocean monitoring via Deep Argo floats, environmental DNA analysis, and glacier research.
• AI-for-Good Grants Grant funding for artificial intelligence applications that enhance solutions for planetary and human health. Supports geospatial AI (GeoAI), flood warning, wildfire risk mapping, agricultural monitoring, climate resilience decision-making systems, and AI for scientific discovery.

Quantifiable outcome

• At least $500 million in grants planned within four years of launch (2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• EverythingALSsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026EverythingALS is a partner in the Brain Health Accelerator, contributing to the collaborative effort to develop treatments for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
• SERVIR Global CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026FFST granted funding to SERVIR to strengthen geospatial science capabilities, enhance GeoAI for flood warning, wildfire risk mapping, agricultural monitoring, and support climate resilience decision-making systems.
• Scripps Institution of OceanographycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026FFST awarded a $15 million grant to Scripps to support environmental DNA analysis, Deep Argo float deployment (~50 floats), and RIFT-OX technology development for Thwaites Glacier research. This is the largest grant to Scripps since 1960.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Partner in Deep Argo float deployment alongside Scripps and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, with FFST funding approximately 50 Deep Argo floats.
• NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental LaboratorysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Partner in Deep Argo program providing ongoing data management support for deployment of approximately 50 Deep Argo floats.
• Korea Polar Research InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Provides in-kind contributions including berths on research icebreaker R/V Araon, helicopter support, and specialized equipment for Thwaites Glacier research.
• Benaroya Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025FFST funded BRI's biorepository infrastructure supporting human immunology research. The biorepository contains samples from 15,000 individuals with and without immune-related conditions, enabling bioinformatics analysis and discoveries in autoimmune diseases.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025FFST funding supports studies of the immune system in cancer and autoimmune diseases, and development of new cell therapies. Uses leading-edge spatial transcriptomics and proteomics to understand treatment resistance.
• Seattle Children's TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025FFST supports pediatric cellular immunotherapy clinical trials for cancer and autoimmune diseases, aiming to create safe, affordable, off-the-shelf cellular therapies available to children who need them.
• University of Washington College of the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025FFST funding supports climate solutions, climate prediction, and environmental monitoring through field observation and data modeling. Enables AI-based climate and ecosystem health research.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Private foundation funding basic scientific research, STEM education, and economic research. Comparable in funding unfundable, high-impact basic science across multiple disciplines with a long-horizon grantmaking model.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Philanthropic vehicle of Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan funding biomedical research (CZI Biohub, Rare Disease platforms) and education. Comparable as a recently launched, high-capital, science-focused private foundation with explicit 'big bet' posture.
• Simons Foundation: Major US private foundation funding mathematics, basic sciences, and autism research. Comparable as a science-research-focused private foundation with large-scale, high-conviction grantmaking programs.
• Kavli Foundation: Private foundation supporting basic scientific research across astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience and theoretical physics via Kavli Institutes. Comparable in funding transformational, often unfundable basic science across multiple disciplines.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Major US private foundation funding science, environmental conservation, and patient care improvement. Comparable in funding big-bet environmental and scientific initiatives with a long-time-horizon thesis.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: One of the largest US private science research foundations, funding biomedical research at scale through investigator programs and institutes. Most direct analog to FFST in mission, structure (private foundation), and focus on transformational bioscience.
• Open Philanthropy: Philanthropic research and grantmaking organization funding high-impact science (especially biosecurity, AI safety, scientific research) on a 'hits-based' model. Comparable in explicitly targeting high-risk, high-reward science where conventional funders hesitate.
• Wellcome Trust: UK-based global charitable foundation (~$40B endowment) funding science, health and climate. Closely comparable in deploying very large endowments toward 'big bets' in science and global health.

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The largest US private foundation (>$70B endowment), funding global health, development and education. FFST CEO Lynda Stuart's prior tenure there is direct evidence of operational and programmatic overlap; broader in scope but adjacent in deployment style and partner profile.

Emerging players

• Allen Institute: Sister organization within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem, conducting large-scale brain mapping and cell science research. Directly comparable as a co-grantee and partner on the Brain Health Accelerator and shares infrastructure with FFST.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ff-st

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments4 records

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Frequently asked questions about Fund for Science and Technology