Schmidt Sciences is a philanthropic organization established in 2024 to fund unconventional research in science and technology. Founded by

Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and former computer engineer who was the chief executive officer of Google from 2001 to 2011 and the company's chairman, executive chairman from 2011 to 2015. He also was the ...

and

Wendy Schmidt Wendy Susan Schmidt (''née'' Boyle) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, whom she met in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the president of ...

, the nonprofit is a spin-off of

Schmidt Futures Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic venture founded by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt in 2017. The philanthropy funds science and technology research and talent networking programs. The organization's grants include large-scale "moonshots". Schmidt ...

. Schmidt Sciences awards the AI2050 academic fellowship which asks scholars to imagine a future in which AI has benefited society. The Schmidts have committed $125 million to the AI2050 program over five years. The organization also partners with

Schmidt Ocean Institute Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating foundation established in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. The Institute's goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery through technological adv ...

to support the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute (OBVI). In 2025, Schmidt Sciences announced a new $10 million venture to fund scientific research into safety problems in AI. The AI science safety program includes 27 projects. Awardees announced in February 2025 included computer scientist

Yoshua Bengio Yoshua Bengio (born March 5, 1964) is a Canadian-French computer scientist, and a pioneer of artificial neural networks and deep learning. He is a professor at the Université de Montréal and scientific director of the AI institute Montreal In ...

, who is developing AI risk mitigation technology, and

Zico Kolter Jeremy Zico Kolter is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and director of its machine learning department. He focuses primarily on AI safety research. He is a co-founder and senior advisor of Gray Swan AI. In 2024, he was appointed to the ...

, an

OpenAI OpenAI, Inc. is an American artificial intelligence (AI) organization founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. It aims to develop "safe and beneficial" artificial general intelligence (AGI), which it defines ...

board member, exploring AI attacks.

References

{{reflist

External links

Schmidt Sciences
Philanthropic organizations based in the United States