Former Y Combinator President Geoff Ralston Establishes New AI ‘Safety’ Fund

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Geoff Ralston, a prominent figure in the startup ecosystem due to his tenure at Y Combinator, has made a return to formal investment, as he announced on Thursday.

His new venture is named the Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund, abbreviated as SAIF, which cleverly encapsulates its mission while also being a catchy title.

Ralston is particularly interested in supporting startups that “promote AI safety, security, and responsible implementation,” as stated on his fund’s website. He plans to invest $100,000 through a SAFE agreement, emphasizing a “pun intended” approach, with a valuation cap of $10 million. The SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is a pre-seed investing instrument originally introduced by Y Combinator.

While many venture capitalists are eager to invest in AI ventures, Ralston’s focus narrows down to ensuring the safety of AI, albeit he acknowledges that the notion is somewhat broad.

“Most AI initiatives today utilize the technology to address challenges, improve efficiencies, or create novel functionalities. These projects are not inherently unsafe, yet safety is often not their foremost priority,” Ralston explained to TechCrunch. “My goal is to finance startups whose main aim is safe AI—defined broadly by my own criteria.”

This includes enterprises dedicated to making AI safer, like those that elucidate AI’s decision-making processes or evaluate AI safety. Ralston is also interested in innovations that safeguard intellectual property, ensure compliance with regulations, combat misinformation, and identify AI-generated threats. Furthermore, he envisions investing in practical AI solutions designed with safety in mind, such as advanced AI forecasting tools and AI-driven business negotiation platforms that protect corporate confidential information.

Although this might seem like a list of AI startups that many investors are targeting, Ralston draws the line at certain areas, one being fully autonomous weapon systems.

“Clearly, there are AI applications that could pose safety risks: utilizing the technology to develop bioweapons, managing conventional weapons autonomously without human oversight, etc.,” he detailed.

Indeed, he is also keen to finance “weapon safety systems” capable of detecting or thwarting attacks involving AI-driven weaponry.

This perspective is notably different from that of many current defense technology founders and investors. As previously reported by TechCrunch, several individuals involved in creating AI weapons are increasingly advocating for their operation without human intervention.

Nevertheless, the AI landscape has become quite competitive for venture capitalists lately. Ralston hopes that his connections with Y Combinator will provide him with an edge. After over a decade of advisory roles and three years as president, he left YC in 2022, succeeded by Garry Tan.

Ralston intends to offer mentorship akin to what he provided during his time at the renowned startup accelerator and is poised to guide startups on how to apply to YC. He also plans to leverage his extensive network of investors to assist them.

Ralston, however, refrained from disclosing the size of his fund, the number of startups he aims to support, or the identities of his limited partner backers.

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