When Geoff Ralston stepped down as president of startup accelerator Y Combinator at the end of 2022, people wanted him to talk about startups. I kind of have a hammer,” he laughs. His venture fund has invested in nearly 30 companies to date.
After his team became “a little less optimistic” they were making a difference, SAIF began to focus more on mitigating catastrophic risks. This year, Ralston launched a nonprofit to help develop the “Bio Action Plan:” an initiative calling for $2.5 billion in philanthropic investment to defend against pathogens and pandemics as AI lowers barriers to biological engineering. Ralston sees navigating the future of AI as akin to “walking a tightrope” over a precipice.
To make it across, we’ll need to use whatever leverage we have, he says. But in one way, he’s been hesitant to do so himself.
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