What Kavli Foundation does

The Kavli Foundation is a private nonprofit science foundation established in 2000 by Norwegian-American entrepreneur Fred Kavli, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It is classified as a 501(c)(3) private foundation under Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and operates with a mission to advance basic science through research support, public engagement, and scientific philanthropy. The foundation's programmatic surface includes a global network of 20 Kavli Institutes hosted at leading universities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, China, and Japan, spanning four core disciplines: astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics. It also administers The Kavli Prize, a biennial international award presented in partnership with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, Norway, recognizing seminal contributions in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience.

The foundation's core "products" are endowed research infrastructure and scientific prizes rather than commercial offerings. Beyond the 20 institutes, it funds postdoctoral fellowships (including the Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellowships established with the Laukien Science Foundation), early-career grants under Scialog initiatives, science-and-society programs housed at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Cambridge, open-data initiatives such as NeuroData Without Borders, and awards including the Kavli Science Journalism Awards and the inaugural Instrumentation for Astrophysics Awards. Strategic partnerships with the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Society for Neuroscience, the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, the American Physical Society, the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, the Laukien Science Foundation, and FutureHouse extend the foundation's research funding reach and shape program design across the four disciplines.

The foundation operates on a charitable endowment-funded grantmaking model rather than a commercial revenue model. It does not develop or sell proprietary technology products, offer paid APIs, or charge customers for its outputs; primary "customers" in a non-commercial sense are scientific grantees and partner institutions. The Kavli Foundation does not appear to make equity investments, and its endowment value, annual grantmaking throughput, and headcount are not publicly disclosed in the aggregated source material reviewed.

Name

Kavli Foundation

Legal name

The Kavli Foundation

Website

https://kavlifoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Kavli Foundation is a private nonprofit science foundation established in 2000 by Fred Kavli, headquartered in Los Angeles, that funds basic research in astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics through 20 endowed university-based Kavli Institutes, the biennial Kavli Prize, and grant programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Science philanthropy
• Basic research funding
• Research institute endowment
• Scientific prize awards
• Postdoctoral fellowship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxnard

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Kavli Foundation is a private nonprofit science foundation that advances basic scientific research in astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics. It does this by endowing and supporting a global network of 20 Kavli Institutes at leading universities, awarding the biennial Kavli Prize to recognize breakthrough discoveries, and funding grant programs (postdoctoral fellowships, scholar/exploration awards, NeuroData Discovery grants, science journalism awards, and Scialog collaboration programs). Its primary outputs are scientific knowledge, trained researchers, and recognized scientific achievements rather than commercial products.

Product overview

The Kavli Foundation is a nonprofit science foundation established in 2000 that advances science for the benefit of humanity through a portfolio of funding programs and research institutes. The foundation's primary offerings include The Kavli Prize (an international award in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience), a network of 20 Kavli Institutes at leading universities worldwide, and various funding programs including the Kavli Scholar Award, Kavli Exploration Award, Kavli Institute Innovation Award, Kavli-Grass Fellowships, NeuroData Discovery grants, and Scialog programs. The foundation also supports Science and Society initiatives including science journalism awards, Kavli Professorships, ethics programs, and the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public. The Kavli Institutes span four scientific fields: Astrophysics (6 institutes including MIT, Stanford/KIPAC, Cambridge, Chicago, Peking University, and University of Tokyo), Nanoscience (5 institutes including Caltech/KNI, Cornell, Berkeley, Oxford, and TU Delft), Neuroscience (7 institutes including Yale, UCSF, Columbia, UCSD/Salk, Johns Hopkins, Rockefeller, and NTNU Norway), and Theoretical Physics (2 institutes at UC Santa Barbara and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Kavli Prize: International prize awarded in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience
• Kavli Astrophysics Institutes
• Kavli Nanoscience Institutes
• Kavli Neuroscience Institutes
• Kavli Theoretical Physics Institutes
• Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellowship
• NeuroData Discovery
• Scialog Programs

Products and services

• The Kavli Prize A biennial international scientific prize awarded in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience to recognize breakthrough discoveries that have advanced humanity's understanding of the universe, matter at the smallest scales, and the brain. Co-hosted with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and awarded in Oslo, Norway.
• Kavli Institutes A global network of 20 university-based research institutes dedicated to advancing the frontiers of science in astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics. Hosted at leading universities including MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Yale, Columbia, UCSF, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge, TU Delft, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Rockefeller University, NTNU Norway, Peking University, University of Tokyo, UCAS Beijing, and UC San Diego/Salk.
• Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellowship Program A postdoctoral fellowship program jointly operated with the Laukien Science Foundation supporting scholars in the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. Funds research on the emergence of life and its place in the universe and connects to a consortium of four research centers at Harvard, ETH Zurich, University of Chicago, and University of Cambridge.
• NeuroData Discovery Grants A grant program supporting neuroscience data research, funded as part of The Kavli Foundation's Open Data in Neuroscience initiative.
• AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards A science journalism award program endowed by The Kavli Foundation and administered in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to recognize high-quality science journalism across multiple categories.
• Kavli Professorships An endowed program supporting distinguished Kavli Professors at academic institutions across the foundation's priority science fields.
• Kavli-Grass Fellowships A fellowship program operated in partnership with the Grass Foundation supporting early-career researchers studying environmental impacts on the nervous system.
• Scialog Programs A series of collaborative research convening programs operated with the Research Corporation for Science Advancement covering topics including Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, Molecular Basis of Cognition, Search for Life in the Universe, and Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials. Each program convenes early-career scientists for collaboration and awards seed funding.
• NAS Fred Kavli Endowment Fund An endowment fund held at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to support the foundation's science-and-society mission in Fred Kavli's name.
• Kavli Nanoscience Institute (Caltech) - nanofabrication cleanroom facility A 7,500-square-foot nanofabrication cleanroom operated by the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech, featuring lithography, deposition, etching, and microscopy capabilities used for nanoscience research.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025The Kavli Foundation and TU Delft committed to additional joint support for the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft (KIND) for the next decade. This represents a deepened, long-term commitment to advancing nanoscience research through the endowed institute.
• Laukien Science FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2023The Kavli Foundation and Laukien Science Foundation partnered on a new fellowship program supporting scholars in the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. The Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellows program selects two fellows annually for up to three years (2024-2026) to research the emergence of life and its place in the universe. The partnership also connects to the Origins Federation, a consortium of four research centers at Harvard, ETH Zurich, University of Chicago, and University of Cambridge. Frank H. Laukien is CEO of Bruker Corporation and a visiting scholar in the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative.
• American Chemical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the American Chemical Society, pursuing initiatives that advance science and help science and society move forward together, including the Kavli lecture series at ACS meetings.
• Materials Research SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the Materials Research Society, including the Kavli Foundation Early Career Lectureship in Materials Science, recognizing outstanding early-career researchers in the field.
• American Astronomical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the American Astronomical Society, including the Fred Kavli Plenary Lecture at AAS meetings, bringing leading scientists to present at the society's events.
• International Astronomical UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation collaborates with the International Astronomical Union on science programs, including sponsorship of the Communicating Astronomy to the Public (CAP) conference and IAU Communications Training programs.
• American Physical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the American Physical Society on various science initiatives, including Trust in Science programs and science engagement activities.
• Society for NeurosciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the Society for Neuroscience on multiple initiatives including the Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems training series. The partnership also involves FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence, which connects European neuroscientists.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation and NSF co-announce grant awards to advance Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems, an initiative exploring how nervous systems function and evolve in dynamic natural environments.
• Brain Initiative AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation is a partner in the Brain Initiative Alliance, a collaborative effort to advance brain research through the BRAIN Initiative.
• Grass FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with the Grass Foundation on the Kavli-Grass Fellowships, supporting early-career researchers studying environmental impacts on the nervous system.
• Marine Biological LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation collaborates with the Marine Biological Laboratory on multiple research projects, including studies on hypoxia and neural adaptation in squid.
• Neurodata Without BorderscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Kavli Foundation supports the Neurodata Without Borders (NWB) initiative, funding multiple software development projects to extend NWB data standards for neuroscience research.
• FutureHouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with FutureHouse, a science organization, on AI-for-Science Fellowships and neuroscience and society initiatives.
• Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing EnvironmentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation is listed as a partner of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments, collaborating on research in this emerging field.
• Research Corporation for Science AdvancementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kavli Foundation partners with Research Corporation for Science Advancement on the Scialog programs (Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, Molecular Basis of Cognition, Search for Life in the Universe, Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials), which convene early-career scientists for collaborative research discussions and awards.
• Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence, the foundation connects European neuroscientists and supports training and collaboration in the field.
• The Norwegian Academy of Science and LetterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters co-hosts The Kavli Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, and collaborates on the Kavli Prize Laureate Lectures with the Carnegie Institution for Science.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• John Templeton Foundation: US foundation supporting basic scientific research and interdisciplinary science programs, comparable to Kavli in funding frontier research questions and partnering with major scientific organizations.
• Simons Foundation: Major private foundation supporting basic science research in mathematics, physics, neuroscience, and life sciences through institutes and grants, directly comparable to Kavli's four-field focus and institute-endowment model.
• Research Corporation for Science Advancement: US foundation that funds early-career scientists and basic research, directly comparable to Kavli as an active co-funding partner on Scialog programs in neuroscience, cognition, and origins of life.
• Wellcome Trust: UK-based charitable foundation that funds basic science, neuroscience, and global health research, comparable to Kavli in mission and use of endowment to support multi-decade research programs at universities.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: US philanthropy that funds neuroscience and biomedical research through institutes and grants, comparable to Kavli in endowing neuroscience research centers and supporting frontier science initiatives.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Large US private biomedical and basic science research foundation that endows investigators and institutes at leading universities, comparable to Kavli's model of endowing university-based research centers across fundamental science.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: US foundation funding scientific research, including experimental physics and data-driven discovery, with comparable grantmaking structure and focus on advancing basic science at research institutions.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: US foundation that supports basic scientific research across multiple disciplines including neuroscience, physics, and mathematics, comparable to Kavli's multi-disciplinary basic-science grantmaking approach.

Emerging players

• Laukien Science Foundation: Smaller private science foundation co-funding the Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard's Origins of Life Initiative, comparable to Kavli as a peer science funder and direct programmatic partner.

Broad incumbents

• National Science Foundation (NSF): US government agency that is the largest funder of basic scientific research and a direct co-funding partner of Kavli on the Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems initiative, comparable as a basic-science funder though operating at much larger scale via public appropriations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kavlifoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/kavlifoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-kavli-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Kavli Foundation