Databricks and Laude Institute Launch $100M Fund for AI Researchers

Andy Konwinski, the co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity, has announced a big step towards the future of artificial intelligence (AI). According to TechCrunch, he has pledged $100 million of his own money to start a new research fund called the Laude Institute. This institute will give money to AI researchers to support their work, similar to how grants work in universities.

This project is backed by some of the biggest names in the tech world, including Jeff Dean from Google, Joelle Pineau from Meta, and Dave Patterson, a famous professor from UC Berkeley.

A New Way to Fund AI Research

Andy Konwinski explained that the Laude Institute is “built by and for computer science researchers.” He said it wants to support work that “guides the field toward more beneficial outcomes.” Instead of running a single large lab, the institute will provide funding for various research projects in two main categories.

The first category is called “Slingshots,” which will give early-stage researchers small amounts of money and support to start their work. The second category is called “Moonshots,” which will support big, long-term ideas. These could include utilizing AI to enhance education, scientific research, healthcare, and public discourse.

To make this happen, the institute is working as both a nonprofit and a public benefit company. This gives them the flexibility to support not just academic research but also startups and projects that can grow into businesses. Konwinski said he is also open to other tech leaders investing in the project, not just himself.

The Laude Institute is already involved in real-world research. It has worked with Stanford University on something called “terminal-bench”, which checks how well AI systems can perform tasks. Companies like Anthropic have used this benchmark. These kinds of projects show that Laude is serious about supporting useful and independent AI research.

New UC Berkeley Backed by Databricks Investment in AI Labs

The first big grant from the Laude Institute is going to the University of California, Berkeley. It will give $3 million per year for five years to create a new AI Systems Lab. This lab will open in 2027 and will be led by Ion Stoica, a well-known AI researcher and co-founder of Databricks and Anyscale.

This new lab is part of the university’s long history of important AI work. Many popular AI tools and companies started from research done at UC Berkeley. This includes the technology that helped build Databricks itself. The new lab will continue this tradition by focusing on building powerful and helpful AI systems.

Besides the nonprofit Laude Institute, Konwinski has also started a for-profit venture fund under the Laude name. This fund was launched in 2024 with venture capitalist Pete Sonsini. It invests in early AI startups that are building the tools for the next generation of AI agents. One of the companies it funded is called Arcade, which raised $12 million. The fund is supported by over 50 leading AI researchers.

Even though the AI world is growing fast, there are concerns about how research is being used. Many companies now create benchmarks to prove their models are the best, which can lead to biased results. But the team behind Laude, including people like Konwinski, Jeff Dean, and Ion Stoica, wants to focus on AI research that helps humanity and stays independent from commercial pressure.

This move by Databricks and Laude Institute could be a turning point. It shows that it’s possible to combine strong business success with a clear mission to support fair, honest, and impactful AI development.