Thank you to everyone who applied. We read every application, and we were blown away. But we had to choose, so, here are the winners.
Runs Skin Open Source, a community biotech initiative in Ukraine. Built Ukraine's first DIY bio lab during the full-scale invasion, self-tested a DIY COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, and works on open-source biotechnology and stem cell protocols for burn treatment. Focused on making advanced biotech accessible outside traditional institutions.
Fabricated 8 custom chips as a highschooler. Built a CPU from scratch in his dorm to play DOOM with friends. Now building a neural net accelerator that computes with sound.
Built the first genetic PID controller in living cells. Launching the largest biology satellite ever sent to orbit. Hacked microwave ovens into lab equipment.
| Alex Waldherr | $5,000 |
| Aubrey Neiderhoffer | $5,000 |
| Claire Wang | $5,000 |
| Elizabeth Hudson | $5,000 |
| Elon LitmanI want to uncover the fundamental laws underlying deep learning. Major technological revolutions always start with empirical breakthroughs, like how people built working steam engines and airplanes long before anyone understood thermodynamics or aerodynamics. My work specifically focuses on generalization, using NTK theory and physics-inspired formalisms to explain why neural networks learn the way they do. Figuring out this underlying theory is required to unlock the next massive leap in model capabilities. It is also one of the most promising paths forward for AI safety, because alignment is inevitably tethered to understanding how these systems actually work. | $5,000 |
| Feodor YevtushenkoHi, I'm Feodor! Right now, I'm a rising freshman at MIT, and I'm really interested in both theoretical physics and foundational AI research. | $5,000 |
| Grant Gao | $5,000 |
| Houjun LiuAdaptive architectures, flexible harnesses, closing the compute/dollar Pareto. | $5,000 |
| Johannes GalatsanosCo-Founder and CEO of Diffraqtion, where he is leading the development of the first commercial quantum camera designed to fundamentally expand how satellites and machines perceive the world. Seeing farther, resolving finer detail, and enabling faster, smarter decisions at the edge to enable defense, space, and commercial applications. | $5,000 |
| Kathy Liu | $5,000 |
| Lev Chizhov | $5,000 |
| Lexi Mattick | $5,000 |
| Liyam ChitayatHuman synthetic biology. | $5,000 |
| Lukas BongartzFor his work on semiconductor thermodynamics and applying physics to AI internals. | $5,000 |
| Maxwell HowethCoherent electron clustering in free space. | $5,000 |
| Preet PatelInterested in bioelectronics. Building devices from injectable electronic drugs to portable MRI. | $5,000 |
| Shepherd KruseBuilt a vertically integrated rocket motor company solo. Propellant, casings, nozzles, igniters, all designed and made in-house. Supplying custom motors to counter-drone builders in weeks, not years. | $5,000 |
| Sofia Scarlat | $5,000 |
| Soumil SahjpallBuilding the next generation of drones. | $5,000 |
| Timo ChangBuilding quantum computational sensors. | $5,000 |
| Zachary PlotkinMaking physiology computable. | $5,000 |
| Zander Chearavanont | $5,000 |
To everyone who applied — keep building, discovering, operating. See you next time.