Convergent Research
{{Short description|Incubator for philanthropic ventures}}
Convergent Research is an incubator for philanthropic ventures founded in 2021 and funded by Eric Schmidt, Wendy Schmidt and Ken Griffin{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2023/07/18/billionaires-musk-zuckerberg-thiel-5-minute-phone-call-collison-fast-grants/|title=How a 5-minute phone call between a millennial billionaire and an economist created a $50 million grant program backed by Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg and more tech luminaries|website=Fortune}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.schmidtfutures.org/schmidt-futures-and-ken-griffin-commit-50-million-to-support-the-next-big-breakthroughs-in-science/|title=Schmidt Futures and Ken Griffin Commit $50 Million to Support the Next Big Breakthroughs in Science|first=Samantha|last=Cole|date=March 15, 2023|website=Schmidt Futures}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/quick-grants-tech-billionaires-aim-speed-science-research-101412391|title=ABC News}} as part of the Schmidt Futures Network.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/|title=Why Billionaires Ken Griffin And Eric Schmidt Are Spending $50 Million On A New Kind Of Scientific Research|first=Alex|last=Knapp|website=Forbes}} Convergent Research is designed to identify high-impact scientific or technological R&D fields, then launch companies to address these fields with a structure they call Focused Research Organizations (FROs).{{Cite web|url=https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/schmidt-futures-announces-launch-of-schmidt-futures-network|title=Philanthropy News Digest}} As of 2023, there are 7 FROs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.convergentresearch.org/fro-portfolio|title=FRO Portfolio|website=Convergent Research}}
Focused Research Organizations (FROs)
A Focused Research Organization, or FRO, is a type of non-profit organization designed to address technical problems or perform scientific research. They differ from academic research labs in that they have medium-to-large size teams with corporate structures, embrace projects which are unlikely to yield publishable results, and frequently involve scientists and engineers collaborating across disciplines.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-15 |title=Focused Research Organizations: A New Model for Scientific Research |url=https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-a-new-model-for-scientific-research/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231017035139/https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-a-new-model-for-scientific-research/ |archive-date=2023-10-17 |access-date= |website=Federation of American Scientists |language=en-US}} FRO projects are not profitable enough in their initial stages for them to constitute a startup company, and unlike think tanks or research institutes, tend to pursue specific technical goals rather than general research.{{Cite web |date=11 January 2022 |title=Unblock research bottlenecks with non-profit start-ups |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00018-5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013190229/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00018-5 |archive-date=2023-10-13 |website=Nature |access-date=2023-10-17 |url-status=bot: unknown }} Once their technical goals are achieved, FROs may evolve into more traditional non-profits, or become backed by venture capital and transform into startups.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-04 |title=A New Model for Science |url=https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/new-model-science |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231017035112/https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/new-model-science |archive-date=2023-10-17 |website=Tony Blair Institute}}
List of FROs
- Development for Lean (proof assistant) is supported by a FRO.
- E11 bio has a goal of creating a single-cell neural circuit mapping tool.{{Cite web |title=E11 Bio {{!}} Moonshot Neuroscience |url=https://e11.bio/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=E11 Bio |language=en-US}}
- Cultivarium
- ParallelSq Technology Institute
- EvE Bio
- Forest Neuro
- [c]Worthy
References
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