ControlAI

What ControlAI does

ControlAI is a non-profit advocacy organization founded in October 2023 and headquartered in London, with a US presence in Washington D.C. It campaigns for an international prohibition on the development of superintelligent AI (ASI), framing such AI as an extinction risk on par with nuclear war. The organization operates through a dual non-profit structure: Secure Future Research Ltd, a UK not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, and a US 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Its staff of approximately 15-20 includes leadership (Founder & CEO Andrea Miotti; US Executive Director Connor Leahy, founder of EleutherAI), policy advisors in the US and UK, regional program officers in Germany and Canada, and dedicated engagement leads for parliament, media, creators, and citizens.

ControlAI does not develop proprietary technology products. Its operational stack consists of digital advocacy infrastructure: a Substack newsletter reaching 180,000+ subscribers, a campaign website with one-click constituent-contact tools (controlai.org, campaign.controlai.com), and the Microcommit platform for sustained volunteer engagement. Core activities are public awareness campaigns, policy briefings to lawmakers, grassroots mobilization tools, and earned media placements. Distribution is multi-channel (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Discord) with direct briefings as the principal channel for policymakers.

The business model is non-commercial. Revenue derives entirely from donations and grants, and the organization explicitly does not accept smaller individual gifts, instead soliciting major donors and philanthropic institutions; donations are not tax-deductible in either jurisdiction. ControlAI estimates it would need approximately $50 million per year to credibly pursue international ASI prohibition, implying current funding is materially below target. Customer segments are dual: policymakers/lawmakers (the 'buyers' being briefed, including the UK Prime Minister's office since November 2024) and citizens/donors (the activist base), with secondary engagement of journalists and content creators. Geographic operations span the UK (primary), US, Canada, and Germany.

Name

ControlAI

Legal name

Secure Future Research Ltd

Website

https://controlai.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ControlAI is a non-profit advocacy organization founded in October 2023 that campaigns for international prohibition on superintelligent AI development. It informs the public via a 180,000+ subscriber newsletter, equips citizens with tools to contact representatives, and briefs policymakers across the UK, US, Canada, and Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Policy Advocacy

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Readiness & Audit Automation (e.g., EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001) (HDAAAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Human Oversight, Review & Content Moderation Tooling (HDAAAMAH)

Keywords

• AI safety advocacy
• Superintelligence policy
• Grassroots mobilization
• Policy research
• Civic engagement tools

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: ControlAI is a non-profit organization funded through donations and grants. In the US, they are a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. In the UK, they are a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. They are actively seeking funding from major donors and philanthropic institutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ControlAI is a non-profit advocacy organization that campaigns for the international prohibition of superintelligent AI development. The organization informs the public about AI extinction risks through a 200,000+ subscriber newsletter and major media coverage, helps citizens contact their representatives via online tools, and briefs policymakers in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany on superintelligence risks. Its work is structured around three activities: public awareness, citizen mobilization, and direct lawmaker engagement.

Product overview

ControlAI is a non-profit advocacy organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer commercial products or services. Its core activities consist of public awareness campaigns about superintelligent AI extinction risks, advocacy tools enabling citizens to contact their representatives, policy briefing services for lawmakers, and educational content distribution via newsletters and media. The organization operates as a grassroots movement focused on achieving an international prohibition on artificial superintelligence (ASI) development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ UK lawmakers publicly supporting campaign to prohibit superintelligent AI
• +5 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• YouGovcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ControlAI partnered with YouGov to conduct in-depth public opinion research on AI and its regulation across the UK. The polling found strong public support for AI regulation including 79% supporting creation of a UK AI regulator and 87% supporting requiring developers to prove systems are safe before release.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Future of Life Institute: Non-profit focused on reducing existential risks from transformative technologies, especially AI. Directly comparable as a fellow AI safety advocacy organization pursuing policy influence and public mobilization, though FLI has historically favored moratoriums/regulation over outright prohibition.
• Centre for AI Safety: Research and advocacy organization focused on AI extinction risk. Closely aligned with ControlAI's mission and shares key endorsers (e.g., Dan Hendrycks), operating in adjacent AI safety advocacy space.
• GovAI (formerly Centre for the Governance of AI): Research organization producing governance frameworks for advanced AI. Comparable as a think-tank-style AI policy organization pursuing AI regulation, though with more academic and less grassroots orientation than ControlAI.
• Stop AI: Activist organization advocating to stop the development of superintelligent AI. Closely aligned mission with ControlAI, sharing the prohibition framing and grassroots mobilization approach.
• AI Now Institute: Research institute examining the social implications of AI and influencing policy. Comparable as a non-profit AI policy advocacy organization, though with broader focus on near-term harms and accountability rather than superintelligence risk.
• PauseAI: Grassroots activist movement advocating for a pause on frontier AI development. Comparable mission framing (halt/prohibit superintelligence) and similar citizen-engagement / direct-action tactics to ControlAI.

Emerging players

• Conjecture: AI safety startup co-founded by Connor Leahy (now ControlAI's US Executive Director). Comparable as an AI safety venture with overlapping leadership and a shared focus on catastrophic/extinction risk from advanced AI.

Broad incumbents

• Anthropic: Frontier AI lab with public-facing mission aligned with responsible AI development. Relevant peer given shared concern about superintelligence risk, though operating as a for-profit commercial entity rather than advocacy organization.
• RAND Corporation: Think tank conducting policy research including on AI safety and emerging-technology risks. Comparable as a policy-research organization that briefs lawmakers, though operating at much larger scale and across many domains beyond AI.

Others

• Nuclear Threat Initiative: Non-profit focused on reducing nuclear and other catastrophic threats. Relevant thematic peer given the existential-risk framing ControlAI borrows from nuclear policy and the cross-membership of Lord Browne in both organizations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ControlAI
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ControlAI
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Control-AI/61552397246469
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/controlartificialintelligence
• Instagraminstagram.com/ai_ctrl
• TikToktiktok.com/@ctrl.ai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ControlAI