The House Fund launches BAIR Grant—for Berkeley AI Researchers
Today, we are thrilled to announce BAIR Grant, the first university-based AI funding program of its kind, dedicated to Berkeley’s most promising AI researchers working on leading-edge AI with commercial or government applications.
This initiative is an urgent response to federal nationwide cuts in university research funding at a time when more American investment in AI and infrastructure is crucial.
Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab is the world’s most advanced academic AI lab. BAIR Grant is an inventive collaboration between The House Fund, BAIR Professors, top AI-first US corporations, and visionary philanthropists.
We are launching this program with pioneering BAIR Professors Ion Stoica, Joey Gonzalez, Ken Goldberg, Kurt Keutzer, & Trevor Darrell (all serial entrepreneurs).
Berkeley founders have already transformed industries and birthed the world’s most valuable private AI unicorns, Databricks (in our portfolio) and OpenAI.
We’re doubling down to further that legacy with a program designed to accelerate the journey from breakthrough AI research to world-changing innovation & startups, at home in Berkeley.
Two Powerful Pathways for Berkeley AI
BAIR Grant provides two core funding programs to support Berkeley’s AI researcher community:
Startup Funding Program
- Up to $250,000 investment on an uncapped SAFE
- Up to $600,000 in free compute on US infrastructure for each startup
Research Funding Program
- To be unveiled soon
Researchers in these programs also get access to mentorship from top Berkeley AI founders, industry leaders, entrepreneurial professors, and government leaders.
For Berkeley, By Berkeley
Since its inception, The House Fund has backed more than 50 startups co-founded by Berkeley AI researchers. We surveyed many of those founders and current Berkeley AI researchers, and the result was BAIR Grant.
While this program focuses on those conducting research under the BAIR umbrella, we also welcome all UC Berkeley-affiliated AI researchers, including PhD and master’s students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, undergraduates conducting research, and affiliates to apply.
To this day, we remain the only fund entirely focused on Berkeley. We’re all in on supporting our community.
Scaling AI Research & its Impact
This program is designed by and for entrepreneurial Berkeley AI researchers to advance UC Berkeley’s mission and America’s competitive edge in the global AI race while adhering to responsible, ethical, and open AI research principles.
We believe in the power of this model and plan to open-source it for other top research universities and national labs to follow suit.
Join Us in Building the Future of AI
If you’re a Berkeley-affiliated researcher working on AI research, we want to hear from you.
Interested Berkeley AI researchers can apply here by 11:59pm PT on Sunday, May 4th.
Interested corporations and visionary philanthropists can apply here to fund and engage with BAIR Grant research.
Go Bears,
-Fiance & The House Fund Team
