About us:

Astera is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation on a mission to help lead humanity’s transition to a scientifically advanced, abundant future. In service of this mission, we support the creation of public goods for science and technology. You can read about our mission and vision here.

Overview:

Astera is opening a call for the Fall 2026 cohort of our major science residency program, a 12-18 month fully funded program that seeds and supports mission-driven, open projects that can catalyze further private and public sector advancements.. We plan to welcome our residents to our headquarters in Emeryville, California, where we are building a hub for open science, data, and technology.

A full write-up of the program is available here; applicants should review it thoroughly before proceeding.

The deadline to apply for our Fall cohort starting in August is April 19th.

Tracks:

You can apply to one or more of the below tracks when you apply. We have listed below examples of the types of projects within these tracks that we know we are interested in, but we encourage you to apply with topics that also go beyond these areas.

1. Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence

We are interested in supporting ambitious projects at the interface of neuroscience and artificial intelligence that deepen our understanding of the biological brain and enable the development of more powerful, robust, and interpretable artificial systems. We seek efforts with clear potential to transform both neuroscience and AI. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Foundational frameworks:

• Mathematical frameworks for understanding learning beyond gradient descent in feedback-driven systems

• Computational frameworks for analyzing and interpreting large-scale neuroscience datasets

• Representation/structure learning for causal inference

Brain modeling:

• Bottom-up brain modeling grounded in connectomics and biological plasticity rules

• Development of neurally inspired models of perception or intelligence

Experimental innovations:

• New techniques for measuring and/or manipulating neural circuits at scale

• Human neuroscience experiments to study problem solving

• Novel approaches to understanding the brain’s self-model

Cross-disciplinary integration:

• Cross-disciplinary efforts that link neural mechanisms and machine learning architectures

2. Life Sciences and Open Science

We are interested in supporting ambitious projects aimed at accelerating progress in life science with clear real-world utility and impact at their core. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• New technologies, workflows, or platforms for generation of multidimensional, information-rich, AI-ready missing data in life science

• Infrastructure, methods and tools to make the lifecycle of research sharing more dynamic, machine-readable, and reusable

• Computational tools to enable data-driven decision-making for what science we do and fund

3. Other

If your project doesn't fit neatly into the above tracks but feels like a strong fit for Astera's mission, we still want to hear from you.

Who should apply:

Astera’s residency offers non-dilutive funding for open projects that may be a one-off public good or a precursor to a future for-profit or non-profit organization. Therefore, ideal residents could look like entrepreneurs, engineers, industry scientists, promising academics, or have other profiles. We also welcome applications from co-founders.

Residents must be able to work onsite in Emeryville, CA, for the duration of their residency.

If you would have applied for this program but for the location restriction, please fill out this form to register interest — we may opt to run a cohort with a remote option in the future.

Application Process

We expect to make final offers by early June with an August 17, 2026 start date. The application process includes multiple stages, and a smaller set of applicants will advance at each step based on the criteria described on the main residency page.

1. Initial application: Along with basic information, the application asks for a 2 minute video of you describing your project and 8 questions that are each <1000 characters (6-8 sentences)

2. 15-25 minute introductory conversation with a member of Astera's team

3. Detailed project proposal including preliminary budget and milestones

4. Deeper conversations with the Astera executive team, including alignment on the proposed scope, budget, and milestones

5. References

6. Offers extended

Other FAQs

1. Applications and eligibility

Can I apply to topics outside of those suggested? Yes. The tracks we've listed reflect our current priorities, but we welcome applications beyond the specific prompts and in other areas that align with Astera's broader mission. If you think it's a fit, we want to hear from you.

Can I be a part-time resident while employed or partially funded elsewhere? Generally no. In our experience, split arrangements create tensions, e.g. with our in-person requirement and our open science policy. It also raises the question of whether our funding is truly catalytic for your work. That said, we're open to discussing exceptions in unusual circumstances.

Does Astera offer relocation and/or Visa support? Yes. We want to remove barriers for exceptional people to join us and will work with you to make the transition as smooth as possible.

How are duration and budget decided? Both are negotiated during the application process, so expectations are aligned before your residency begins.

Is the start date flexible? While the default start date to plan around for the next cohort is August 17, 2026, we can be flexible around this. If you're anticipating a delay of several months or more, we'd likely encourage you to apply to a later cohort instead.

Are co-founders allowed? Yes. The application will be tied to one primary applicant, but there is room to add information about co-founders/additional team members. Please aim to include all applicants in your video submission.

2. During your residency

How can I prepare before my start date? We want you to hit the ground running from day one. If your project includes hiring for example, we encourage you to begin recruiting before you arrive, and will unlock recruiting support as soon as you accept an offer. We'll work with you in the lead-up to your start date to make sure you're ready to make the most of your time here.

Why is the residency in-person? We believe the best work happens when talented people are in close proximity. We're deliberately building a cohort, not just funding parallel projects — the unplanned conversation, the offhand question, the unexpected collaboration are some of the most underrated accelerants for this kind of work. Being on-site also means residents can directly benefit from the broader programs and expertise we're building in Emeryville.

Who is my employer during the residency? For the duration of your residency, you (and anyone you hire as part of your project) will typically be Astera W-2 employees and eligible for Astera benefits. If you already have an existing organization, we can work with that structure as well.

What are the expectations around open science?: We expect residents to publish openly and often, producing accessible outputs and sharing learnings — including what didn't work — so others can build on the full arc of the work. That said, we recognize that some projects have future commercial potential, and we're happy to work through any tensions between openness and those interests during the application process.

How does Astera stay involved during the residency? Once budgets are set, residents have significant freedom to execute. Brief monthly updates and deeper quarterly check-ins provide a lightweight structure for reflection, help surface challenges early, and give you practice communicating your progress to an engaged, expert audience invested in your success.

Is follow-on funding available?: The residency is designed as a sprint to make significant progress on your project. While we typically don't provide follow-on funding, many residents use this time to build momentum that attracts future support from other sources - whether that's grants, investors, or institutional partnerships.

Compensation Range: $125K - $250K