Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity, has announced the launch of the Laude Institute, a new AI research initiative backed by $100 million in personal funding, aimed at supporting independent academic research and guiding AI development toward more socially beneficial outcomes.
In a blog post published Monday, Konwinski explained that Laude Institute will operate not as a conventional research lab, but as a grant-style funding vehicle to empower computer scientists at universities and independent centers.
The institute’s board includes leading AI figures such as:
- Prof. David Patterson (UC Berkeley),
- Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist at Google,
- Joelle Pineau, VP of AI Research at Meta.
Laude’s first major grant—$3 million annually for five years—will support the launch of a new “AI Systems Lab” at UC Berkeley, led by Ion Stoica, head of the university’s Sky Computing Lab and co-founder of Databricks and Anyscale.
The lab is set to begin operations in 2027, featuring top researchers in AI and systems.
Konwinski emphasized that the institute’s mission is to empower research led by academic scientists themselves, stating: “We exist to accelerate work that not only advances the field but also directs it toward more beneficial outcomes.”
The announcement comes amid rising concerns over commercial influence on research agendas, particularly after reports that OpenAI funded Epoch, which developed a benchmark later used to unveil its o3 model, even as Epoch’s founder launched a startup aiming to replace all human labor with AI agents.
With Laude Institute, Konwinski aims to rebalance scientific integrity and industry interests by providing a sustainable and independent funding model for academic AI research.