Hewlett Foundation Announces $10 Million in Grants to Support the Security of Emerging Technologies

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation committed $10 million in exploratory grants focused on the intersection of national security and frontier technologies. Grants support research on AI security and risks, synthetic information warfare and AI-driven persuasion, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, technology supply chain stability, global tech standards development, biotechnology and biosecurity, and quantum computing implications. Initial grants awarded to 13 organizations including Stanford's Hoover Institution Technology Policy Accelerator (Tech Futures Lab), Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security, AI Now Institute, Aspen Institute, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Council on Foreign Relations, Georgetown University, Global Network Initiative, Institute for Security and Technology, Observer Research Foundation America, RAND, and Sentinel Bio. The foundation is actively exploring additional grantmaking in this area.

The Ethics and Governance of AI Fund is a multi-funder coalition that supports applied research on AI bias, fairness, and accountability; educational programs building public understanding of AI; fellowship programs for emerging scholars; and collaborative cross-disciplinary projects on AI policy and governance. The fund channels $27M+ from Knight Foundation, Omidyar Network, Reid Hoffman, the Hewlett Foundation, and Jim Pallotta. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors administers pooled grantmaking; each funder also maintains separate application processes. Funded work includes algorithmic accountability research, AI policy and governance fellowships, civil society capacity-building, and interdisciplinary scholar networks. Strong fit for academics, civil society organizations, journalists, policy think tanks, and law schools researching responsible AI.