About

About the Foundation for American Innovation

Our work is rooted in an optimistic vision for the future, in which technology is aligned to serve human ends: promoting individual freedom, supporting strong institutions, advancing national security, and unleashing economic prosperity.

We believe that better collaboration between innovators and policymakers is vital for making this future happen sooner. We work to help policymakers play a more productive role in fostering innovation, and help technologists and founders take a more active role in shaping governance.

While technological progress has been an overwhelming net positive for humanity, we also recognize that new technologies sometimes bring novel harms and disruptions, undermining our security, our livelihoods, and our social and community life. Rather than only focusing on the upsides of innovation, we believe dynamism is best advanced by working in good faith to anticipate and mitigate these challenges, while at the same time opposing the reactionary forces of social panic and incumbent protectionism.

In an era of increasing geopolitical strife, uncertainty, and malaise, we also reaffirm the need for American values and institutions—including free speech, economic liberty, and the rule of law—to lay the foundation for the dynamic future we want to create.

The Foundation for American Innovation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, established in Silicon Valley in 2014 as Lincoln Labs. Today, we are a national organization with three primary teams: one for building technology (Labs); one for public policy (Policy); and one for events, media, and fellowships (Network).

• POLICY: The Policy team is a boutique think tank of policy experts and technologists focused on issues at the intersection of innovation, governance, and national security. This team’s work focuses on impact research, educational outreach, and seeding novel solutions in the weeds of policy formation. We generally do not take institutional positions, instead relying on the expertise of individual team members (who sometimes disagree).
  
  
• LABS: The Labs team brings together product experts, designers, and engineers focused on building technology solutions to entrenched policy problems. This work is centered on creating philanthropy-supported tools and infrastructure to address key societal challenges that don’t have the profit potential to attract traditional venture investment.
  
  
• NETWORK: The Network team is focused on fellowships, events, and media, building a translation layer between the two cultures of tech and policy, and shaping the national conversation around innovation.
  
  
  • Events: Each year we host dozens of events across the country, engaging our communities in California, Texas, New York, Florida, D.C., and elsewhere. Through our salons, forums, and conferences, we bring together technologists, founders, authors, and policymakers to explore a range of timely topics.
    
    
  • Media: To increase the reach and impact of our work, we sponsor two podcasts. The Realignment boasts 500,000 monthly downloads and focuses on the shifting landscape of national security, economics, technology, and the role of government in our lives. Our new podcast, The Dynamist, highlights our research and work, and explores the emerging movement for dynamism with prominent guests.
    
    
  • Fellowships: Our fellowship programs cultivate early- and mid-career talent with two goals in mind: first, to educate the next generation of founders and builders about how to navigate policy and regulatory threats, and second, to create a stronger technical talent pipeline of market-oriented policy entrepreneurs.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FAI's work is made possible only through the generosity of its donors. We would like to thank our major supporters, include the Miles Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Searle Freedom Trust, and many others. If you would like to support our work, please consider donating here.