AI Pioneer Pledges $100M for Independent Research Institute

Jun 23, 2025
TechCrunch
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Summary

Databricks and Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski pledges $100 million to launch Laude Institute, an independent AI research institute that will fund projects through grants, with the first $3 million grant establishing an AI Systems Lab at UC Berkeley.

Key Points

  • Databricks and Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski pledges $100 million for a new AI research institute called Laude Institute
  • Laude Institute aims to fund independent AI research projects through grants, structured like a fund
  • Laude Institute's first grant is $3 million annually for 5 years to establish a new AI Systems Lab at UC Berkeley led by Ion Stoica

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