It's been nearly two years since our last blog post, and we won't pretend otherwise. The silence wasn't intentional; it was the reality of a small team doing a lot of work.
For a stretch from late 2024 to early 2025, our Executive Director Elizabeth Cooper was running BERI's day-to-day operations largely on her own, managing over 20 active collaborations and laying the groundwork for an organization ready to grow. We're grateful, and a little in awe. Since then, BERI has welcomed Special Projects Manager Lara Lincoln and Program Manager Andreas Pashos. The three of us, along with our fractional bookkeeper Cierra Johnson, have been keeping busy!
The team isn't the only thing that's grown. Since launching our fiscal sponsorship program in mid-2025, we've significantly expanded our range and reach. BERI now supports more than 115 active collaborations across 15 countries, with over 20 employees and dozens of contractors embedded directly with those groups. In 2025, we exceeded $8.26 million in grants, up from $4.94 million in 2024 — a 62.7% increase year over year.
That growth reflects something larger happening in the field. Through conversations with researchers and funders, we're hearing consistent signals: as AI development accelerates toward transformative AI, the philanthropic infrastructure needed to support safety research is expected to grow with it. Funders have signaled their commitment to keeping pace. That means more projects, more researchers, and more demand for the kind of operational support BERI exists to provide.
We're preparing to meet that demand. We've launched our search for a Deputy Director, and we plan to bring on additional operations staff in the coming months, so keep an eye on this space for new job postings.
We also want to be clear about our goals as we look ahead: while AI safety is where much of our current work lives, it isn't the only place we want to grow. BERI's mission has always been broader than any single cause area, and we're actively interested in supporting projects across the full range of existential risk, spanning biosecurity, nuclear deterrence, and other emerging threats to humanity's long-term future.
Finally, we're recommitting to external communications. That means regular updates on our collaborations, our thinking, and the work happening across our network. We have a lot to share, and we're looking forward to sharing it.
It's been nearly two years since our last blog post, and we won't pretend otherwise. The silence wasn't intentional; it was the reality of a small team doing a lot of work.
For a stretch from late 2024 to early 2025, our Executive Director Elizabeth Cooper was running BERI's day-to-day operations largely on her own, managing over 20 active collaborations and laying the groundwork for an organization ready to grow. We're grateful, and a little in awe. Since then, BERI has welcomed Special Projects Manager Lara Lincoln and Program Manager Andreas Pashos. The three of us, along with our fractional bookkeeper Cierra Johnson, have been keeping busy!
The team isn't the only thing that's grown. Since launching our fiscal sponsorship program in mid-2025, we've significantly expanded our range and reach. BERI now supports more than 115 active collaborations across 15 countries, with over 20 employees and dozens of contractors embedded directly with those groups. In 2025, we exceeded $8.26 million in grants, up from $4.94 million in 2024 — a 62.7% increase year over year.
That growth reflects something larger happening in the field. Through conversations with researchers and funders, we're hearing consistent signals: as AI development accelerates toward transformative AI, the philanthropic infrastructure needed to support safety research is expected to grow with it. Funders have signaled their commitment to keeping pace. That means more projects, more researchers, and more demand for the kind of operational support BERI exists to provide.
We're preparing to meet that demand. We've launched our search for a Deputy Director, and we plan to bring on additional operations staff in the coming months, so keep an eye on this space for new job postings.
We also want to be clear about our goals as we look ahead: while AI safety is where much of our current work lives, it isn't the only place we want to grow. BERI's mission has always been broader than any single cause area, and we're actively interested in supporting projects across the full range of existential risk, spanning biosecurity, nuclear deterrence, and other emerging threats to humanity's long-term future.
Finally, we're recommitting to external communications. That means regular updates on our collaborations, our thinking, and the work happening across our network. We have a lot to share, and we're looking forward to sharing it.
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