“We support projects and people aiming to build a future guided by reason and compassion for all.”In its own words: macroscopic.org
Basel-based Swiss nonprofit association, founded in 2019 and formerly called Polaris Ventures, that makes grants and investments. In AI it funds governance work to stop advanced AI being misused, plus research on AI welfare and cooperative AI.
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Swiss nonprofit making grants to nonprofits and investments in companies across AI (governance, AI welfare, cooperative AI), reason and democracy, animal welfare, and new directions. Most of its funding comes from its own proactive research; it accepts unsolicited proposals but says it may not reply to them by default.
Typical grant $2M ($1M–$3M)
On applying “We receive far more requests than we have capacity to evaluate, so by default we may not respond to unsolicited proposals.” macroscopic.org
Itemised here $12M in 5 grants
Money flows
Where its money came from and where it went. Pick years and what to show; hover a box or ribbon for details, click one to focus it, click the background to see everything.
How to apply
- Applications
- By invitation
- Who can apply
- Organisations, New organisations, Academics, Individuals
Takes unsolicited grant and investment proposals but may not reply to them by default (see About page).
Biggest recipients
Passed on to other funders
- Cooperative AI Foundation 2024$3M
- Cooperative AI Foundation 2025$3M
- Cooperative AI Foundation 2023$2.4M
Gifts and pooled money between funders, as recorded on the site.
All grants
5 grants totalling $12M, newest first. Recipients link to their own pages; people who received grants without a public profile are shown by number.
Undated 1 grant · $3M
| Date | Recipient | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Cooperative AI Lab | $3M | Commitment to establish the Foundations of Cooperative AI Lab (FOCAL) at Carnegie Mellon University, headed by Vincent Conitzer — Cooperative AI. $3M gift over 2022–2024. Undated: the yearly split isn't published, so this counts in the all-years view only (no even split across ye source |
2025 1 grant · $3M
| Date | Recipient | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Cooperative AI Foundation | ~$3M | Seed commitment to establish the Cooperative AI Foundation — Cooperative AI source |
2024 2 grants · $4M
| Date | Recipient | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy | $1M | Gift (as Polaris Ventures) toward the $6m CMEP Endowment Fund; research on consciousness, sentience, and the moral status of nonhumans including AI systems — AI welfare & sentience source |
| 2024 | Cooperative AI Foundation | $3M | 2024 tranche of a four-year $11.4M commitment — Cooperative AI source |
2023 1 grant · $2.4M
| Date | Recipient | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cooperative AI Foundation | ~$2.4M | 2023 tranche of a four-year commitment (£8.95M / $11.4M) from Polaris Ventures, now Macroscopic — Cooperative AI source |