The little-known AI group that got $660 million
Background: In May 2021, the Future of Life InstituteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (FLI) received a donation of $665 million in Shiba Inu cryptocurrency from Vitalik Buterin. FLI, a non-profit focused on AI safety rules, subsequently had significant financial resources, putting it on par with organisations such as the Brookings Institution and the ACLU Foundation. The donation enhanced FLI's influence in global discussions on AI regulation, although the exact deployment of the funds was initially uncertain.
Financial and policy context: FLI has used part of the donation to support AI safety research and organisations advocating for stricter AI-development rules. It has advocated for AI-development licences and other safety measures in the US and Europe, with influence extending to the UN and the EU, including discussions around the EU AI Act. A significant portion of the donation was reported as remaining unspent and managed through donor-advised fund and asset-management arrangements for non-profits. The scale of FLI's resources has also prompted debate about the relative influence of long-term AI-risk advocacy compared with issues such as discrimination and job loss, and about the role of wealthy technology donors in shaping regulation.
Additional context: In a September 2026 post, physicist and science communicator Sabine HossenfelderDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → alleged that FLI, the Center for AI SafetyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Control AI had spent money on influencer messaging. Her wording distinguished this activity from conventional commercial marketing; the post did not provide supporting documents or specify the amounts, campaigns or recipients. This should therefore be treated as an attributed claim requiring verification, rather than as an established financial fact. FLI's own website continues to present the organisation as focused on ensuring that AI benefits humanity and highlights its public-facing policy and communications work.
FLI also plans to create new organisations through its Future of Life Foundation to guide transformative technologies towards benefiting life and minimising risks. Its funding supports research on other global risks, including nuclear war and biodiversity loss.
Read more: Politico · Future of Life Institute · Sabine Hossenfelder on X
