So excited to be able to share this!! Eli Dourado is moving to the Bay and joining Astera Institute as our Head of Strategic Investments. I can't imagine a better partner in the quest to figure out how to best convert philanthropic capital to scientific & technological progress!

Interested in our second residency cohort? We're looking for misfits and innovators working towards an abundant future for all. We're accepting applications over the next three weeks — apply by May 2nd! astera.org/residency

In science, data generation is getting cheaper, but data strategy still lags behind. We’re rethinking how science gets done: not through a one lab, one grant approach, but through public data goods built iteratively for many. Here's the latest by John Wilbanks on our thinking:

Our Resident Edwin Kite recently joined P(David|Kipping) ∝ P(Kipping|David) P(David) on the Cool Worlds Podcast to explore the challenges and possibilities of terraforming Mars. Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=-DaeWd…

🚀We’re hiring! We’re looking for two exceptional leaders to join our team: 🔷 Head of Communications – to shape how we tell our story and engage the world 🔷 Head of Finance – to build thoughtful, robust systems that support ambitious scientific work If this sounds like you—or

What if climate intervention strategies followed the rigor of clinical trials? We sat down with Astera Resident @DakotaGruener, founder of Reflective, to talk about why we need urgent, transparent research on sunlight reflection, and what’s at stake. 🌐 Read the full Q&A:

I often get asked: why research sunlight reflection methods like stratospheric aerosol injection? Because we need to know if they can safely help us avoid catastrophic climate impacts. I spoke with Astera Institute about applying clinical trial-like rigor to this urgent

We did something radical that shouldn’t feel radical: we stopped funding science built for journals so that we can reimagine scientific publishing. First at Arcadia Science. Now at Astera Institute. More below.

The journal system isn’t just inefficient — it’s distorting science itself. At Astera, we’ve opted out. No more journals. No shaping work around “publishable units.” Just good science, published faster and more openly. Here’s why we believe publishing needs a complete rethink:

Eli Dourado Cate Hall the more team astera i get in my life, the better

At Astera Institute, we've adopted a strong stance against journal publishing: We don't do it, or fund projects that contribute to it. In today's Human Readable, our cofounder seemay chou talks about why the journal system is so broken, and why half-measures can't fix it.

Most advice on fundraising comes from VCs, and is written for software companies. We’ve published one that’s a little different. By @andreacoravos & Rachel Katz, who have successfully fundraised for and exited their own companies, here’s a guide for founders in healthcare and

Over coffee and bagels, Cate Hall asked me: where’s the fundraising guide that guides scientists through how the game actually works? Not the sanitized Twitter version. Didn't have one, so I wrote it with Rachel Katz.