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Astera Residency Program is sponsored by Astera Institute. A one-year, fully funded residency for high-agency scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to create open science public goods. Residents receive a competitive salary, an additional budget for a team and project expenses, and access to substantial compute and laboratory resources. Projects must yield open, accessible, and nonproprietary research or products that have a high potential for societal impact.
Geographic focus: Global (requires relocation to Emeryville, CA, USA)
Focus areas: Open Science, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Climate Technology, Space Systems, Biotech
Official opportunity description and requirements excerpt:
Betting big on the misfits Astera enables high potential innovators whose work falls through the cracks of traditional markets or funding opportunities. We want to help address these gaps by seeding and supporting mission-driven, open projects that can catalyze further private and public sector advancements. We target creative, high-agency scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who are passionate about reducing the barriers to progress within and across domains. What we’re seeking for our residencies Projects must yield open, accessible, nonproprietary products or research that are unlikely to be created otherwise. They must have line of sight to generate a positive impact on a societal scale. Residents should be excited to share about both their projects and their underlying process, making it easy for others to learn both positive and negative outcomes from their work. We are approaching a technological discontinuity, and we target projects that will leverage resulting opportunities or create new ones. About the residency program Our residency program is a one-year, fully funded program centered on the creation of public goods. We want to provide talented people freedom and support to create new pieces of the machinery of science that are adapted to the era of advanced technology that we’re entering. This includes non-proprietary infrastructure, tools, standards, hardware, software, or wetware, as well as pre-commercial fundamental research that can enable progress across a field. We support projects before it’s clear whether they will one day become nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, or one-off outputs in the public domain. Given our focus on public goods during the residency period, Astera will not take equity in projects that spin out although we may ask for follow-on investment rights. On the flip side, residents will be required to assign to Astera any IP generated during the course of their residency, so that Astera has the ability to ensure these are freely and publicly accessible. We welcome up to 10 new residents to each cohort in Emeryville, California, where we are building a hub for open science, data, and technology. While we don’t strictly define project areas, we are increasingly prioritizing proposals that benefit from our in-house expertise and focus areas. We believe this enables us to better support and synergize with residents both during and after their residency periods. What we offer to residents: a salary for one year, which typically falls between $125,000-$250,000, commensurate with experience an additional negotiated budget to cover project expenses (e.g. lab, infrastructure, licenses, personnel), which typically falls between $500K-$1.5M access to compute resources via Voltage Park, a 24,000x
Application snapshot: target deadline rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows; published funding information Salary of $125,000–$250,000 plus project budget of $500,000–$2,000,000; eligibility guidance High-agency innovators (scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs) who are willing to work on-site at the Astera campus in Emeryville, California.
Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.
Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Betting big on the misfits Astera enables high potential innovators whose work falls through the cracks of traditional markets or funding opportunities. We want to help address these gaps by seeding and supporting mission-driven, open projects that can catalyze further private and public sector advancements.
We target creative, high-agency scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who are passionate about reducing the barriers to progress within and across domains. What we’re seeking for our residencies Projects must yield open, accessible, nonproprietary products or research that are unlikely to be created otherwise. They must have line of sight to generate a positive impact on a societal scale.
Residents should be excited to share about both their projects and their underlying process, making it easy for others to learn both positive and negative outcomes from their work. We are approaching a technological discontinuity, and we target projects that will leverage resulting opportunities or create new ones.
About the residency program Our residency program is a one-year, fully funded program centered on the creation of public goods. We want to provide talented people freedom and support to create new pieces of the machinery of science that are adapted to the era of advanced technology that we’re entering.
This includes non-proprietary infrastructure, tools, standards, hardware, software, or wetware, as well as pre-commercial fundamental research that can enable progress across a field. We support projects before it’s clear whether they will one day become nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, or one-off outputs in the public domain.
Given our focus on public goods during the residency period, Astera will not take equity in projects that spin out although we may ask for follow-on investment rights. On the flip side, residents will be required to assign to Astera any IP generated during the course of their residency, so that Astera has the ability to ensure these are freely and publicly accessible.
We welcome up to 10 new residents to each cohort in Emeryville, California, where we are building a hub for open science, data, and technology. While we don’t strictly define project areas, we are increasingly prioritizing proposals that benefit from our in-house expertise and focus areas. We believe this enables us to better support and synergize with residents both during and after their residency periods.
What we offer to residents: a salary for one year, which typically falls between $125,000-$250,000, commensurate with experience an additional negotiated budget to cover project expenses (e. g. lab, infrastructure, licenses, personnel), which typically falls between $500K-$1.
5M access to compute resources via Voltage Park, a 24,000x H100 cluster the chance to join a community of exceptionally talented individuals operating in an environment optimized for experimentation, collaboration, and the pursuit of ambitious projects for the benefit of humanity Please note that Astera is experimenting outside of traditional publication frameworks.
Residents are expected to share their key learnings (including null and negative results) and products in open, usable forms. Additional guidance is provided through Astera’s open science policy. Learn more about our current residents below.
Our Residents are hungry, dedicated, and opinionated entrepreneurs. They have a theory of change they’re testing, and they’re doing it with urgency. Building brain-like models Studying sunlight reflection to limit climate impact Accessing the health benefits of fermented foods Modeling the Earth’s ice sheets
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: High-agency innovators (scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs) who are willing to work on-site at the Astera campus in Emeryville, California. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Salary of $125,000–$250,000 plus project budget of $500,000–$2,000,000 Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
