What Schmidt Futures does

Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative founded in 2017 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the firmographic parent of the Schmidt Sciences philanthropy established in 2024. Schmidt Sciences operates as a private grant-making foundation headquartered in New York with 101-250 employees, deploying philanthropic capital across five thematic Centers: AI & Advanced Computing, Astrophysics & Space, Biosciences, Climate, and Science Systems. Within each Center, the organization organizes scientific support through structured programs and projects tailored to specific hypotheses or challenges, ranging from basic-science questions to pressing planetary problems. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals and instead proactively identifies and funds research areas, awarding grants of $3M to $45M to researchers, fellows, and academic institutions.

Core offerings are program- and institute-based rather than software products. Flagship initiatives include the AI2050 Fellows program (supporting researchers ensuring AI benefits society, with $18M awarded to the latest cohort in November 2025), the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF) in Biosciences, the LAZULI private space telescope and three ground-based observatories in Astrophysics, and large Climate Center grants (notably $45M for carbon cycle research in October 2025). The technology footprint is a curated portfolio of funded research programs and the collaboration networks they enable, rather than a unified platform architecture.

The revenue model is philanthropic capital deployment rather than commercial monetization. Schmidt Sciences is funded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt's personal wealth, awards grants across its five Centers without commercial pricing, and reports no revenue, ARR, or pricing structure. Go-to-market is community-led and proactive: outreach occurs through targeted fellowship cohorts, named principal investigators (e.g., Gregory Stephanopoulos as VIFF DIWAV PI), earned media in outlets such as Forbes, the New York Times, and Scientific American, and a content-driven website with newsletter subscriptions segmented by focus area. Customer segments are researchers, scientists, and academic institutions receiving grant funding, with the funding source itself being a single-family benefactor.

Name

Schmidt Futures

Legal name

Schmidt Sciences

Website

https://schmidtfutures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that deploys grant funding across five scientific Centers — AI, astrophysics, biosciences, climate, and science systems — supporting researchers, fellows, and academic institutions via proactive, invitation-only programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Scientific research grants
• Philanthropic science funding
• AI safety research
• Climate science grants
• Research fellowship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Funding: Schmidt Sciences operates as a philanthropic organization providing grant funding to researchers and scientific initiatives. The organization awards grants across its five focus areas (AI & Advanced Computing, Astrophysics & Space, Biosciences, Climate, and Science Systems). Funding is proactive and by invitation only; the organization does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that distributes grant funding to support scientific research across five core focus areas: AI & Advanced Computing, Astrophysics & Space, Biosciences, Climate, and Science Systems. The organization organizes scientific support through targeted programs and projects—including flagship offerings such as the AI2050 Fellows Program and the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF)—and proactively identifies and funds researchers pursuing high-impact hypotheses rather than accepting unsolicited proposals.

Product overview

Schmidt Sciences is a philanthropy organization founded in 2024 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that operates through five thematic Centers (AI & Advanced Computing, Astrophysics & Space, Biosciences, Climate, and Science Systems). Rather than a unified software product, the organization functions as a grant-making foundation that supports scientific research through programs and projects tailored to specific hypotheses or challenges. Key offerings include the AI2050 Fellows Program, the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF), and various grant programs across the five focus areas, with over $77M in grants awarded in 2025 alone.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AI & Advanced Computing Program Supporting AI research and tools to accelerate breakthroughs across fields, including programs like AI2050 Fellows and grants for AI safety research. Targeted at researchers and institutions working in artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
• Astrophysics & Space Program Unveiling the mysteries of the Universe with rapid realization of innovative technology, including funding for private space telescopes and ground-based observatories. Targeted at researchers and institutions working in astrophysics and space science.
• Biosciences Program Harnessing biology's infinite possibilities at its intersection with chemistry, physics, and engineering, supporting research programs like the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF), DIWAV, SaBRe, and BioCirV. Targeted at researchers and institutions working in biosciences.
• Climate Program Supporting climate research to bend the carbon curve and secure a sustainable future, including $45M grants for carbon cycle knowledge gap research. Targeted at researchers and institutions working on climate science.
• Science Systems Program Breaking down barriers to scientific discovery by supporting people, tools, and communities across the scientific enterprise. Targeted at researchers, tool-builders, and scientific communities.
• AI2050 Fellows Program Fellowship program supporting researchers working to ensure AI benefits society, with $18M awarded to its latest cohort. Targeted at AI safety and societal-benefit researchers.
• Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF) Research initiative supporting grantees working on feedstocks of the future, including projects such as DIWAV, BioCirV, and Sustainable and Renewable Bioproducts (SaBRe). Targeted at researchers and institutions working on biosciences and sustainable bioproducts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Awarded over $3 million to study AI's impact on jobs (Jan 2026)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchmidt Sciences funds VIFF, a virtual institute focused on feedstock research. Notable grantees include Gregory Stephanopoulos (Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering) as DIWAV PI, and the institute supports research on Sustainable and Renewable Bioproducts (SaBRe) and BioCirV initiatives.
• AI2050 Fellowship ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchmidt Sciences funds the AI2050 Fellowship program to support researchers working to ensure AI benefits society. The program awarded $18M to its latest cohort in November 2025, with fellows working across various AI safety and societal benefit research areas.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allen Institute: Paul Allen-founded non-profit operating large-scale research institutes in brain science, cell science, and AI. Directly comparable as a tech-billionaire-founded science philanthropy operating institute-style programs in AI and biosciences.
• Kavli Foundation: Private foundation supporting astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics through Kavli Institutes at major universities. Comparable as a multi-domain science funder with deep academic partnerships and institute-based program design.
• Templeton Foundation: Large private foundation supporting basic science, astronomy, and cosmology research, often at multi-million-dollar scale per initiative. Comparable as a science grantmaking foundation active in astrophysics and cosmology, overlapping with Schmidt's Astrophysics & Space Center.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Major science and environmental grantmaking foundation funding scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and patient care improvement. Comparable in scale and multi-domain science+climate portfolio and program officer model.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI): Tech-founder-led philanthropy funding biomedical research and AI for science through CZI Science. Comparable in being a high-net-worth tech founder philanthropy that combines biosciences with AI investment, similar in framing to Schmidt Sciences' AI + biosciences centers.
• Simons Foundation: Major private foundation funding research in mathematics, physics, astronomy, and life sciences, with significant programs in AI and computational science. Comparable in scale, multi-domain science focus, and commitment to long-horizon basic research.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: One of the largest US private science research funders, supporting investigators across biomedical and adjacent sciences. Directly comparable as a high-end private science philanthropy with its own investigator programs analogous to Schmidt's AI2050 and VIFF.
• Bezos Earth Fund: $10B climate-focused philanthropy making large climate and conservation grants. Comparable as a tech-billionaire-founded single-domain philanthropic funder with a similar $45M-scale grant-making profile in the climate space Schmidt Sciences' Climate Center occupies.
• Open Philanthropy: Large US philanthropic funder active in AI safety, biosecurity, and scientific research. Comparable as a science and AI-focused philanthropic grantmaker working with named fellows and grantees in the same AI safety space as AI2050.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Long-standing science philanthropy supporting basic research across economics, physics, mathematics, computer science, and earth sciences. Comparable as a multi-domain basic science funder with named fellowship programs analogous to AI2050.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/schmidtfutures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments17 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Schmidt Futures