ABOut FROs
We support teams building critical infrastructure to make breakthrough science possible.
About FROs
We created FROs because some problems in science are too complex, too cross-cutting, or too infrastructure-heavy for universities, startups, or traditional labs to solve. FROs are built specifically to tackle these kinds of bottlenecks.
Funded by initial grants of $20-50m, Convergent FROs work for 3-7 years on high-impact technical problems with clear milestones, full-time teams, and a mission to build public tools that unlock new progress across entire fields.
Founded by entrepreneurial scientists who want to unblock progress in their fields, our FROs bring together engineers, scientists, product developers, and operators from across academia, industry, and government.
Anatomy of a FRO
Focused
Each FRO is a time-bound, technically ambitious effort designed to unblock whole domains of technical progress.
They pursue pre-specified, quantifiable technical milestones, with milestones and external reviews marking their progress.
Research
FROs create public goods that are technically ambitious and engineering-heavy.These often look like tools, datasets, and scientific infrastructure.
Our FROs release these goods as products that can seed an ecosystem of users and drive a scaled revolution in their field.
Organization
Each FRO is a nonprofit that runs like a startup, not a side project, so its culture feels tight-knit, fast-moving, & mission-driven.
Our FROs are led by full-time executives, and bring together teams of 10-30+ engineers, scientists, and operators working together.
How we support FROs
We’re always talking to prospective FRO founders and funders, driven by our priorities and scientific philosophy. Before a FRO can launch, we provide programmatic incubation, supporting scoping, technical roadmapping, operational planning, budgeting, and fundraising efforts.
After launch, as a parent non-profit, Convergent provides our subsidiary FROs with governance and critical operations support so they can efficiently deliver the public goods they are founded to produce.
FROs that reach their goals of producing a critical piece of scientific infrastructure have a range of possible outcomes, from selling products and services as a non-profit, to perpetual endowment as a foundation, to commercialization by licensing to a for-profit company.
Want to launch a FRO?
Unblock your field and create a better future for humanity. We're looking for passionate individuals to join us and accelerate breakthrough science.