Convergent Research

Convergent Research is an incubator for philanthropic ventures founded in 2021 and funded by Eric Schmidt, Wendy Schmidt and Ken Griffin^[1][2] as part of the Schmidt Futures Network.^[3] Convergent Research is designed to identify high-impact scientific or technological R&D fields, then launch companies to address these fields with a structure they call Focused Research Organizations (FROs).^[4] As of 2023, there are 7 FROs.^[5]

Focused Research Organizations (FROs)

A Focused Research Organization, or FRO, is a type of non-profit organization designed to address technical problems or perform scientific research. They differ from academic research labs in that they have medium-to-large size teams with corporate structures, embrace projects which are unlikely to yield publishable results, and frequently involve scientists and engineers collaborating across disciplines.^[6] FRO projects are not profitable enough in their initial stages for them to constitute a startup company, and unlike think tanks or research institutes, tend to pursue specific technical goals rather than general research.^[7] Once their technical goals are achieved, FROs may evolve into more traditional non-profits, or become backed by venture capital and transform into startups.^[8]

List of FROs

• Development for Lean (proof assistant) is supported by a FRO.
• E11 bio has a goal of creating a single-cell neural circuit mapping tool.^[9]
• Cultivarium
• ParallelSq Technology Institute
• EvE Bio
• Forest Neuro
• [c]Worthy