Lincoln Network

What Lincoln Network does

Lincoln Network, Inc. is a Delaware nonprofit nonstock corporation operating under the public-facing name Foundation for American Innovation (FAI), with 501(c)(3) status and a sister 501(c)(4) advocacy arm called FAI Action. Founded in 2014 in Silicon Valley as Lincoln Labs and later rebranded under Lincoln Network, the organization now identifies Washington, DC (408 C Street NE) as its primary office and maintains a mailing address in San Francisco. FAI functions as a hybrid policy-research and technology-development shop that connects technologists with policymakers, producing publications, podcasts, and fellowship programs aimed at strengthening American technical capacity in government and shaping policy on AI, national security, and innovation.

FAI's portfolio spans free-of-charge research and convening, a media operation (The Realignment, The Dynamist, Moment of Zen podcasts; The Pull Request newsletter), annual conferences (Reboot in Miami, Realignment Live in DC), and fellowship pipelines (Policy Hacker Fellowship, Endless Frontier Fellowship jointly with the Federation of American Scientists and Institute for Progress). Alongside these activities, Lincoln Studio has built a small suite of consumer-facing technology products: Schoolahoop (a school choice discovery platform), Project Nickel (K-12 school spending per pupil data across all 50 states and DC, built with Edunomics Lab and EdChoice), and BIP Bounty (a crowdsourced bug bounty platform for Bitcoin Improvement Proposals). In 2026 the organization launched Frontier Legal Defense, a rapid-response legal advocacy project on AI policy led by General Counsel Tim Hwang.

The organization does not charge users; its operating model is philanthropic, supported by a diversified base of major institutional donors spanning traditional conservative foundations (Lynde and Harry Bradley, Diana Davis Spencer, Walton, Scaife, Hewlett, Arnold Ventures, Knight, Searle Freedom Trust, Arthur N. Rupe, Miles Foundation, Stand Together Trust, Beth and Ravenel Curry, Silicon Valley Community Foundation) and crypto-aligned funders (Ethereum Foundation, Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web, Proton Foundation). Leadership is small (11-50 employees) and includes President and CEO Zach Graves (formerly of Cato and R Street), Creative Director Christopher McCaffery, and General Counsel Tim Hwang (formerly Google's first global public policy lead for AI/ML and GC at Substack and Inflection AI).

Name

Lincoln Network

Legal name

Lincoln Network, Inc.

Website

https://joinlincoln.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lincoln Network (Foundation for American Innovation) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces research, podcasts, fellowships, and policy tools to connect technologists with US policymakers on AI, national security, and innovation policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Advocacy (Technology Governance)

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Business Associations (813910), Educational Support Services (61171), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

EdTech & Digital Learning Policy Research (EDADADAK), Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Policy research
• Technology governance
• Nonprofit think tank
• Public policy fellowships
• Policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, FAI is funded through tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations. The organization describes major supporters including foundations such as Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and others. Crypto donations are also accepted.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Lincoln Network, operating as the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that conducts technology and governance policy research, publishes reports and commentary, runs fellowship programs (Policy Hacker Fellowship and Endless Frontier Fellowship), produces podcasts (The Realignment, The Dynamist, Moment of Zen), hosts annual conferences (Reboot, Realignment Live), and operates standalone technology platforms including Schoolahoop (school choice), Project Nickel (school spending transparency), BIP Bounty (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal bug bounties), and Frontier Legal Defense (AI policy legal advocacy). All offerings are provided free of charge to policymakers, technologists, and the public.

Product overview

Lincoln Network (Foundation for American Innovation) operates as a multi-initiative organization spanning research/policy think tank work and technology product development. The technology portfolio includes Schoolahoop (school choice platform), Project Nickel (K-12 school spending transparency), and BIP Bounty (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal bug bounties), alongside newer initiatives like Frontier Legal Defense. The organization also produces several podcasts (The Realignment, The Dynamist, Moment of Zen) and runs fellowship programs (Policy Hacker Fellowship, Endless Frontier Fellowship).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Schoolahoop
• Project Nickel
• BIP Bounty
• Frontier Legal Defense
• The Realignment (Podcast)
• The Dynamist (Podcast)
• Moment of Zen (Podcast)
• Policy Hacker Fellowship
• Endless Frontier Fellowship
• Annual Reboot Conference
• Realignment Live Conference

Quantifiable outcome

• Research influenced the Improving Government for America's Taxpayers Act included in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EdChoicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Edunomics Lab to fund Project Nickel, which reports on school spending per pupil for all 50 states and DC.
• Edunomics LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAggregates data for Project Nickel, FAI's platform for tracking school spending per pupil.
• School Choice WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoots-on-the-ground partner hosting Schoolahoop's embeddable school finder app in Wisconsin.
• Federation of American ScientistscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint program with Institute for Progress on the Endless Frontier Fellowship.
• Institute for ProgresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-develops Endless Frontier Fellowship with FAI and FAS to train policy entrepreneurs in science and innovation.
• American Enterprise InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted symposium on Science and Technology Advice for Congress with Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro.
• Charter Cities InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered during Miami Tech Week for discussion on Tech and the Future of Cities.
• Digital Progress InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted discussion on Tech Regulation in the New Congress.
• German Marshall FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for events including salon dinners on US-China strategic competition.
• TechCongressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint events including Policy Hacker Happy Hour featuring Representative Darrell Issa.
• Schmidt FuturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for ML Model Attribution Challenge competition at DEFCON.
• Robust IntelligenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for ML Model Attribution Challenge competition.
• MITREminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for ML Model Attribution Challenge competition.
• Microsoft Azure SecurityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for ML Model Attribution Challenge competition.
• Hugging FaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for ML Model Attribution Challenge competition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• R Street Institute: Free-market think tank focused on tech policy, innovation, and governance — closely comparable in ideology, size, and policy niche to FAI; Zach Graves previously led R Street's technology and innovation policy program.
• Federation of American Scientists: Nonprofit focused on science policy and emerging-technology governance; co-develops the Endless Frontier Fellowship with FAI, making it a direct operational peer in the science-and-innovation policy niche.
• Institute for Progress: Early-stage policy org focused on innovation, science, and technology policy — co-develops Endless Frontier Fellowship with FAI and operates at a comparable size and ideological posture.
• TechCongress: Nonprofit placing technologists in Congressional offices — directly overlaps with FAI's Policy Hacker Fellowship mission of bridging tech talent and government.

Broad incumbents

• Cato Institute: Large libertarian think tank that publishes extensively on technology policy, internet freedom, and AI governance — overlaps with FAI's research agenda and served as an early-career home for FAI's current CEO.
• American Enterprise Institute: Established center-right think tank with a dedicated tech-policy footprint and active convening power in Washington — FAI has co-hosted symposia with AEI on science and technology advice for Congress.
• Information Technology and Innovation Foundation: Established D.C. think tank dedicated to technology policy, innovation economics, and AI regulation — broader portfolio but core research overlap with FAI.
• Mercatus Center: Major free-market think tank with an active technology policy program and strong Congressional relationships — comparable in size and donor structure.
• Hudson Institute: Center-right think tank with programs on emerging technology, national security, and innovation — overlapping audience and ideological orientation with FAI.

Emerging players

• Digital Progress Institute: Smaller tech-policy advocacy organization that has co-hosted events with FAI on tech regulation in Congress — a partial-overlap emerging peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/joinlincoln
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@JoinFAI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lincoln-network
• Facebookfacebook.com/joinlincoln

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Lincoln Network