The AI Safety Foundation

What The AI Safety Foundation does

The AI Safety Foundation (AISF) is a registered Canadian charity (registration #78867 2822 RR0001) headquartered at 122 Scollard Street, Toronto, that exists to increase public awareness and scientific understanding of the catastrophic risks of advanced AI. The organization does not develop technology products; its core activity is educational programming and thought leadership, delivered through two flagship initiatives. The Hinton Lectures™ is an annual lecture series hosted by Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton featuring world-leading AI safety researchers — Jacob Steinhardt, Ph.D. in 2024 and Owain Evans, Ph.D. (founder of Truthful AI) in 2025 — and held at the John W. H. Bassett Theatre in Toronto, with on-demand recordings distributed globally via the @TheHintonLectures YouTube channel. The CJF Hinton Award for Excellence in AI Safety Reporting is an annual $10,000 prize created in partnership with the Canadian Journalism Foundation to recognize Canadian journalism that critically examines AI safety implications, supported by a gift from Richard Wernham and Julia West.

The foundation's revenue model is donation-based, accepting monetary contributions via the Zeffy platform and gifts of marketable securities listed on TSX, NASDAQ, or NYSE, with tax receipts issued for eligible gifts of $50 CAD or more. It is funded by individual donors, corporations, and institutional partners, including Global Risk Institute (Hinton Lectures Founding and Presenting Sponsor) and Manulife Financial (Hinton Lectures Presenting Sponsor). The foundation is governed by a board that includes Hinton, alongside University of Toronto and Vector Institute researchers David Duvenaud and Roger Grosse (the latter also on Anthropic's Alignment Science Team), former CIBC World Markets Deputy Chairman Richard Phillips (Chair), former Accenture Canada CEO Bill Morris, and Accenture Managing Director Meg Sintzel. Operating leadership is provided by CEO Ankesh Chandaria, who holds a Master's in AI Ethics and Society from the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. AISF operates primarily within Canada while reaching a global audience through digital channels.

Name

The AI Safety Foundation

Legal name

The AI Safety Foundation

Website

https://aisfoundation.ai

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The AI Safety Foundation is a registered Canadian charity that advances public awareness of catastrophic AI risks through The Hinton Lectures™ annual series and the CJF Hinton Award for AI safety journalism, funded by individual and corporate donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Educational Services

akta.pro primary industry

Responsible AI, AI Governance & Compliance Services (BPAEAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Safety & Alignment Evaluation (red-teaming, harmful capability testing) (HDAAAMAL)

Keywords

• Ai safety education
• Public lecture series
• Journalism awards
• Nonprofit charity
• Catastrophic risk awareness

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The foundation is funded through donations from individuals, corporations, and partners. It accepts monetary donations via its website platform (Zeffy) and marketable securities listed on TSX, NASDAQ, or NYSE.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The AI Safety Foundation is an educational nonprofit that raises public awareness of catastrophic AI risks through two flagship programs: The Hinton Lectures™, an annual lecture series featuring world-leading AI safety researchers, and the CJF Hinton Award for Excellence in AI Safety Reporting, a $10,000 annual journalism prize co-administered with the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Product overview

The AI Safety Foundation is a registered Canadian charity (78867 2822 RR0001) focused on increasing awareness of AI's catastrophic risks through education and research. The organization operates two primary programs: The Hinton Lectures™ — an annual lecture series featuring world-leading AI safety researchers such as Owain Evans, Ph.D. and Jacob Steinhardt, Ph.D., hosted by Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton — and The CJF Hinton Award for Excellence in AI Safety Reporting, a $10,000 annual journalism prize recognizing Canadian journalists who report on AI safety implications. The Foundation serves as a bridge between leading AI researchers and the public, advancing scientific understanding of AI risks in a solutions-oriented manner.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Hinton Lectures™: An annual lecture series exploring AI risks, revelations, and revolutionary solutions, hosted by Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton.
• CJF Hinton Award for Excellence in AI Safety Reporting

Products and services

• The Hinton Lectures™

Quantifiable outcome

• The Hinton Lectures 2025 featured Owain Evans examining critical vulnerabilities in AI systems including 'emergent misalignment' and 'subliminal learning'
• +1 more outcomes

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Global Risk InstitutecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal Risk Institute serves as the Hinton Lectures Founding and Presenting Sponsor, supporting the foundation's flagship annual lecture series on AI safety.
• Manulife FinancialcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerManulife Financial serves as Hinton Lectures Presenting Sponsor, supporting the foundation's educational initiatives on AI catastrophic risks.
• Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCJF is the foundation's strategic partner for the CJF Hinton Award for Excellence in AI Safety Reporting, a $10,000 annual prize recognizing Canadian journalists covering AI safety.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AI Now Institute: Research institute examining the social implications of AI, with a focus on policy and public-interest research. Comparable as a mission-driven nonprofit producing public research and policy output on AI risks.
• Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI): One of the longest-running AI safety research nonprofits, focused on alignment of advanced AI systems. Comparable in mission (AI alignment/catastrophic risk), nonprofit structure, and reliance on high-profile researchers and donor funding.
• Future of Life Institute: Nonprofit focused on reducing existential and catastrophic risks from transformative technologies, especially AI. Closely comparable in mission (AI safety awareness), nonprofit structure, and donor-funded educational programming.
• Center for Human-Compatible AI (CHAI): UC Berkeley-based research center focused on making AI systems compatible with human values. Comparable in AI alignment/safety research focus and academic-researcher-driven organizational structure.
• 80000 Hours: Nonprofit providing research and career guidance on high-impact opportunities, with a strong focus on AI safety. Comparable as a donor-supported AI safety education and community-building organization.
• Center for AI Safety: Research-oriented nonprofit dedicated to reducing societal-scale risks from AI. Directly comparable as an AI safety education and awareness organization with a public-facing research and advocacy mandate.

Emerging players

• Conjecture: AI safety startup focused on aligning advanced AI systems through applied research and tooling. Comparable in AI safety mission and adjacent researcher community, though operates as a commercial venture rather than a charity.

Others

• Vector Institute: Toronto-based AI research institute of which several AISF directors are founding members (Duvenaud, Grosse). Comparable as a Canadian AI research institution with overlapping personnel and shared AI safety/governance interest.
• Global Risk Institute: Financial-sector risk research institute that is the Founding and Presenting Sponsor of The Hinton Lectures. Comparable as a risk-focused research and educational organization and as a direct sponsor/partner, making it an ecosystem peer.

Broad incumbents

• Anthropic: AI safety-focused frontier AI lab that conducts alignment research and publishes safety work. Comparable via its AI safety mission and that several AISF board members (e.g., Roger Grosse) are affiliated with its alignment team, though it is a commercial entity rather than a nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheHintonLectures
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/AI-Safety-Foundation/61565574345329
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ai-safety-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 The AI Safety Foundation