The Sentient Foundation commits to investing $42 million to advance the development of open-source general artificial intelligence

The Sentient Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting open, decentralized general artificial intelligence that serves the common good of humanity, today announced the launch of the "Open Source AGI Grant and Investment Program," committing $42 million to support developers, researchers, and companies building and applying general artificial intelligence in an open manner.

Why $42 million? Because "42" is widely known as "the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything." As general artificial intelligence continues to evolve, the Sentient Foundation believes that who can build, access, and benefit from it will become one of the key issues facing society.

This program is an important investment by the Sentient Foundation to advance the development of open-source general artificial intelligence. The program will promote the development of an open ecosystem through a combination of non-dilutive grants and founder-friendly investments: key AI infrastructure, models, tools, and applications can remain open and accessible, enabling global developers, researchers, and companies to build, innovate, and achieve scalable growth.

Currently, billions of dollars continue to flow into proprietary AI platforms, while the open-source ecosystem has long lacked dedicated funding mechanisms to support developers, researchers, and startups at scale.

Sachi Kamiya, Director of Venture Capital and Growth at the Sentient Foundation, stated: "The future of intelligence should be built by the many, not controlled by the few. A handful of companies are trying to become the 'OPEC of intelligence'—charging by the quantity, pricing, and deciding who can access intelligence. We want to make intelligence as accessible as air."

The "Open Source AGI Grant and Investment Program" will provide support for projects at different stages of development:

• Grant Channel: For researchers, open-source maintainers, independent developers, and public interest projects. Funding support does not require equity, does not claim ownership, and will not restrict the future development of the project. Recipients will retain ownership of their work and knowledge contributions while receiving ongoing funding support needed to continue building in an open manner.

• Investment Channel: For startups and teams exploring commercialization around open-source AI technologies. Relevant investments will adopt standard, founder-friendly structures to help promising teams scale their operations while making openness one of their core principles.

Applicant projects will be evaluated based on technical capability, ecological impact, level of openness, and long-term potential. To guide the program's advancement, the Sentient Foundation is forming an advisory committee composed of senior members from the open-source AI community to collaboratively define funding priorities and ensure that the program truly responds to the needs of the community it serves.

The Sentient Foundation states that applicants do not need to open-source all components of their technology stack. Applicants must demonstrate that at least one key component of the project is open and available, and that it makes a substantial contribution to the project's value and adoption.

The Sentient Foundation points out that an increasing number of successful open-source AI projects have proven the feasibility of this model. Projects like Ollama, llama.cpp, LeRobot, DeepSeek, and other open ecosystems show that developers can create globally adopted technologies while keeping key components open and accessible. Sentient has also contributed to this process through projects like ROMA, Open Deep Search, EvoSkills, Arena, and the OML model family.

Kamiya stated: "Open models are advancing at an astonishing pace. When they catch up to the leading models—and this will eventually happen—those building on these models should benefit from them, rather than paying rent for intelligence forever."

The program has already received support from an expanding network of ecological partners, including Alibaba Cloud, Franklin Templeton, and academic institutions such as Princeton University and the Indian Institute of Science. More partners are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The Sentient Foundation believes that openness has long been an important catalyst for technological advancement. The internet is built on open protocols, and a significant portion of the modern cloud computing technology stack operates on open-source software. The foundational technologies serving billions of users today are often initially built and maintained through global community collaboration rather than driven independently by a single company. The Sentient Foundation believes that AI should also develop along similar paths—remaining open, accessible, and allowing its value to be shared by the people and communities that build and use it.

The "Open Source AGI Grant and Investment Program" is now open for applications and will adopt a rolling review mechanism.

About the Sentient Foundation

The Sentient Foundation is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that general artificial intelligence remains open-source, decentralized, and aligned with the common good of humanity. The foundation promotes the application of open-source general artificial intelligence worldwide, advocates for alignment and safety standards, funds developers, and coordinates governance efforts for responsible AI development.