# convergent research: coverage

> what the discourse made of convergent — the launch press, the policy uptake, the funding headlines, the cohort's outputs, and the scene's critiques.

## coverage

- 2021-10-12 — [these 'focused research organizations' are taking on gaps in scientific discovery](https://www.fastcompany.com/90684882/these-focused-research-organizations-are-taking-on-gaps-in-scientific-discovery) (fast company, adele peters) — positive. the unveiling: convergent 'spun out of schmidt futures' with e11 bio and cultivarium named; marblestone's academia-versus-industry gap framing; braverman alongside. the canonical launch-press hit.
- 2021-10-16 — [schmidt futures launches schmidt futures network](https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/schmidt-futures-announces-launch-of-schmidt-futures-network) (philanthropy news digest) — positive. philanthropy trade coverage of the schmidt futures network launch — convergent as its first initiative. dated via the wikipedia citation; the underlying post is thin.
- 2021-10-19 — [fro & parpa: innovating in scientific innovation](https://foresight.org/resource/adam-marblestone-ben-reinhardt-fro-parpa-innovating-in-scientific-innovation/) (foresight institute) — positive. the launch-week foresight session pairing marblestone and reinhardt — the fro and the parpa presented as sibling templates. community-press canonization of the discourse split.
- 2021-10-18 — [selected mentions of the focused research organization (fro) concept online](https://longitudinal.blog/2021/10/18/selected-mentions-of-the-focused-research-organization-fro-concept-online/) (longitudinal science, adam marblestone) — positive. marblestone's own link-log of launch-day fro mentions — 'selected mentions of the fro concept online' — evidence of a coordinated media push, updated into 2025.
- 2021-10 — [focused research organizations](https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/focused-research-organizations) (sam-rodriques.com, sam rodriques) — positive. rodriques' launch-week count — 'in october 2021, three fros were funded by schmidt futures and astera' — the co-inventor's own press log.
- 2021 — [bottlenecks in science and technology workshop](https://nintil.com/bottlenecks-workshop/) (nintil) — positive. the bottlenecks-in-science workshop — marblestone presenting, co-organized with nintil — seeded the connectomics and non-model-microbe examples and the 'mini manhattan projects' framing inside the scene.
- 2022-01-11 — [unblock research bottlenecks with non-profit start-ups](https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00018-5) (nature, marblestone, gamick, kalil, martin, cvitkovic, rodriques) — positive. the nature world view manifesto — six authors, the canonical mainstream-press statement of the model. the deck is the sentence everyone quotes. traction: nature 601:188–190; ~15 citations per the coverage lane
- 2022-08-04 — [a new model for science](https://institute.global/insights/economic-prosperity/a-new-model-for-science) (tony blair institute) — positive. the tbi report with convergent and the entrepreneurs network — 'seal teams for science' — that seeded the uk adoption line: aria, research ventures catalyst, bind. traction: cited by uk strategy work; seeded the aria/rvc line
- 2023-06-15 — [focused research organizations: a new model for scientific research](https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-a-new-model-for-scientific-research/) (federation of american scientists) — positive. the federation of american scientists' standing explainer and fro initiative page — the memo's original home keeps the frame alive as a us competitiveness instrument.
- 2024-09-18 — [can a $1-billion bet transform uk science?](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02995-1) (nature) — mixed. nature's $1b aria feature — 'a great experiment' — covers the uk agency adopting fro-ish structures while questioning whether its bets can land. the fros-as-agency-tool phase begins.
- 2024-07 — [is science's dominant funding model broken?](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02080-7) (nature) — mixed. nature's editorial asks whether the dominant funding model is broken — citing the tbi report and rodriques' cell commentary. legitimizing, but phrased as a question.
- 2025-09-18 — [outsiders: how science's new institutions fund revolutionary research](https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-science-needs-outsiders/) (works in progress) — positive. works in progress' institutional-lineage essay — fros placed on the osrd/bell-labs/janelia family tree. the scene's own historian blesses the design.
- 2025-10-13 — [field notes on moving focused research organizations forward](https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/) (issues in science and technology, marblestone, gamick, wang, fridman) — mixed. the four-year retrospective — candid on milestone rework, founder coaching, and midstream fundraising. reflective, not triumphant. traction: issues in s&t, fall 2025, 42(1):43–48
- 2025-06-06 — [former mit researchers advance a new model for innovation](https://news.mit.edu/2025/former-mit-researchers-advance-new-model-innovation-0606) (mit news) — positive. the mit institutional origin story — 'convergent has supported the creation of 10 fros since its founding in 2021' — the number that anchors the roster count.
- 2025-07-23 — [america's ai action plan](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf) (the white house) — positive. the white house ai action plan recommends long-term agreements with fros for ai-enabled science — the model enters federal policy text.
- 2025-12-12 — [the tech labs moment](https://fas.org/publication/nsf-supercharge-independent-tech-labs/) (fas / wsj / aip / rpn, correa and others) — positive. fas' correa interviews marblestone and rodriques the day nsf announces tech labs — 'fros are now a commonly discussed concept' — plus the wsj's 'most significant experiments in science funding in decades,' aip fyi's notice, and rpn's 'transformational moment' column. traction: nsf tip pilot: up to $1b
- 2026 — [the fight for slow and boring research](https://asteriskmag.com/issues/13/the-fight-for-slow-and-boring-research) (asterisk magazine) — mixed. asterisk's dispatch — fros, arc, and arcadia read as emergency infrastructure while federal research support collapses. sympathetic but situational.
- 2023-03-15 — [schmidt futures and philanthropist ken griffin team up to fund new frontier science](https://www.schmidtfutures.org/schmidt-futures-and-ken-griffin-commit-50-million-to-support-the-next-big-breakthroughs-in-science/) (schmidt futures press) — positive. schmidt futures and ken griffin commit $50m — the first major outside-anchor money beyond the schmidts, earmarked for the next two fros. traction: $50m
- 2023-03-17 — [schmidt futures, ken griffin commit $50 million to fund scientific research](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/) (forbes, alex knapp) — positive. knapp's forbes writeup — eric schmidt quote, the >300-proposal pipeline (reported via convergent), and the philanthropic-moonshot framing at its glossiest. traction: >300 proposals reported via convergent
- 2023-08-07 — [the $50m lands on pti and eve bio](https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/08/07/alzheimers-research-organization-grant/) (northeastern university) — positive. northeastern's confirmation that the $50m lands on pti and eve bio — university press as the roster's paper trail.
- 2023-07-11 — [as billionaires fund more science, not all scientists approve](https://apnews.com/article/quick-grants-science-research-tech-billionaires-9ba9b7296ac226295e9f0cc386308c2c) (associated press / chronicle of philanthropy) — critical. the counterweight: ap/chronicle reporting that 'not all scientists approve' of billionaire-shaped science funding — convergent named among the beneficiaries of schmidt-scale giving.
- 2025-05-15 — [imprint labs announces $15 million in philanthropic funding](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/15/3082090/0/en/Imprint-Labs-Announces-15M-in-Funding-to-Decode-the-Immune-System-Facilitate-Chronic-Disease-Research.html) (pr newswire) — positive. imprint's $15m public launch — the funding release framed as the fro's debut; ted-stage ceo, schmidt + nycedc + reinhardt on the cap table. traction: $15m
- 2026-04-21 — [convergent research and the uk's advanced research + invention agency launch two new focused research organizations](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/convergent-research-and-aria-launch-two-new-uk-focused-research-organizations-302748565.html) (pr newswire) — positive. the uk cohort announcement — meridial (£14m aria award) and echo labs launch in london; the first major expansion outside the us. traction: £14m to meridial
- 2025-02-09 — [barcoding billions of brain cells](https://www.asimov.press/p/barcoding-brains) (asimov press) — positive. asimov press on e11's barcoding bet — 'a mouse connectome in five years for ~$100m' — the portfolio's flagship claim, rendered in the scene's favorite outlet.
- 2025-10-01 — [prism ships](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648) (biorxiv / newswise / core memory) — positive. the prism launch stack — the biorxiv preprint, the newswise release, the e11 blog post, and an ashlee vance podcast interview with payne. the portfolio's most complete public output. traction: >750x label diversity, 8x tracing accuracy
- 2024-12-03 — [the roadmap to a mouse connectome](https://e11.bio/blog/roadmap) (e11 bio / bloomberg) — positive. e11's roadmap release toward 100x-cheaper connectomics, with bloomberg coverage the same day.
- 2025-10 — [prism is suited to partial reconstruction](https://neurobiology.substack.com/p/action-potentials-for-october-89c) (lachlan mckenzie, lachlan mckenzie) — mixed. the technical read of prism — ~49% of cells labeled, roughly one in five labeled neurons sharing barcodes — 'suited to partial reconstruction,' not yet dense connectomics. the caveat ledger for the flagship output.
- 2023-10-24 — [forest neurotech selects butterfly network ultrasound-on-chip technology](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231024884034/en/) (business wire) — positive. the five-year, $20m butterfly network co-development deal — forest described as 'the latest focused research organization to be created as part of convergent research.' traction: $20m over five years
- 2025-01-20 — [ultrasound helmet could help doctors spot brain injuries in minutes](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/20/brain-implant-boost-mood-ultrasound-nhs-trial) (the guardian) — positive. forest 1 inside an nhs trial — the first fro artifact in a national health system.
- 2024-07-10 — [inside the laboratory for extraordinary microbes](https://www.asimov.press/p/cultivarium) (asimov press) — positive. asimov press inside cultivarium — 'the laboratory for extraordinary microbes' — the organism portal, the 106-of-14,000+ statistic, the custom electroporator.
- 2023-07-25 — [the lean fro](https://web.archive.org/web/20241222074338/https:/lean-fro.org/about/) (lean fro / mit news) — positive. the lean fro's launch-and-funders record — simons international, sloan, merkin, founders pledge — and the deepmind imo-silver dependency that made it the portfolio's most quotable tool. traction: deepmind's imo-silver system ran on lean
- 2026-09 — [eve bio's first pharmome release](https://evebio.org/about/) (eve bio) — positive. eve bio's first pharmome data release — 19 nuclear receptors × 1,397 compounds, cc by-nc-sa — the 'public goods' promise with a license attached.
- 2026 — [the mothra array](https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/11/mothra-has-its-eyes-all-1140-them-focused-cosmic-web) (yale news / science) — positive. yale news on mothra, the science news bow-shock feature, and the reported nature paper — dragonfly takes the fro portfolio to astrophysics. traction: nature paper reported june 2026
- 2026-02 — [the chi-fro transition](https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/the-evolution-of-chi-fro) (essential technology) — mixed. the essential tech post on chi-fro's transition to the probabilistic computing foundation — convergent narrating its first non-death outcome.
- 2026-09-07 — [introducing melody](https://anandmuthusamy.substack.com/p/melody-fros-roadmap-for-open-bioelectronics) (melody fro, anand muthusamy) — positive. the founder-authored roadmap post — melody's public launch, pasadena, continuous molecular monitoring.
- 2022 — [the metascience canon](https://scienceplusplus.org/metascience/) (metascience essays, michael nielsen, kanjun qiu) — positive. nielsen and qiu's metascience text — the 'detector-and-predictor' and 'intellectual dark matter' framings that the fro scene keeps quoting back at itself.
- 2022 — [evidence for the new science organizations](https://nintil.com/science-funding-evidence) (nintil, josé ricón) — positive. ricón's genealogy of the new science orgs — convergent filed alongside new science, arcadia, arc, and impetus as the parallel cohort.
- 2022-12 — [new things under the sun on fro](https://mattsclancy.substack.com/p/december-2022-updates) (new things under the sun, matt clancy) — positive. clancy's science-org taxonomy — 'the most interesting new development' — and the corporate-lab analogy the model quietly inherits.
- 2023-01-23 — [early stage funding markets for science](https://nadia.xyz/early-stage-science) (nadia asparouhova, nadia asparouhova) — positive. asparouhova's early-stage-funding-markets read of science — fros as a market-design instrument, priced and analyzed rather than celebrated.
- 2023-06-14 — [three learnings about focused research organizations](https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/three-learnings-about-focused-research-organizations) (sam-rodriques.com, sam rodriques) — mixed. rodriques' three learnings — the insider revising the sunset doctrine in public and insisting the science outranks the metascience experiment.
- 2023-04-11 — [science is a strong-link problem](https://www.experimental-history.com/p/science-is-a-strong-link-problem) (experimental history, adam mastroianni) — mixed. mastroianni's counter-frame — science as a strong-link problem: progress depends on the best work, which funding-structure reform may not reach. applicability to fros is inferred.
- 2025 — [metascience manqué](https://kevinmunger.substack.com/p/metascience-manque) (michael munger, michael munger) — critical. munger's 'metascience manqué' — the skeptical read that the whole institutional-innovation enterprise reproduces the field it critiques.
- 2024 — [making bbns in the 21st century](https://goodscience.substack.com/p/a-scrappy-complement-to-fros-building) (jason buck / ben reinhardt, jason buck, ben reinhardt) — mixed. buck's 'making bbns' — the bottleneck-breaking-network complement, and the sharpest structural critique: fundraising is the bottleneck, and fros leave 'a lot of work and many types of people' uncovered.
- 2024 — [bottling lightning](https://blog.spec.tech/p/bottling-lightning) (ben reinhardt, ben reinhardt) — positive. reinhardt's 'bottling lightning' — with the marblestone quote that the fro structure itself generates ideas that 'wouldn't even have become conceivable' otherwise.
- 2023 — [introducing speculative technologies](https://blog.spec.tech/p/introducing-speculative-technologies) (speculative technologies) — mixed. introducing speculative technologies — the parpa made independent, the contrast case the discourse uses to define what a fro is not.
- 2025 — [astera on bottlenecks](https://asterainstitute.substack.com/p/identifying-systemic-bottlenecks) (astera institute, seemay chou) — positive. seemay chou on astera's bottleneck thesis — calling rejuvenome 'the first fro' they funded and mapping the institute's own fro-adjacent line.
- 2023-07-18 — [the fast grants origin story](https://fortune.com/2023/07/18/billionaires-musk-zuckerberg-thiel-5-minute-phone-call-collison-fast-grants/) (fortune) — mixed. fortune's fast-grants origin story — the covid-era predecessor whose speed made the fro look plausible; scene-setting, not convergent coverage per se.
- 2025-07-03 — [the metascience 2025 dispatches](https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-research-councils-2025-7-aria-to-launch-focused-research-organisation-within-a-year/) (research policy news) — positive. rpn's metascience-2025 column — gamick's aria fro plan at £10–14m per fro and the alliance launch, filed by the scene's trade press.
- 2025 — [the marblestone quotes](https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-adam-marblestone/) (community) — positive. buteau's compiled marblestone quote-file — community folksonomy for the ceo.

## controversies

- 2022– — the schmidt question: convergent is built on schmidt money — created inside schmidt futures, unveiled with it, anchored by it. the same philanthropy's washington footprint drew politico reporting on ostp staff salaries and a house oversight inquiry, while ap/chronicle covered scientists who 'do not approve' of billionaire-shaped science. convergent itself is accused of nothing; kalil co-authored the nature manifesto while sitting at the center of the funder's policy story. reaction: diversification is the stated answer — '30+ individuals and institutions,' per-fro funders from astera and simons to nycedc and gerko's xtx — but the incubator's balance sheet stays schmidt-anchored, and the criticism documents the structure, not wrongdoing. (sources: [eden stiffman](https://apnews.com/article/quick-grants-science-research-tech-billionaires-9ba9b7296ac226295e9f0cc386308c2c), [schmidt futures salaries at ostp](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/28/google-billionaire-joe-biden-science-office-00020712), [verge recap of politico findings](https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/28/22999754/eric-schmidt-google-money-white-house-science-ai-lander), [vox recode analysis of schmidt influence](https://www.vox.com/recode/23001543/eric-schmidt-white-house-office-science-technology-policy-philanthropy-ethical-concerns), [house gop inquiry into schmidt/ostp ties](https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-04-26-WHCO-OSTP-funding.pdf), [correa interviews marblestone & rodriques](https://fas.org/publication/nsf-supercharge-independent-tech-labs/), [convergentresearch.org](https://www.convergentresearch.org/about))
- 2023– — the missing counterfactual: nobody has measured a fro against the counterfactual: no randomized or matched comparison against equivalent grant or arpa spending. buck's bbns critique is structural — fundraising is the bottleneck, narrow time-bound scopes leave 'a lot of work and many types of people' uncovered, and the field's alternative-funder wave risks reproducing the credentialing networks it critiques. reaction: convergent's own field notes concede the operational half — milestones needed redesigning, founders needed coaches — while the empirical question stays open. (sources: [create variation evaluation argument](https://goodscienceproject.org/articles/advice-for-new-scientific-agencies-arpa-h-aria-nsf-tip-etc/), [stuart buck: fro fundraising bottleneck](https://goodscience.substack.com/p/a-scrappy-complement-to-fros-building), [reinhardt on gilliams bbn piece](https://blog.spec.tech/p/making-bbns-in-the-21st-century), [critique: alternative funders reproduce credentialing barriers](https://goodscience.substack.com/p/the-slow-cancellation-of-innovation), [fall 2025 retrospective](https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/))
- 2025– — public goods, partially: 'public goods' arrives with licenses: prism's preprint is cc-by-nc, e11's addgene plasmids are restricted to non-commercial use, and eve bio's pharmome data ships cc by-nc-sa. the public-interest rationale is explicit, but the outputs stop short of public domain. reaction: the portfolio's own pages mark the licenses rather than hide them; whether non-commercial terms satisfy 'public goods' is the live argument. (sources: [prism paper](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648), [full prism release](https://www.e11.bio/blog/prism), [eve bio est](https://evebio.org/about/))
- 2023–2026 — the sunset question: the sunset doctrine wobbled: the 5–7-year limit 'generated more concern than expected,' rodriques publicly revised it — fros 'should be free to grow' — and chi-fro's february 2026 move to the probabilistic computing foundation is the first non-death outcome, with its governance mechanics undisclosed. reaction: the doctrine now reads 'transition to a home in .org, .gov, or .com' — but only one fro has actually crossed that bridge, so the endgame remains a design claim. (sources: [insider self-critique](https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/three-learnings-about-focused-research-organizations), [chi-fro at convergent 2023–2025 → transitioned to probabilistic computing foundation](https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/the-evolution-of-chi-fro), [fall 2025 retrospective](https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/))
- 2021– — the self-reported ledger: the headline numbers are self-reported: 'almost $400m' from '30+ individuals and institutions,' 'almost a dozen subsidiary fros,' '>300 fro proposals,' '~90–100' uk applications, 'nobel laureates approach us.' per-fro budgets are undisclosed beyond the $20–50m design range; e11's own establishment year is reported two different ways. reaction: this dossier labels self-reported figures rather than reconciling them — the ledger says what convergent says about itself, flagged accordingly. (sources: [convergentresearch.org](https://www.convergentresearch.org/about), [$50m schmidt+griffin](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/), [~90+ proposals](https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/inside-the-uk-fro-founder-residency), [fall 2025 retrospective](https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/), [convergentresearch.org](https://www.convergentresearch.org/ecosystem/e11-bio), [launched in 2022 (self-reported variance)](https://www.e11.bio/fro))

## sentiment eras

- 2019–2020 — the wonkish origin (positive): thesis chapter and day one memo circulate inside wonkish channels — positive, small-audience, pre-institutional. (sources: [mit physics phd](https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/123401), [rodriques & marblestone, day one project/fas](https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Focused-Research-Organizations-to-Accelerate-Science-Technology-and-Medicine.pdf), [rodriques & marblestone fro white paper (day one project](https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-to-accelerate-science-technology-and-medicine/))
- 2021–2022 — the launch glow (positive): fast company, the schmidt futures network, the foresight fro/parpa pairing, the nature manifesto, and the tbi report — a coordinated and warm reception. (sources: [public unveiling](https://www.fastcompany.com/90684882/these-focused-research-organizations-are-taking-on-gaps-in-scientific-discovery), [schmidt futures network launch](https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/schmidt-futures-announces-launch-of-schmidt-futures-network), [marblestone+reinhardt joint session](https://foresight.org/resource/adam-marblestone-ben-reinhardt-fro-parpa-innovating-in-scientific-innovation/), [nature 601:188–190 comment, six authors](https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00018-5), [tbi + entrepreneurs network + convergent](https://assets.ctfassets.net/75ila1cntaeh/2L8JGwTxO5DYQRKW11NLTw/4482c7b89b5351b3a702ec0dde69afa2/A_2BNew_2BModel_2Bfor_2BScience_1.pdf))
- 2023 — money and scrutiny (mixed): the $50m headline lands the same year as the ap/chronicle billionaire-science skepticism, the politico ostp story, and rodriques' own public self-critique — money and scrutiny arrive together. (sources: [$50m commitment (pti + eve bio)](https://www.schmidtfutures.org/schmidt-futures-and-ken-griffin-commit-50-million-to-support-the-next-big-breakthroughs-in-science/), [$50m schmidt+griffin](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/), [eden stiffman](https://apnews.com/article/quick-grants-science-research-tech-billionaires-9ba9b7296ac226295e9f0cc386308c2c), [schmidt futures salaries at ostp](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/28/google-billionaire-joe-biden-science-office-00020712), [insider self-critique](https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/three-learnings-about-focused-research-organizations))
- 2024–mid-2025 — the first outputs (positive): the cohort produces things the press can photograph — cultivarium's portal, [c]worthy's map, e11's roadmap, forest 1 in the nhs, imprint's launch, the mit news canonization. (sources: [cultivarium profile](https://www.asimov.press/p/cultivarium), [convergentresearch.org](https://www.convergentresearch.org/ecosystem/cworthy), [e11 connectomics roadmap](https://e11.bio/blog/roadmap), [forest neurotech device in nhs trial](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/20/brain-implant-boost-mood-ultrasound-nhs-trial), [imprint $15m launch](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/15/3082090/0/en/Imprint-Labs-Announces-15M-in-Funding-to-Decode-the-Immune-System-Facilitate-Chronic-Disease-Research.html), [mit origin story](https://news.mit.edu/2025/former-mit-researchers-advance-new-model-innovation-0606))
- mid-2025–2025 — the institutionalization (positive): metascience 2025 and the aria fro plan, the ai action plan, the x-labs proposal, the issues field notes, and nsf tech labs — the model stops being a pitch and starts being policy. (sources: [gamick at metascience 2025 (jul 2)](https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-research-councils-2025-7-aria-to-launch-focused-research-organisation-within-a-year/), [recommends fro agreements for ai-enabled science](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf), [ifp/watney x-labs (x02/x03) proposal](https://www.rebuilding.tech/posts/launching-x-labs-for-transformative-science-funding), [fall 2025 retrospective](https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/), [nsf tip tech labs rfi](https://www.nsf.gov/news/nsf-announces-new-initiative-launch-scale-new-generation))
- 2026– — the spread (positive): chi-fro's transition, mothra's nature paper, the uk cohort, and melody — the ecosystem spreads beyond the original schmidt-anchored container, and the coverage follows the spread. (sources: [chi-fro at convergent 2023–2025 → transitioned to probabilistic computing foundation](https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/the-evolution-of-chi-fro), [science news on mothra nature paper](https://www.science.org/content/article/new-telescope-reveals-missing-link-cosmic-recycling-matter), [meridial (£14m) + echo labs launch](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/convergent-research-and-aria-launch-two-new-uk-focused-research-organizations-302748565.html), [melody fro public launch](https://anandmuthusamy.substack.com/p/melody-fros-roadmap-for-open-bioelectronics))

AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.

Canonical page: https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage


Published by @ben in profile revision 1.
Original document: https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage
Original credited author: Hraness
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.

## Structured source and record data

````json
{"anchors":[{"id":"launch","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","title":"the launch"},{"id":"policy","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","title":"the policy uptake"},{"id":"funding","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","title":"the funding headlines"},{"id":"fro-cohort","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","title":"the fro cohort"},{"id":"scene","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","title":"the scene's debate"},{"id":"controversies","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#controversies","title":"controversies"},{"id":"eras","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#eras","title":"sentiment eras"}],"provenance":{"draftingDisclosure":"AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.","originalAuthor":"Hraness","originalRevision":"b466f0ae9b1cf1e0a8bbaf4409af258c8564e72a4da71b8d9b9e6a3e48499a39","originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","source":"hraness"},"records":[{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2022–"},"id":"record-acc48bf4f91acaa52456","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-controversies","label":"the schmidt question","original":{"date":"2022–","detail":"convergent is built on schmidt money — created inside schmidt futures, unveiled with it, anchored by it. the same philanthropy's washington footprint drew politico reporting on ostp staff salaries and a house oversight inquiry, while ap/chronicle covered scientists who 'do not approve' of billionaire-shaped science. convergent itself is accused of nothing; kalil co-authored the nature manifesto while sitting at the center of the funder's policy story.","id":"cty-funder-concentration","reaction":"diversification is the stated answer — '30+ individuals and institutions,' per-fro funders from astera and simons to nycedc and gerko's xtx — but the incubator's balance sheet stays schmidt-anchored, and the criticism documents the structure, not wrongdoing.","sourceIds":["src-ci-ap-chronicle","src-ci-politico-ostp","src-ci-verge-ostp","src-ci-vox-ostp","src-ci-house-oversight","src-ci-fas-techlabs","src-hp-convergent-about"],"title":"the schmidt question"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-00d0b0c07516a6834134","source-6e03cdf7f3b43d9fdcfc","source-c5130c8b877ed7966a5e","source-ddf1279557d308f4064c","source-6c11b1bc78cdbb199e97","source-ba2ae55466b3c1177ebe","source-f11a856eeed600b27f56"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2023–"},"id":"record-acf40403e3cef59865d6","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-controversies","label":"the missing counterfactual","original":{"date":"2023–","detail":"nobody has measured a fro against the counterfactual: no randomized or matched comparison against equivalent grant or arpa spending. buck's bbns critique is structural — fundraising is the bottleneck, narrow time-bound scopes leave 'a lot of work and many types of people' uncovered, and the field's alternative-funder wave risks reproducing the credentialing networks it critiques.","id":"cty-evaluation-gap","reaction":"convergent's own field notes concede the operational half — milestones needed redesigning, founders needed coaches — while the empirical question stays open.","sourceIds":["src-ci-buck-advice","src-ci-buck-bbn","src-ci-reinhardt-bbn","src-ci-buck-slowcancel","src-hp-issues-field-notes"],"title":"the missing counterfactual"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-4a73c3a36d9a31800f29","source-78e3250cd36b9c6d7a16","source-9a74187eafc80b788dd0","source-314cb7eb81fd063c5ff7","source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2025–"},"id":"record-2b660fb978725554a531","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-controversies","label":"public goods, partially","original":{"date":"2025–","detail":"'public goods' arrives with licenses: prism's preprint is cc-by-nc, e11's addgene plasmids are restricted to non-commercial use, and eve bio's pharmome data ships cc by-nc-sa. the public-interest rationale is explicit, but the outputs stop short of public domain.","id":"cty-openness","reaction":"the portfolio's own pages mark the licenses rather than hide them; whether non-commercial terms satisfy 'public goods' is the live argument.","sourceIds":["src-ci-biorxiv-prism","src-ci-e11-prism-blog","src-ci-evebio-about"],"title":"public goods, partially"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-2caa4b53de91b1074869","source-faa9605157a9e9fc8ea8","source-5e3558703a891f4a8c0f"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2023–2026"},"id":"record-62db635735079e2b64b4","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-controversies","label":"the sunset question","original":{"date":"2023–2026","detail":"the sunset doctrine wobbled: the 5–7-year limit 'generated more concern than expected,' rodriques publicly revised it — fros 'should be free to grow' — and chi-fro's february 2026 move to the probabilistic computing foundation is the first non-death outcome, with its governance mechanics undisclosed.","id":"cty-sunset","reaction":"the doctrine now reads 'transition to a home in .org, .gov, or .com' — but only one fro has actually crossed that bridge, so the endgame remains a design claim.","sourceIds":["src-ci-rodriques-learnings","src-ci-chifro-evolution","src-hp-issues-field-notes"],"title":"the sunset question"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-0029c74ed8dcbc52de07","source-277740b62ff5293edb8d","source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2021–"},"id":"record-b6a8cf5d3a9065870df6","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-controversies","label":"the self-reported ledger","original":{"date":"2021–","detail":"the headline numbers are self-reported: 'almost $400m' from '30+ individuals and institutions,' 'almost a dozen subsidiary fros,' '>300 fro proposals,' '~90–100' uk applications, 'nobel laureates approach us.' per-fro budgets are undisclosed beyond the $20–50m design range; e11's own establishment year is reported two different ways.","id":"cty-self-reported","reaction":"this dossier labels self-reported figures rather than reconciling them — the ledger says what convergent says about itself, flagged accordingly.","sourceIds":["src-hp-convergent-about","src-hp-forbes-50m","src-hp-uk-residency-post","src-hp-issues-field-notes","src-hp-e11-page","src-hp-e11-fro-page"],"title":"the self-reported ledger"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-f11a856eeed600b27f56","source-5492313033c3fa58d697","source-ce3e863fc68a5c4253ab","source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5","source-05c84396f4a6a69f9af8","source-92c7789a54949097dce6"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-12"},"id":"record-74a9e80169c30f6311fc","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"these 'focused research organizations' are taking on gaps in scientific discovery","original":{"author":"adele peters","date":"2021-10-12","gist":"the unveiling: convergent 'spun out of schmidt futures' with e11 bio and cultivarium named; marblestone's academia-versus-industry gap framing; braverman alongside. the canonical launch-press hit.","id":"cov-fastcompany-launch","publisher":"fast company","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-fastcompany-launch"],"title":"these 'focused research organizations' are taking on gaps in scientific discovery","traction":null,"url":"https://www.fastcompany.com/90684882/these-focused-research-organizations-are-taking-on-gaps-in-scientific-discovery"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-457c49a7bd97bafe33e5"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-16"},"id":"record-ba2934d6fb83863f9375","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"schmidt futures launches schmidt futures network","original":{"author":null,"date":"2021-10-16","gist":"philanthropy trade coverage of the schmidt futures network launch — convergent as its first initiative. dated via the wikipedia citation; the underlying post is thin.","id":"cov-sfn-pnd","publisher":"philanthropy news digest","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-sfn-pnd","src-hp-wikipedia"],"title":"schmidt futures launches schmidt futures network","traction":null,"url":"https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/schmidt-futures-announces-launch-of-schmidt-futures-network"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-f587d1877727ee6c095f","source-441b26fdcf5c89c0841a"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-19"},"id":"record-8b82bbe470144dee3d33","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"fro & parpa: innovating in scientific innovation","original":{"author":null,"date":"2021-10-19","gist":"the launch-week foresight session pairing marblestone and reinhardt — the fro and the parpa presented as sibling templates. community-press canonization of the discourse split.","id":"cov-foresight-parpa","publisher":"foresight institute","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-foresight-fro-parpa"],"title":"fro & parpa: innovating in scientific innovation","traction":null,"url":"https://foresight.org/resource/adam-marblestone-ben-reinhardt-fro-parpa-innovating-in-scientific-innovation/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-e4a7af1219074f87de40"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-18"},"id":"record-718b19be245272213f00","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"selected mentions of the focused research organization (fro) concept online","original":{"author":"adam marblestone","date":"2021-10-18","gist":"marblestone's own link-log of launch-day fro mentions — 'selected mentions of the fro concept online' — evidence of a coordinated media push, updated into 2025.","id":"cov-longitudinal","publisher":"longitudinal science","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-longitudinal"],"title":"selected mentions of the focused research organization (fro) concept online","traction":null,"url":"https://longitudinal.blog/2021/10/18/selected-mentions-of-the-focused-research-organization-fro-concept-online/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-bd16220a3b07464e1e22"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2021-10"},"id":"record-86eb37dafd61a4061248","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"focused research organizations","original":{"author":"sam rodriques","date":"2021-10","gist":"rodriques' launch-week count — 'in october 2021, three fros were funded by schmidt futures and astera' — the co-inventor's own press log.","id":"cov-rodriques-count","publisher":"sam-rodriques.com","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-sam-rodriques-post"],"title":"focused research organizations","traction":null,"url":"https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/focused-research-organizations"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-e336dc7886241fce60e4"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2021"},"id":"record-2f447845dd3243e07081","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"bottlenecks in science and technology workshop","original":{"author":null,"date":"2021","gist":"the bottlenecks-in-science workshop — marblestone presenting, co-organized with nintil — seeded the connectomics and non-model-microbe examples and the 'mini manhattan projects' framing inside the scene.","id":"cov-nintil-workshop","publisher":"nintil","section":"launch","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-nintil-workshop"],"title":"bottlenecks in science and technology workshop","traction":null,"url":"https://nintil.com/bottlenecks-workshop/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#launch","sourceIds":["source-edf95d302a5d34466854"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-01-11"},"id":"record-cf7a9a2438a4e5031903","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"unblock research bottlenecks with non-profit start-ups","original":{"author":"marblestone, gamick, kalil, martin, cvitkovic, rodriques","date":"2022-01-11","gist":"the nature world view manifesto — six authors, the canonical mainstream-press statement of the model. the deck is the sentence everyone quotes.","id":"cov-nature-worldview","publisher":"nature","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-nature-comment"],"title":"unblock research bottlenecks with non-profit start-ups","traction":"nature 601:188–190; ~15 citations per the coverage lane","url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00018-5"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-840ce11275af9aa98871"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-08-04"},"id":"record-ce7b7474089a4dee09f6","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"a new model for science","original":{"author":null,"date":"2022-08-04","gist":"the tbi report with convergent and the entrepreneurs network — 'seal teams for science' — that seeded the uk adoption line: aria, research ventures catalyst, bind.","id":"cov-tbi-report","publisher":"tony blair institute","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-tbi-new-model","src-ci-ten-newmodel","src-hp-tbi-whats-your-fro"],"title":"a new model for science","traction":"cited by uk strategy work; seeded the aria/rvc line","url":"https://institute.global/insights/economic-prosperity/a-new-model-for-science"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-675fb3f698b6c0bbe66d","source-180f57619d4442ebe02d","source-f397e3502764b7d90a10"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-06-15"},"id":"record-c7b9ee8c0d6be25144d5","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"focused research organizations: a new model for scientific research","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-06-15","gist":"the federation of american scientists' standing explainer and fro initiative page — the memo's original home keeps the frame alive as a us competitiveness instrument.","id":"cov-fas-model","publisher":"federation of american scientists","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-fas-model","src-hp-fas-new-model"],"title":"focused research organizations: a new model for scientific research","traction":null,"url":"https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-a-new-model-for-scientific-research/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-7363b4aa0b65b9e1d7b7","source-b45d5e27b43aee4d8b95"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-09-18"},"id":"record-f7906a96c7083959eec4","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"can a $1-billion bet transform uk science?","original":{"author":null,"date":"2024-09-18","gist":"nature's $1b aria feature — 'a great experiment' — covers the uk agency adopting fro-ish structures while questioning whether its bets can land. the fros-as-agency-tool phase begins.","id":"cov-nature-aria","publisher":"nature","section":"policy","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-nature-aria"],"title":"can a $1-billion bet transform uk science?","traction":null,"url":"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02995-1"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-7db22cc7c4b3ca1783d4"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2024-07"},"id":"record-f4f2dc8c93e97d1dfe05","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"is science's dominant funding model broken?","original":{"author":null,"date":"2024-07","gist":"nature's editorial asks whether the dominant funding model is broken — citing the tbi report and rodriques' cell commentary. legitimizing, but phrased as a question.","id":"cov-nature-editorial","publisher":"nature","section":"policy","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-hp-nature-editorial-2024"],"title":"is science's dominant funding model broken?","traction":null,"url":"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02080-7"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-23081b2ff16e99b8b833"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-09-18"},"id":"record-4d1c63d5974420d26e9f","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"outsiders: how science's new institutions fund revolutionary research","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-09-18","gist":"works in progress' institutional-lineage essay — fros placed on the osrd/bell-labs/janelia family tree. the scene's own historian blesses the design.","id":"cov-wip-outsiders","publisher":"works in progress","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-wip-outsiders"],"title":"outsiders: how science's new institutions fund revolutionary research","traction":null,"url":"https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-science-needs-outsiders/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-bb81b880ba64a17f674f"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-13"},"id":"record-25e2f33c89a14fcd5cfd","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"field notes on moving focused research organizations forward","original":{"author":"marblestone, gamick, wang, fridman","date":"2025-10-13","gist":"the four-year retrospective — candid on milestone rework, founder coaching, and midstream fundraising. reflective, not triumphant.","id":"cov-field-notes","publisher":"issues in science and technology","section":"policy","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-hp-issues-field-notes"],"title":"field notes on moving focused research organizations forward","traction":"issues in s&t, fall 2025, 42(1):43–48","url":"https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-06-06"},"id":"record-2747e0cd2987768dc081","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"former mit researchers advance a new model for innovation","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-06-06","gist":"the mit institutional origin story — 'convergent has supported the creation of 10 fros since its founding in 2021' — the number that anchors the roster count.","id":"cov-mit-news","publisher":"mit news","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-mit-news"],"title":"former mit researchers advance a new model for innovation","traction":null,"url":"https://news.mit.edu/2025/former-mit-researchers-advance-new-model-innovation-0606"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-308cc92a0997644c16c4"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-07-23"},"id":"record-1f73fa06332f5e587597","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"america's ai action plan","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-07-23","gist":"the white house ai action plan recommends long-term agreements with fros for ai-enabled science — the model enters federal policy text.","id":"cov-ai-action-plan","publisher":"the white house","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-ai-action-plan","src-hp-issues-field-notes"],"title":"america's ai action plan","traction":null,"url":"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-e1baac9fa50e215e2f73","source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-12-12"},"id":"record-d7663e54ecebb82490f7","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the tech labs moment","original":{"author":"correa and others","date":"2025-12-12","gist":"fas' correa interviews marblestone and rodriques the day nsf announces tech labs — 'fros are now a commonly discussed concept' — plus the wsj's 'most significant experiments in science funding in decades,' aip fyi's notice, and rpn's 'transformational moment' column.","id":"cov-nsf-techlabs","publisher":"fas / wsj / aip / rpn","section":"policy","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-fas-techlabs","src-ci-wsj-techlabs","src-ci-aip-techlabs","src-ci-rpn-techlabs","src-ci-nsf-techlabs"],"title":"the tech labs moment","traction":"nsf tip pilot: up to $1b","url":"https://fas.org/publication/nsf-supercharge-independent-tech-labs/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-ba2ae55466b3c1177ebe","source-e51bb94d367ff20c3157","source-c3f8b33f0acbd9d9a10f","source-36d73bc09f75137daa03","source-1781d4a34a675e9dd64e"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2026"},"id":"record-4db8ba038674c07476c4","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the fight for slow and boring research","original":{"author":null,"date":"2026","gist":"asterisk's dispatch — fros, arc, and arcadia read as emergency infrastructure while federal research support collapses. sympathetic but situational.","id":"cov-asterisk","publisher":"asterisk magazine","section":"policy","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-asterisk-slowboring"],"title":"the fight for slow and boring research","traction":null,"url":"https://asteriskmag.com/issues/13/the-fight-for-slow-and-boring-research"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#policy","sourceIds":["source-a3d1c19e480f4c8d8b51"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-03-15"},"id":"record-564b8ab287e31c284eeb","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"schmidt futures and philanthropist ken griffin team up to fund new frontier science","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-03-15","gist":"schmidt futures and ken griffin commit $50m — the first major outside-anchor money beyond the schmidts, earmarked for the next two fros.","id":"cov-schmidt-50m","publisher":"schmidt futures press","section":"funding","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-schmidt-50m"],"title":"schmidt futures and philanthropist ken griffin team up to fund new frontier science","traction":"$50m","url":"https://www.schmidtfutures.org/schmidt-futures-and-ken-griffin-commit-50-million-to-support-the-next-big-breakthroughs-in-science/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-d1fa63ed5b38cdaa8b95"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-03-17"},"id":"record-bd37c8b286b66d16219e","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"schmidt futures, ken griffin commit $50 million to fund scientific research","original":{"author":"alex knapp","date":"2023-03-17","gist":"knapp's forbes writeup — eric schmidt quote, the >300-proposal pipeline (reported via convergent), and the philanthropic-moonshot framing at its glossiest.","id":"cov-forbes-50m","publisher":"forbes","section":"funding","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-forbes-50m","src-hp-leaders-50m"],"title":"schmidt futures, ken griffin commit $50 million to fund scientific research","traction":">300 proposals reported via convergent","url":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-5492313033c3fa58d697","source-68cf1ccc482475429d80"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-08-07"},"id":"record-df057feab8b9c7853706","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the $50m lands on pti and eve bio","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-08-07","gist":"northeastern's confirmation that the $50m lands on pti and eve bio — university press as the roster's paper trail.","id":"cov-northeastern","publisher":"northeastern university","section":"funding","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-northeastern-50m"],"title":"the $50m lands on pti and eve bio","traction":null,"url":"https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/08/07/alzheimers-research-organization-grant/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-6a4de2e933b854a17a6b"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-11"},"id":"record-143511d67bfc8b3c5561","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"as billionaires fund more science, not all scientists approve","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-07-11","gist":"the counterweight: ap/chronicle reporting that 'not all scientists approve' of billionaire-shaped science funding — convergent named among the beneficiaries of schmidt-scale giving.","id":"cov-ap-chronicle","publisher":"associated press / chronicle of philanthropy","section":"funding","sentiment":"critical","sourceIds":["src-ci-ap-chronicle"],"title":"as billionaires fund more science, not all scientists approve","traction":null,"url":"https://apnews.com/article/quick-grants-science-research-tech-billionaires-9ba9b7296ac226295e9f0cc386308c2c"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-00d0b0c07516a6834134"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-05-15"},"id":"record-717152e28c1a496e1799","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"imprint labs announces $15 million in philanthropic funding","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-05-15","gist":"imprint's $15m public launch — the funding release framed as the fro's debut; ted-stage ceo, schmidt + nycedc + reinhardt on the cap table.","id":"cov-imprint-launch","publisher":"pr newswire","section":"funding","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-imprint-launch","src-ci-biotechgrid-imprint"],"title":"imprint labs announces $15 million in philanthropic funding","traction":"$15m","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/15/3082090/0/en/Imprint-Labs-Announces-15M-in-Funding-to-Decode-the-Immune-System-Facilitate-Chronic-Disease-Research.html"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-3f462ba6064a3a8fc10a","source-2d6384ee28bf37af02b1"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-04-21"},"id":"record-e27816c1ad5535e8abf5","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"convergent research and the uk's advanced research + invention agency launch two new focused research organizations","original":{"author":null,"date":"2026-04-21","gist":"the uk cohort announcement — meridial (£14m aria award) and echo labs launch in london; the first major expansion outside the us.","id":"cov-uk-fros","publisher":"pr newswire","section":"funding","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-prnewswire-uk-fros","src-hp-prnewswire-uk-fros"],"title":"convergent research and the uk's advanced research + invention agency launch two new focused research organizations","traction":"£14m to meridial","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/convergent-research-and-aria-launch-two-new-uk-focused-research-organizations-302748565.html"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#funding","sourceIds":["source-6aa4636643b89f4ba252","source-1be841d427bf6fdefad5"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-02-09"},"id":"record-63e206a4972778167c27","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"barcoding billions of brain cells","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-02-09","gist":"asimov press on e11's barcoding bet — 'a mouse connectome in five years for ~$100m' — the portfolio's flagship claim, rendered in the scene's favorite outlet.","id":"cov-asimov-barcoding","publisher":"asimov press","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-asimov-barcoding"],"title":"barcoding billions of brain cells","traction":null,"url":"https://www.asimov.press/p/barcoding-brains"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-5e92556050373913c36d"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-01"},"id":"record-cce01b6e386d9bcbd1f1","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"prism ships","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-10-01","gist":"the prism launch stack — the biorxiv preprint, the newswise release, the e11 blog post, and an ashlee vance podcast interview with payne. the portfolio's most complete public output.","id":"cov-prism","publisher":"biorxiv / newswise / core memory","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-biorxiv-prism","src-ci-newswise-prism","src-ci-e11-prism-blog","src-ci-corememory-payne"],"title":"prism ships","traction":">750x label diversity, 8x tracing accuracy","url":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-2caa4b53de91b1074869","source-79406bb74aa608e08186","source-faa9605157a9e9fc8ea8","source-97f5975ebb5854a516b1"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-12-03"},"id":"record-223a4df700432e432d0a","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the roadmap to a mouse connectome","original":{"author":null,"date":"2024-12-03","gist":"e11's roadmap release toward 100x-cheaper connectomics, with bloomberg coverage the same day.","id":"cov-e11-roadmap","publisher":"e11 bio / bloomberg","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-e11-roadmap","src-hp-bloomberg-e11"],"title":"the roadmap to a mouse connectome","traction":null,"url":"https://e11.bio/blog/roadmap"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-6b8cc7fd179185bc8cd5","source-2a840f2d8c99d7cb0e8d"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2025-10"},"id":"record-f3532baeef4c33607753","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"prism is suited to partial reconstruction","original":{"author":"lachlan mckenzie","date":"2025-10","gist":"the technical read of prism — ~49% of cells labeled, roughly one in five labeled neurons sharing barcodes — 'suited to partial reconstruction,' not yet dense connectomics. the caveat ledger for the flagship output.","id":"cov-mckenzie-prism","publisher":"lachlan mckenzie","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-mckenzie-prism"],"title":"prism is suited to partial reconstruction","traction":null,"url":"https://neurobiology.substack.com/p/action-potentials-for-october-89c"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-d1c0be8f6ab607024d02"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-10-24"},"id":"record-63adf05f9d7d61f17396","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"forest neurotech selects butterfly network ultrasound-on-chip technology","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-10-24","gist":"the five-year, $20m butterfly network co-development deal — forest described as 'the latest focused research organization to be created as part of convergent research.'","id":"cov-butterfly-forest","publisher":"business wire","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-butterfly-forest"],"title":"forest neurotech selects butterfly network ultrasound-on-chip technology","traction":"$20m over five years","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231024884034/en/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-a8d16964a7905076435e"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-01-20"},"id":"record-b5a9ba98db1195834b4a","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"ultrasound helmet could help doctors spot brain injuries in minutes","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-01-20","gist":"forest 1 inside an nhs trial — the first fro artifact in a national health system.","id":"cov-guardian-forest","publisher":"the guardian","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-guardian-forest"],"title":"ultrasound helmet could help doctors spot brain injuries in minutes","traction":null,"url":"https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/20/brain-implant-boost-mood-ultrasound-nhs-trial"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-71618194aef33c5ec8df"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-07-10"},"id":"record-9fc8dad2a23fea4ce780","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"inside the laboratory for extraordinary microbes","original":{"author":null,"date":"2024-07-10","gist":"asimov press inside cultivarium — 'the laboratory for extraordinary microbes' — the organism portal, the 106-of-14,000+ statistic, the custom electroporator.","id":"cov-asimov-cultivarium","publisher":"asimov press","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-asimov-cultivarium","src-ci-cultivarium-atcc","src-ci-asimov-electroporation"],"title":"inside the laboratory for extraordinary microbes","traction":null,"url":"https://www.asimov.press/p/cultivarium"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-5978d2baeb41fc3e5fd0","source-458ee7906ae20213f22a","source-3c691aae82405c355313"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-25"},"id":"record-aa6169ca05f1243f44f2","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the lean fro","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-07-25","gist":"the lean fro's launch-and-funders record — simons international, sloan, merkin, founders pledge — and the deepmind imo-silver dependency that made it the portfolio's most quotable tool.","id":"cov-lean","publisher":"lean fro / mit news","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-leanfro","src-hp-mit-news"],"title":"the lean fro","traction":"deepmind's imo-silver system ran on lean","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20241222074338/https:/lean-fro.org/about/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-cf3779b30c09f5960ad9","source-308cc92a0997644c16c4"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2026-09"},"id":"record-5c98031d86790e8de2a9","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"eve bio's first pharmome release","original":{"author":null,"date":"2026-09","gist":"eve bio's first pharmome data release — 19 nuclear receptors × 1,397 compounds, cc by-nc-sa — the 'public goods' promise with a license attached.","id":"cov-evebio-data","publisher":"eve bio","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-evebio-about"],"title":"eve bio's first pharmome release","traction":null,"url":"https://evebio.org/about/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-5e3558703a891f4a8c0f"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2026"},"id":"record-ca370275e5be582c01c0","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the mothra array","original":{"author":null,"date":"2026","gist":"yale news on mothra, the science news bow-shock feature, and the reported nature paper — dragonfly takes the fro portfolio to astrophysics.","id":"cov-mothra","publisher":"yale news / science","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-yale-mothra","src-ci-science-mothra","src-ci-linkedin-dragonfly"],"title":"the mothra array","traction":"nature paper reported june 2026","url":"https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/11/mothra-has-its-eyes-all-1140-them-focused-cosmic-web"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-4ca096b88d511fb13674","source-65a269a42ef1bc7ab58f","source-54779d89b128d5eae5bb"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2026-02"},"id":"record-1755f370dc4d0eec30c8","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the chi-fro transition","original":{"author":null,"date":"2026-02","gist":"the essential tech post on chi-fro's transition to the probabilistic computing foundation — convergent narrating its first non-death outcome.","id":"cov-chifro-evolution","publisher":"essential technology","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-chifro-evolution","src-hp-chi-page"],"title":"the chi-fro transition","traction":null,"url":"https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/the-evolution-of-chi-fro"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-277740b62ff5293edb8d","source-0e60c9b5d28c63b7ea9a"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-07"},"id":"record-6ba6479506bcf46c4d53","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"introducing melody","original":{"author":"anand muthusamy","date":"2026-09-07","gist":"the founder-authored roadmap post — melody's public launch, pasadena, continuous molecular monitoring.","id":"cov-melody","publisher":"melody fro","section":"fro-cohort","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-melody-fro","src-hp-melody-site"],"title":"introducing melody","traction":null,"url":"https://anandmuthusamy.substack.com/p/melody-fros-roadmap-for-open-bioelectronics"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#fro-cohort","sourceIds":["source-e9c0511a5f0962105201","source-a0396412d499d4f39c9d"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2022"},"id":"record-9c5eaf46dc7122c2ff94","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the metascience canon","original":{"author":"michael nielsen, kanjun qiu","date":"2022","gist":"nielsen and qiu's metascience text — the 'detector-and-predictor' and 'intellectual dark matter' framings that the fro scene keeps quoting back at itself.","id":"cov-nielsen-qiu","publisher":"metascience essays","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-nielsen-qiu"],"title":"the metascience canon","traction":null,"url":"https://scienceplusplus.org/metascience/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-ffc0656f7de522964dfb"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2022"},"id":"record-dc164b7a12eedc597249","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"evidence for the new science organizations","original":{"author":"josé ricón","date":"2022","gist":"ricón's genealogy of the new science orgs — convergent filed alongside new science, arcadia, arc, and impetus as the parallel cohort.","id":"cov-nintil-evidence","publisher":"nintil","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-nintil-evidence"],"title":"evidence for the new science organizations","traction":null,"url":"https://nintil.com/science-funding-evidence"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-75dbb1fc5e034773f488"]},{"date":{"precision":"month","text":"2022-12"},"id":"record-2f1304496f4f573a8628","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"new things under the sun on fro","original":{"author":"matt clancy","date":"2022-12","gist":"clancy's science-org taxonomy — 'the most interesting new development' — and the corporate-lab analogy the model quietly inherits.","id":"cov-clancy","publisher":"new things under the sun","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-clancy-dec22"],"title":"new things under the sun on fro","traction":null,"url":"https://mattsclancy.substack.com/p/december-2022-updates"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-7ab39f66b7b9d28bac43"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-01-23"},"id":"record-fc82224e18750369ddb2","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"early stage funding markets for science","original":{"author":"nadia asparouhova","date":"2023-01-23","gist":"asparouhova's early-stage-funding-markets read of science — fros as a market-design instrument, priced and analyzed rather than celebrated.","id":"cov-asparouhova","publisher":"nadia asparouhova","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-asparouhova"],"title":"early stage funding markets for science","traction":null,"url":"https://nadia.xyz/early-stage-science"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-de7b6a152dc07d4f1ff5"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-06-14"},"id":"record-f5e03c2eeee962624d7e","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"three learnings about focused research organizations","original":{"author":"sam rodriques","date":"2023-06-14","gist":"rodriques' three learnings — the insider revising the sunset doctrine in public and insisting the science outranks the metascience experiment.","id":"cov-three-learnings","publisher":"sam-rodriques.com","section":"scene","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-rodriques-learnings"],"title":"three learnings about focused research organizations","traction":null,"url":"https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/three-learnings-about-focused-research-organizations"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-0029c74ed8dcbc52de07"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-04-11"},"id":"record-4c77129da584733563fa","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"science is a strong-link problem","original":{"author":"adam mastroianni","date":"2023-04-11","gist":"mastroianni's counter-frame — science as a strong-link problem: progress depends on the best work, which funding-structure reform may not reach. applicability to fros is inferred.","id":"cov-mastroianni","publisher":"experimental history","section":"scene","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-mastroianni-stronglink"],"title":"science is a strong-link problem","traction":null,"url":"https://www.experimental-history.com/p/science-is-a-strong-link-problem"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-f2ae7556951ee84062b4"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"id":"record-bda8ab805136747b7ec7","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"metascience manqué","original":{"author":"michael munger","date":"2025","gist":"munger's 'metascience manqué' — the skeptical read that the whole institutional-innovation enterprise reproduces the field it critiques.","id":"cov-munger","publisher":"michael munger","section":"scene","sentiment":"critical","sourceIds":["src-ci-munger"],"title":"metascience manqué","traction":null,"url":"https://kevinmunger.substack.com/p/metascience-manque"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-500bd10a61ae0688cb2e"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2024"},"id":"record-3652763abdc219a6dcd9","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"making bbns in the 21st century","original":{"author":"jason buck, ben reinhardt","date":"2024","gist":"buck's 'making bbns' — the bottleneck-breaking-network complement, and the sharpest structural critique: fundraising is the bottleneck, and fros leave 'a lot of work and many types of people' uncovered.","id":"cov-buck-bbn","publisher":"jason buck / ben reinhardt","section":"scene","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-buck-bbn","src-ci-reinhardt-bbn"],"title":"making bbns in the 21st century","traction":null,"url":"https://goodscience.substack.com/p/a-scrappy-complement-to-fros-building"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-78e3250cd36b9c6d7a16","source-9a74187eafc80b788dd0"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2024"},"id":"record-827d08ec1f39f7405a27","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"bottling lightning","original":{"author":"ben reinhardt","date":"2024","gist":"reinhardt's 'bottling lightning' — with the marblestone quote that the fro structure itself generates ideas that 'wouldn't even have become conceivable' otherwise.","id":"cov-bottling-lightning","publisher":"ben reinhardt","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-reinhardt-bottling"],"title":"bottling lightning","traction":null,"url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/bottling-lightning"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-0dbae5838d87ae7d452b"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2023"},"id":"record-cadca3be208ca512f0e5","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"introducing speculative technologies","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023","gist":"introducing speculative technologies — the parpa made independent, the contrast case the discourse uses to define what a fro is not.","id":"cov-spectech-intro","publisher":"speculative technologies","section":"scene","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-hp-spectech-launch","src-ci-reinhardt-systems"],"title":"introducing speculative technologies","traction":null,"url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/introducing-speculative-technologies"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-8f4cbfd53216c54ad207","source-f56dacb02054446be4d7"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"id":"record-be65051fc17e46fd427a","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"astera on bottlenecks","original":{"author":"seemay chou","date":"2025","gist":"seemay chou on astera's bottleneck thesis — calling rejuvenome 'the first fro' they funded and mapping the institute's own fro-adjacent line.","id":"cov-astera-bottlenecks","publisher":"astera institute","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-astera-bottlenecks","src-hp-astera-fros"],"title":"astera on bottlenecks","traction":null,"url":"https://asterainstitute.substack.com/p/identifying-systemic-bottlenecks"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-e662a059d138fb1f4bfc","source-76c23302f06d8c16e736"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-18"},"id":"record-7d134b46d7977fe743dd","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the fast grants origin story","original":{"author":null,"date":"2023-07-18","gist":"fortune's fast-grants origin story — the covid-era predecessor whose speed made the fro look plausible; scene-setting, not convergent coverage per se.","id":"cov-fortune-fastgrants","publisher":"fortune","section":"scene","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-fortune-fastgrants"],"title":"the fast grants origin story","traction":null,"url":"https://fortune.com/2023/07/18/billionaires-musk-zuckerberg-thiel-5-minute-phone-call-collison-fast-grants/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-88db0a74da3b392bc036"]},{"date":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-07-03"},"id":"record-d24970a8a11a03517b58","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the metascience 2025 dispatches","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025-07-03","gist":"rpn's metascience-2025 column — gamick's aria fro plan at £10–14m per fro and the alliance launch, filed by the scene's trade press.","id":"cov-rpn-aria","publisher":"research policy news","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-rpn-aria"],"title":"the metascience 2025 dispatches","traction":null,"url":"https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-research-councils-2025-7-aria-to-launch-focused-research-organisation-within-a-year/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-6e75532f59440583005b"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"id":"record-509250422bdf4866fd53","kind":"convergent-research-coverage-items","label":"the marblestone quotes","original":{"author":null,"date":"2025","gist":"buteau's compiled marblestone quote-file — community folksonomy for the ceo.","id":"cov-buteau","publisher":"community","section":"scene","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-buteau-marblestone"],"title":"the marblestone quotes","traction":null,"url":"https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-adam-marblestone/"},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage#scene","sourceIds":["source-3ebf4ec5a19495c0e2c3"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2019–2020"},"id":"record-27e3734fbd6890db5819","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"the wonkish origin","original":{"evidence":"thesis chapter and day one memo circulate inside wonkish channels — positive, small-audience, pre-institutional.","id":"phs-origin","name":"the wonkish origin","range":"2019–2020","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-rodriques-thesis","src-ci-dayone-memo","src-hp-dayone-whitepaper"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-c539328cda5dadf16233","source-8012666d50e08ea6f6b6","source-3ff4bc49ea8a370ecd54"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2021–2022"},"id":"record-46b22758712d528b67c5","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"the launch glow","original":{"evidence":"fast company, the schmidt futures network, the foresight fro/parpa pairing, the nature manifesto, and the tbi report — a coordinated and warm reception.","id":"phs-launch","name":"the launch glow","range":"2021–2022","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-hp-fastcompany-launch","src-ci-sfn-pnd","src-hp-foresight-fro-parpa","src-hp-nature-comment","src-ci-tbi-new-model"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-457c49a7bd97bafe33e5","source-f587d1877727ee6c095f","source-e4a7af1219074f87de40","source-840ce11275af9aa98871","source-675fb3f698b6c0bbe66d"]},{"date":{"precision":"year","text":"2023"},"id":"record-104aa10a22ecf548b3ff","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"money and scrutiny","original":{"evidence":"the $50m headline lands the same year as the ap/chronicle billionaire-science skepticism, the politico ostp story, and rodriques' own public self-critique — money and scrutiny arrive together.","id":"phs-money","name":"money and scrutiny","range":"2023","sentiment":"mixed","sourceIds":["src-ci-schmidt-50m","src-hp-forbes-50m","src-ci-ap-chronicle","src-ci-politico-ostp","src-ci-rodriques-learnings"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-d1fa63ed5b38cdaa8b95","source-5492313033c3fa58d697","source-00d0b0c07516a6834134","source-6e03cdf7f3b43d9fdcfc","source-0029c74ed8dcbc52de07"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2024–mid-2025"},"id":"record-8cc4a98030616cf78a89","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"the first outputs","original":{"evidence":"the cohort produces things the press can photograph — cultivarium's portal, [c]worthy's map, e11's roadmap, forest 1 in the nhs, imprint's launch, the mit news canonization.","id":"phs-outputs","name":"the first outputs","range":"2024–mid-2025","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-asimov-cultivarium","src-hp-cworthy-page","src-hp-e11-roadmap","src-hp-guardian-forest","src-ci-imprint-launch","src-hp-mit-news"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-5978d2baeb41fc3e5fd0","source-27820125579aa4851017","source-6b8cc7fd179185bc8cd5","source-71618194aef33c5ec8df","source-3f462ba6064a3a8fc10a","source-308cc92a0997644c16c4"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"mid-2025–2025"},"id":"record-8bcf3130481ac46d6478","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"the institutionalization","original":{"evidence":"metascience 2025 and the aria fro plan, the ai action plan, the x-labs proposal, the issues field notes, and nsf tech labs — the model stops being a pitch and starts being policy.","id":"phs-institutionalization","name":"the institutionalization","range":"mid-2025–2025","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-rpn-aria","src-hp-ai-action-plan","src-hp-x-labs","src-hp-issues-field-notes","src-ci-nsf-techlabs"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-6e75532f59440583005b","source-e1baac9fa50e215e2f73","source-9b6a5733571884215876","source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5","source-1781d4a34a675e9dd64e"]},{"date":{"precision":"approximate","text":"2026–"},"id":"record-c9e7694f7c7f84839736","kind":"convergent-research-sentiment-phases","label":"the spread","original":{"evidence":"chi-fro's transition, mothra's nature paper, the uk cohort, and melody — the ecosystem spreads beyond the original schmidt-anchored container, and the coverage follows the spread.","id":"phs-spread","name":"the spread","range":"2026–","sentiment":"positive","sourceIds":["src-ci-chifro-evolution","src-ci-science-mothra","src-ci-prnewswire-uk-fros","src-ci-melody-fro"]},"originalUrl":"https://hraness.com/convergent-research/coverage","sourceIds":["source-277740b62ff5293edb8d","source-65a269a42ef1bc7ab58f","source-6aa4636643b89f4ba252","source-e9c0511a5f0962105201"]}],"sources":[{"author":null,"id":"source-c3f8b33f0acbd9d9a10f","note":"aip fyi on tech labs mechanics; watney x-labs link","originalId":"src-ci-aip-techlabs","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-12-18"},"publisher":"aip.org","title":"aip fyi on tech labs mechanics","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.aip.org/fyi/nsf-to-issue-large-flexible-grants-to-nontraditional-teams"},{"author":null,"id":"source-00d0b0c07516a6834134","note":"eden stiffman; billionaire-science skepticism; names convergent","originalId":"src-ci-ap-chronicle","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-11"},"publisher":"associated press","title":"eden stiffman","type":"reporting","url":"https://apnews.com/article/quick-grants-science-research-tech-billionaires-9ba9b7296ac226295e9f0cc386308c2c"},{"author":null,"id":"source-5e92556050373913c36d","note":"e11 bio profile; $100m/5yr mouse connectome claim","originalId":"src-ci-asimov-barcoding","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-02-09"},"publisher":"asimov.press","title":"e11 bio profile","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.asimov.press/p/barcoding-brains"},{"author":null,"id":"source-5978d2baeb41fc3e5fd0","note":"cultivarium profile; 106/14,000+ atcc organisms","originalId":"src-ci-asimov-cultivarium","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-07-10"},"publisher":"asimov.press","title":"cultivarium profile","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.asimov.press/p/cultivarium"},{"author":null,"id":"source-3c691aae82405c355313","note":"cultivarium's custom electroporator","originalId":"src-ci-asimov-electroporation","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2024"},"publisher":"asimov.press","title":"cultivariums custom electroporator","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.asimov.press/p/electroporation"},{"author":null,"id":"source-de7b6a152dc07d4f1ff5","note":"schmidt-funded study of early-stage science funding incl. fros","originalId":"src-ci-asparouhova","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-01-23"},"publisher":"nadia.xyz","title":"schmidt-funded study of early-stage science funding incl","type":"reference","url":"https://nadia.xyz/early-stage-science"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e662a059d138fb1f4bfc","note":"seemay chou; astera funded \"first fro\" rejuvenome","originalId":"src-ci-astera-bottlenecks","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"publisher":"astera institute","title":"seemay chou","type":"primary","url":"https://asterainstitute.substack.com/p/identifying-systemic-bottlenecks"},{"author":null,"id":"source-a3d1c19e480f4c8d8b51","note":"jolie gan; fros amid federal funding collapse","originalId":"src-ci-asterisk-slowboring","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2026"},"publisher":"asteriskmag.com","title":"jolie gan","type":"reporting","url":"https://asteriskmag.com/issues/13/the-fight-for-slow-and-boring-research"},{"author":null,"id":"source-2caa4b53de91b1074869","note":"prism paper; >750× label diversity; 8× tracing accuracy; cc-by-nc","originalId":"src-ci-biorxiv-prism","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-09-26"},"publisher":"doi.org","title":"prism paper","type":"reporting","url":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648"},{"author":null,"id":"source-2d6384ee28bf37af02b1","note":"\"convergent has secured funding from 30-plus individuals/organizations\"","originalId":"src-ci-biotechgrid-imprint","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-05-15"},"publisher":"biotechgrid.com","title":"convergent has secured funding from 30-plus individuals/organizations","type":"reporting","url":"https://biotechgrid.com/imprint-labs-launches-to-pioneer-forensic-immunology-for-chronic-disease/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-4a73c3a36d9a31800f29","note":"\"create variation\" evaluation argument","originalId":"src-ci-buck-advice","published":{"precision":"unknown","text":"undated"},"publisher":"goodscienceproject.org","title":"create variation evaluation argument","type":"reporting","url":"https://goodscienceproject.org/articles/advice-for-new-scientific-agencies-arpa-h-aria-nsf-tip-etc/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-78e3250cd36b9c6d7a16","note":"stuart buck: fro fundraising bottleneck; bbn complement","originalId":"src-ci-buck-bbn","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2024"},"publisher":"good science","title":"stuart buck: fro fundraising bottleneck","type":"reporting","url":"https://goodscience.substack.com/p/a-scrappy-complement-to-fros-building"},{"author":null,"id":"source-314cb7eb81fd063c5ff7","note":"critique: alternative funders reproduce credentialing barriers","originalId":"src-ci-buck-slowcancel","published":{"precision":"unknown","text":"undated"},"publisher":"good science","title":"critique: alternative funders reproduce credentialing barriers","type":"reporting","url":"https://goodscience.substack.com/p/the-slow-cancellation-of-innovation"},{"author":null,"id":"source-a8d16964a7905076435e","note":"forest neurotech × butterfly $20m deal; fro description","originalId":"src-ci-butterfly-forest","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-10-24"},"publisher":"businesswire.com","title":"forest neurotech × butterfly $20m deal","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231024884034/en/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-277740b62ff5293edb8d","note":"chi-fro at convergent 2023–2025 → transitioned to probabilistic computing foundation","originalId":"src-ci-chifro-evolution","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2026-02"},"publisher":"essentialtechnology.blog","title":"chi-fro at convergent 2023–2025 → transitioned to probabilistic computing foundation","type":"repo","url":"https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/the-evolution-of-chi-fro"},{"author":null,"id":"source-7ab39f66b7b9d28bac43","note":"clancy: fros \"most interesting new development\"; corporate-lab analogy","originalId":"src-ci-clancy-dec22","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2022-12"},"publisher":"matt clancy","title":"clancy: fros most interesting new development","type":"reporting","url":"https://mattsclancy.substack.com/p/december-2022-updates"},{"author":null,"id":"source-97f5975ebb5854a516b1","note":"ashlee vance interviews payne at prism launch","originalId":"src-ci-corememory-payne","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-01"},"publisher":"corememory.com","title":"ashlee vance interviews payne at prism launch","type":"interview","url":"https://www.corememory.com/p/we-shall-finally-map-the-brain-e11bio-andrew-payne-prism"},{"author":null,"id":"source-458ee7906ae20213f22a","note":"cultivarium×atcc igem collab; fro descriptor","originalId":"src-ci-cultivarium-atcc","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-04-02"},"publisher":"prnewswire","title":"cultivarium×atcc igem collab","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cultivarium-and-atcc-support-igem-teams-striving-to-advance-the-field-of-synthetic-biology-302104514.html"},{"author":null,"id":"source-8012666d50e08ea6f6b6","note":"rodriques & marblestone, day one project/fas","originalId":"src-ci-dayone-memo","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2020-09-24"},"publisher":"fas.org","title":"rodriques & marblestone, day one project/fas","type":"primary","url":"https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Focused-Research-Organizations-to-Accelerate-Science-Technology-and-Medicine.pdf"},{"author":null,"id":"source-faa9605157a9e9fc8ea8","note":"full prism release; licensing terms","originalId":"src-ci-e11-prism-blog","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-01"},"publisher":"e11.bio","title":"full prism release","type":"repo","url":"https://www.e11.bio/blog/prism"},{"author":null,"id":"source-5e3558703a891f4a8c0f","note":"eve bio est. 2023; funders list; first data release","originalId":"src-ci-evebio-about","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2026-09"},"publisher":"evebio.org","title":"eve bio est","type":"repo","url":"https://evebio.org/about/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-7363b4aa0b65b9e1d7b7","note":"fas explainer; portfolio snapshot mid-2023","originalId":"src-ci-fas-model","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-06-15"},"publisher":"fas.org","title":"fas explainer","type":"reporting","url":"https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-a-new-model-for-scientific-research/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-ba2ae55466b3c1177ebe","note":"correa interviews marblestone & rodriques; \"30+ philanthropic organizations\" fund fros","originalId":"src-ci-fas-techlabs","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-12-12"},"publisher":"fas.org","title":"correa interviews marblestone & rodriques","type":"reporting","url":"https://fas.org/publication/nsf-supercharge-independent-tech-labs/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-88db0a74da3b392bc036","note":"fast grants origin story; meta-science funding scene","originalId":"src-ci-fortune-fastgrants","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-18"},"publisher":"fortune","title":"fast grants origin story","type":"reporting","url":"https://fortune.com/2023/07/18/billionaires-musk-zuckerberg-thiel-5-minute-phone-call-collison-fast-grants/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6c11b1bc78cdbb199e97","note":"house gop inquiry into schmidt/ostp ties","originalId":"src-ci-house-oversight","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-04-26"},"publisher":"oversight.house.gov","title":"house gop inquiry into schmidt/ostp ties","type":"reporting","url":"https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-04-26-WHCO-OSTP-funding.pdf"},{"author":null,"id":"source-3f462ba6064a3a8fc10a","note":"imprint $15m launch; forensic immunology","originalId":"src-ci-imprint-launch","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-05-15"},"publisher":"globenewswire.com","title":"imprint $15m launch","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/15/3082090/0/en/Imprint-Labs-Announces-15M-in-Funding-to-Decode-the-Immune-System-Facilitate-Chronic-Disease-Research.html"},{"author":null,"id":"source-cf3779b30c09f5960ad9","note":"lean fro launch + funders (simons, sloan, merkin, founders pledge)","originalId":"src-ci-leanfro","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-07-25"},"publisher":"wayback machine","title":"lean fro launch + funders (simons, sloan, merkin, founders pledge)","type":"community","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20241222074338/https:/lean-fro.org/about/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-54779d89b128d5eae5bb","note":"convergent linkedin — dragonfly nature paper + fro framing","originalId":"src-ci-linkedin-dragonfly","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-06-15"},"publisher":"linkedin","title":"convergent linkedin — dragonfly nature paper + fro framing","type":"community","url":"https://www.linkedin.com/posts/convergent-research_introducing-meridial-and-echo-labs-activity-7452341577986953216-n19Q"},{"author":null,"id":"source-bd16220a3b07464e1e22","note":"marblestone's launch-day media index","originalId":"src-ci-longitudinal","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-18"},"publisher":"longitudinal.blog","title":"marblestones launch-day media index","type":"reporting","url":"https://longitudinal.blog/2021/10/18/selected-mentions-of-the-focused-research-organization-fro-concept-online/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-f2ae7556951ee84062b4","note":"counter-frame to funding-structure reform","originalId":"src-ci-mastroianni-stronglink","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-04-11"},"publisher":"experimental-history.com","title":"counter-frame to funding-structure reform","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.experimental-history.com/p/science-is-a-strong-link-problem"},{"author":null,"id":"source-d1c0be8f6ab607024d02","note":"technical caveats on prism coverage (49% labeling)","originalId":"src-ci-mckenzie-prism","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2025-10"},"publisher":"neurobiology","title":"technical caveats on prism coverage (49% labeling)","type":"primary","url":"https://neurobiology.substack.com/p/action-potentials-for-october-89c"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e9c0511a5f0962105201","note":"melody fro public launch; convergent incubation history","originalId":"src-ci-melody-fro","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-07"},"publisher":"anand muthusamy","title":"melody fro public launch","type":"primary","url":"https://anandmuthusamy.substack.com/p/melody-fros-roadmap-for-open-bioelectronics"},{"author":null,"id":"source-500bd10a61ae0688cb2e","note":"skeptical critique of metascience field","originalId":"src-ci-munger","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"publisher":"kevin munger","title":"skeptical critique of metascience field","type":"reporting","url":"https://kevinmunger.substack.com/p/metascience-manque"},{"author":null,"id":"source-7db22cc7c4b3ca1783d4","note":"nature feature on aria (the agency adopting fros)","originalId":"src-ci-nature-aria","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-09-18"},"publisher":"nature.com","title":"nature feature on aria (the agency adopting fros)","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02995-1"},{"author":null,"id":"source-79406bb74aa608e08186","note":"e11 prism release; payne quotes; 100× cost path claim","originalId":"src-ci-newswise-prism","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-01"},"publisher":"newswise.com","title":"e11 prism release","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.newswise.com/articles/prism-shines-a-light-on-mapping-brain-circuits-at-scale"},{"author":null,"id":"source-ffc0656f7de522964dfb","note":"nielsen & qiu metascience framework; \"intellectual dark matter\"","originalId":"src-ci-nielsen-qiu","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2022"},"publisher":"scienceplusplus.org","title":"nielsen & qiu metascience framework","type":"primary","url":"https://scienceplusplus.org/metascience/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-75dbb1fc5e034773f488","note":"genealogy of new science orgs; fro traced to whitepaper","originalId":"src-ci-nintil-evidence","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2022"},"publisher":"nintil.com","title":"genealogy of new science orgs","type":"reporting","url":"https://nintil.com/science-funding-evidence"},{"author":null,"id":"source-edf95d302a5d34466854","note":"ricón+marblestone workshop; fros as \"mini manhattan projects\"","originalId":"src-ci-nintil-workshop","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2021"},"publisher":"nintil.com","title":"ricón+marblestone workshop","type":"reporting","url":"https://nintil.com/bottlenecks-workshop/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6a4de2e933b854a17a6b","note":"confirms $50m → pti and eve bio","originalId":"src-ci-northeastern-50m","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-08-07"},"publisher":"news.northeastern.edu","title":"confirms $50m → pti and eve bio","type":"reporting","url":"https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/08/07/alzheimers-research-organization-grant/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-1781d4a34a675e9dd64e","note":"nsf tip tech labs rfi; up to $1b; $10–50m/yr awards","originalId":"src-ci-nsf-techlabs","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-12-12"},"publisher":"nsf.gov","title":"nsf tip tech labs rfi","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.nsf.gov/news/nsf-announces-new-initiative-launch-scale-new-generation"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6e03cdf7f3b43d9fdcfc","note":"schmidt futures salaries at ostp; ethics flags","originalId":"src-ci-politico-ostp","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-03-28"},"publisher":"politico.com","title":"schmidt futures salaries at ostp","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/28/google-billionaire-joe-biden-science-office-00020712"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6aa4636643b89f4ba252","note":"meridial (£14m) + echo labs launch","originalId":"src-ci-prnewswire-uk-fros","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-04-21"},"publisher":"prnewswire","title":"meridial (£14m) + echo labs launch","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/convergent-research-and-aria-launch-two-new-uk-focused-research-organizations-302748565.html"},{"author":null,"id":"source-9a74187eafc80b788dd0","note":"reinhardt on gilliam's bbn piece; fro coverage gap","originalId":"src-ci-reinhardt-bbn","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2024"},"publisher":"blog.spec.tech","title":"reinhardt on gilliams bbn piece","type":"primary","url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/making-bbns-in-the-21st-century"},{"author":null,"id":"source-0dbae5838d87ae7d452b","note":"funders as implicit research managers; marblestone quote on fro idea-generation","originalId":"src-ci-reinhardt-bottling","published":{"precision":"unknown","text":"undated"},"publisher":"blog.spec.tech","title":"funders as implicit research managers","type":"primary","url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/bottling-lightning"},{"author":null,"id":"source-f56dacb02054446be4d7","note":"\"systems research\" framing vs fro categorization","originalId":"src-ci-reinhardt-systems","published":{"precision":"unknown","text":"undated"},"publisher":"blog.spec.tech","title":"systems research framing vs fro categorization","type":"primary","url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/systems-research"},{"author":null,"id":"source-0029c74ed8dcbc52de07","note":"insider self-critique; sunset doctrine revised","originalId":"src-ci-rodriques-learnings","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-06-14"},"publisher":"sam-rodriques.com","title":"insider self-critique","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/three-learnings-about-focused-research-organizations"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6e75532f59440583005b","note":"gamick at metascience 2025 (jul 2); aria fro plan; £10–14m/fro","originalId":"src-ci-rpn-aria","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-07-03"},"publisher":"researchprofessionalnews.com","title":"gamick at metascience 2025 (jul 2)","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-research-councils-2025-7-aria-to-launch-focused-research-organisation-within-a-year/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-36d73bc09f75137daa03","note":"rpn: \"transformational moment\" framing","originalId":"src-ci-rpn-techlabs","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2025-12"},"publisher":"researchprofessionalnews.com","title":"rpn: transformational moment framing","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-usa-federal-agencies-2025-12-nsf-launches-initiative-to-fund-independent-research-labs/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-d1fa63ed5b38cdaa8b95","note":"$50m commitment (pti + eve bio)","originalId":"src-ci-schmidt-50m","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-03-15"},"publisher":"schmidtfutures.org","title":"$50m commitment (pti + eve bio)","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.schmidtfutures.org/schmidt-futures-and-ken-griffin-commit-50-million-to-support-the-next-big-breakthroughs-in-science/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-65a269a42ef1bc7ab58f","note":"science news on mothra nature paper; gerko/xtx funding","originalId":"src-ci-science-mothra","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2026-06"},"publisher":"science.org","title":"science news on mothra nature paper","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.science.org/content/article/new-telescope-reveals-missing-link-cosmic-recycling-matter"},{"author":null,"id":"source-f587d1877727ee6c095f","note":"schmidt futures network launch; convergent first initiative (date per wikipedia citation)","originalId":"src-ci-sfn-pnd","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-16"},"publisher":"philanthropynewsdigest.org","title":"schmidt futures network launch","type":"reporting","url":"https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/schmidt-futures-announces-launch-of-schmidt-futures-network"},{"author":null,"id":"source-675fb3f698b6c0bbe66d","note":"tbi + entrepreneurs network + convergent; seeded uk adoption","originalId":"src-ci-tbi-new-model","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-08-04"},"publisher":"assets.ctfassets.net","title":"tbi + entrepreneurs network + convergent","type":"repo","url":"https://assets.ctfassets.net/75ila1cntaeh/2L8JGwTxO5DYQRKW11NLTw/4482c7b89b5351b3a702ec0dde69afa2/A_2BNew_2BModel_2Bfor_2BScience_1.pdf"},{"author":null,"id":"source-180f57619d4442ebe02d","note":"companion landing page for the tbi report","originalId":"src-ci-ten-newmodel","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-08-04"},"publisher":"tenentrepreneurs.org","title":"companion landing page for the tbi report","type":"repo","url":"https://www.tenentrepreneurs.org/research/a-new-model-for-science"},{"author":null,"id":"source-c5130c8b877ed7966a5e","note":"verge recap of politico findings","originalId":"src-ci-verge-ostp","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-03-28"},"publisher":"the verge","title":"verge recap of politico findings","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/28/22999754/eric-schmidt-google-money-white-house-science-ai-lander"},{"author":null,"id":"source-ddf1279557d308f4064c","note":"vox recode analysis of schmidt influence","originalId":"src-ci-vox-ostp","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2022-03"},"publisher":"vox","title":"vox recode analysis of schmidt influence","type":"reference","url":"https://www.vox.com/recode/23001543/eric-schmidt-white-house-office-science-technology-policy-philanthropy-ethical-concerns"},{"author":null,"id":"source-bb81b880ba64a17f674f","note":"institutional lineage essay; tbi report cited","originalId":"src-ci-wip-outsiders","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-09-18"},"publisher":"worksinprogress.co","title":"institutional lineage essay","type":"reporting","url":"https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-science-needs-outsiders/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e51bb94d367ff20c3157","note":"wsj: \"one of the most significant experiments in science funding in decades\" (via archive.is)","originalId":"src-ci-wsj-techlabs","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-12-12"},"publisher":"archive.is","title":"wsj: one of the most significant experiments in science funding in decades (via archive","type":"reporting","url":"https://archive.is/O5hI3"},{"author":null,"id":"source-4ca096b88d511fb13674","note":"mothra/dragonfly fro telescope","originalId":"src-ci-yale-mothra","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-03-11"},"publisher":"news.yale.edu","title":"mothra/dragonfly fro telescope","type":"reporting","url":"https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/11/mothra-has-its-eyes-all-1140-them-focused-cosmic-web"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e1baac9fa50e215e2f73","note":"recommends fro agreements for ai-enabled science","originalId":"src-hp-ai-action-plan","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-07-23"},"publisher":"whitehouse.gov","title":"recommends fro agreements for ai-enabled science","type":"primary","url":"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf"},{"author":null,"id":"source-76c23302f06d8c16e736","note":"astera fro program page incl. rejuvenome + parpa","originalId":"src-hp-astera-fros","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-02-04"},"publisher":"wayback machine","title":"astera fro program page incl","type":"archive","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20230204100039/https://astera.org/fros/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-2a840f2d8c99d7cb0e8d","note":"e11 roadmap coverage","originalId":"src-hp-bloomberg-e11","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-12-03"},"publisher":"bloomberg","title":"e11 roadmap coverage","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-03/ex-google-ceo-wants-to-learn-about-brains-by-infecting-them"},{"author":null,"id":"source-3ebf4ec5a19495c0e2c3","note":"compiled marblestone quotes w/ source links","originalId":"src-hp-buteau-marblestone","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"publisher":"antoinebuteau.com","title":"compiled marblestone quotes w/ source links","type":"community","url":"https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-adam-marblestone/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-0e60c9b5d28c63b7ea9a","note":"est. 2023; moved to probabilistic computing foundation","originalId":"src-hp-chi-page","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"convergentresearch.org","title":"convergentresearch.org","type":"primary","url":"https://www.convergentresearch.org/ecosystem/chi-fro"},{"author":null,"id":"source-f11a856eeed600b27f56","note":"founding year, 501(c)(3), ~$400m/30+ funders (self-reported), funders list, resource dates","originalId":"src-hp-convergent-about","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"convergentresearch.org","title":"convergentresearch.org","type":"primary","url":"https://www.convergentresearch.org/about"},{"author":null,"id":"source-27820125579aa4851017","note":"est. 2023; c-star mrv; noaa/arpa-e funders","originalId":"src-hp-cworthy-page","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"convergentresearch.org","title":"convergentresearch.org","type":"primary","url":"https://www.convergentresearch.org/ecosystem/cworthy"},{"author":null,"id":"source-3ff4bc49ea8a370ecd54","note":"rodriques & marblestone fro white paper (day one project; pdf: https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/focused-research-organizations-to-accelerate-science-technology-and-medicine.pdf)","originalId":"src-hp-dayone-whitepaper","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2020-09-24"},"publisher":"fas.org","title":"rodriques & marblestone fro white paper (day one project","type":"primary","url":"https://fas.org/publication/focused-research-organizations-to-accelerate-science-technology-and-medicine/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-92c7789a54949097dce6","note":"\"launched in 2022\" (self-reported variance)","originalId":"src-hp-e11-fro-page","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"e11.bio","title":"launched in 2022 (self-reported variance)","type":"primary","url":"https://www.e11.bio/fro"},{"author":null,"id":"source-05c84396f4a6a69f9af8","note":"est. 2021; prism; funders; roadmap links","originalId":"src-hp-e11-page","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"convergentresearch.org","title":"convergentresearch.org","type":"primary","url":"https://www.convergentresearch.org/ecosystem/e11-bio"},{"author":null,"id":"source-6b8cc7fd179185bc8cd5","note":"e11 connectomics roadmap","originalId":"src-hp-e11-roadmap","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2024-12-03"},"publisher":"e11.bio","title":"e11 connectomics roadmap","type":"primary","url":"https://e11.bio/blog/roadmap"},{"author":null,"id":"source-b45d5e27b43aee4d8b95","note":"fas fro explainer + proposal series","originalId":"src-hp-fas-new-model","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-06-13"},"publisher":"fas.org","title":"fas fro explainer + proposal series","type":"primary","url":"https://fas.org/initiative/focused-research-organizations/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-457c49a7bd97bafe33e5","note":"public unveiling; first fros; marblestone + braverman quotes (via wayback for full text)","originalId":"src-hp-fastcompany-launch","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2021-10-12"},"publisher":"fast company","title":"public unveiling","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.fastcompany.com/90684882/these-focused-research-organizations-are-taking-on-gaps-in-scientific-discovery"},{"author":null,"id":"source-5492313033c3fa58d697","note":"$50m schmidt+griffin; eve+pti next; >300 proposals","originalId":"src-hp-forbes-50m","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2023-03-17"},"publisher":"forbes","title":"$50m schmidt+griffin","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/03/17/why-billionaires-ken-griffin-and-eric-schmidt-are-spending-50-million-on-a-new-kind-of-scientific-research/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e4a7af1219074f87de40","note":"marblestone+reinhardt joint session; bios","originalId":"src-hp-foresight-fro-parpa","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2021"},"publisher":"foresight.org","title":"marblestone+reinhardt joint session","type":"interview","url":"https://foresight.org/resource/adam-marblestone-ben-reinhardt-fro-parpa-innovating-in-scientific-innovation/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-71618194aef33c5ec8df","note":"forest neurotech device in nhs trial","originalId":"src-hp-guardian-forest","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-01-20"},"publisher":"theguardian.com","title":"forest neurotech device in nhs trial","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/20/brain-implant-boost-mood-ultrasound-nhs-trial"},{"author":null,"id":"source-95283c60e994cdbe36a5","note":"fall 2025 retrospective; fro parameters; lessons; govt interest","originalId":"src-hp-issues-field-notes","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-10-13"},"publisher":"issues.org","title":"fall 2025 retrospective","type":"primary","url":"https://issues.org/focused-research-organizations-fro-marblestone-gamick-wang-fridman/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-68cf1ccc482475429d80","note":"corroborates $50m + pipeline detail","originalId":"src-hp-leaders-50m","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2023-03"},"publisher":"leaders.com","title":"corroborates $50m + pipeline detail","type":"reporting","url":"https://leaders.com/news/innovation/billionaires-support-unsupported-research/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-a0396412d499d4f39c9d","note":"melody mission; pasadena","originalId":"src-hp-melody-site","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"melodyfro.org","title":"melody mission","type":"primary","url":"https://melodyfro.org/"},{"author":null,"id":"source-308cc92a0997644c16c4","note":"mit origin story; 10 fros; launch attribution incl. kalil","originalId":"src-hp-mit-news","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-06-06"},"publisher":"news.mit.edu","title":"mit origin story","type":"reporting","url":"https://news.mit.edu/2025/former-mit-researchers-advance-new-model-innovation-0606"},{"author":null,"id":"source-840ce11275af9aa98871","note":"nature 601:188–190 comment, six authors","originalId":"src-hp-nature-comment","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-01-11"},"publisher":"doi.org","title":"nature 601:188–190 comment, six authors","type":"primary","url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00018-5"},{"author":null,"id":"source-23081b2ff16e99b8b833","note":"cites tbi report + rodriques cell commentary","originalId":"src-hp-nature-editorial-2024","published":{"precision":"month","text":"2024-07"},"publisher":"nature.com","title":"cites tbi report + rodriques cell commentary","type":"reporting","url":"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02080-7"},{"author":null,"id":"source-1be841d427bf6fdefad5","note":"meridial + echo labs launch; uk first expansion","originalId":"src-hp-prnewswire-uk-fros","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-04-21"},"publisher":"bolsamania.com","title":"meridial + echo labs launch","type":"primary","url":"https://www.bolsamania.com/nota-de-prensa/mercados/convergent-research-and-aria-launch-two-new-uk-focused-research-organizations--22322405.html"},{"author":null,"id":"source-c539328cda5dadf16233","note":"mit physics phd; concluding fro proposal","originalId":"src-hp-rodriques-thesis","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2019"},"publisher":"dspace.mit.edu","title":"mit physics phd","type":"primary","url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/123401"},{"author":null,"id":"source-e336dc7886241fce60e4","note":"\"three fros funded oct 2021 by schmidt futures and astera\"; thesis ch.8 origin","originalId":"src-hp-sam-rodriques-post","published":{"precision":"unknown","text":"undated"},"publisher":"sam-rodriques.com","title":"three fros funded oct 2021 by schmidt futures and astera","type":"primary","url":"https://www.sam-rodriques.com/post/focused-research-organizations"},{"author":null,"id":"source-8f4cbfd53216c54ad207","note":"parpa→speculative technologies","originalId":"src-hp-spectech-launch","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2023"},"publisher":"blog.spec.tech","title":"parpa→speculative technologies","type":"primary","url":"https://blog.spec.tech/p/introducing-speculative-technologies"},{"author":null,"id":"source-f397e3502764b7d90a10","note":"tbi report summary; 3 extant fros incl. rejuvenome; cummings tweet; schmidt tweet","originalId":"src-hp-tbi-whats-your-fro","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2022-08-16"},"publisher":"progress","title":"tbi report summary","type":"primary","url":"https://progress.substack.com/p/whats-your-fro"},{"author":null,"id":"source-ce3e863fc68a5c4253ab","note":"~90+ proposals; 5 teams; 6-month residency","originalId":"src-hp-uk-residency-post","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2025-09-16"},"publisher":"essentialtechnology.blog","title":"~90+ proposals","type":"primary","url":"https://www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/inside-the-uk-fro-founder-residency"},{"author":null,"id":"source-441b26fdcf5c89c0841a","note":"consolidated citations (7 fros as of 2023)","originalId":"src-hp-wikipedia","published":{"precision":"day","text":"2026-09-16"},"publisher":"wikipedia","title":"consolidated citations (7 fros as of 2023)","type":"reference","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_Research"},{"author":null,"id":"source-9b6a5733571884215876","note":"ifp/watney x-labs (x02/x03) proposal","originalId":"src-hp-x-labs","published":{"precision":"year","text":"2025"},"publisher":"rebuilding.tech","title":"ifp/watney x-labs (x02/x03) proposal","type":"primary","url":"https://www.rebuilding.tech/posts/launching-x-labs-for-transformative-science-funding"}]}
````