Apply
Funding for independent work.
We support a small number of researchers and engineers each year. We do not run quarterly cohorts. We do not require a pitch deck. We read whatever you send.
What we fund
Frontier AI & robotics research — including agents, robot learning, perception systems, evaluation methodology, and quiet infrastructure.
Independent researchers & small teams. We have a soft preference for work that one person, or a team of two to three, can hold in their heads.
Open-source by default. We are happy to discuss exceptions, but we believe the work in our orbit should be readable.
How to apply
Send an email to info@saofund.ai. One message is enough. There is no form.
Please include, in any order:
- A short description of who you are.
- What you would like to work on, and why now.
- What you would do with the funding.
- Links to anything you have already made — code, papers, demos, sketches, anything.
We answer every serious message. Most replies come within a few days; some take longer. If you do not hear back in two weeks, please write again.
Terms
são Fund grants are non-dilutive. We do not take equity, do not require milestones, and do not own your work.
For institutional uses — affiliations on papers, OpenReview submissions, conference attendance — we are happy to discuss on a per-project basis.