About us
We're a nonprofit focused on accelerating talent into the fields of AI safety and policy. We believe the development of transformative AI will be one of the most consequential events in history. Getting it right requires building a robust ecosystem of researchers, policymakers, technical professionals, and skilled operators who can navigate the complex challenges ahead.
We operate with urgency. If transformative AI arrives soon, we need to move fast to build this ecosystem. For us, that means staying lean, shipping quickly, and constantly reassessing whether our priorities are the right ones.
Our current strategy focuses on interventions that can scale flexibly in response to public interest, allowing the fields of AI safety and policy to rapidly absorb large amounts of talent. We execute on this strategy by supporting decentralized community building at universities through Pathfinder, and by facilitating scalable research mentorship through SPAR.
Our Approach
Scalable Impact
We design programs that can reach large numbers of people without sacrificing quality. We build infrastructure that lets large numbers of motivated individuals find mentorship and do meaningful work, whether that's publications through SPAR or supporting people through Pathfinder.
Purpose-Driven
Impact comes first. We're aiming to find and support talent that actually moves the needle on AI safety and policy. We value what delivers impact, not what looks impressive.
Agile
The field is changing rapidly, and so are we. We maintain the speed and adaptability to pivot our strategy as new evidence comes in or the landscape shifts. Our lean team size is a feature, not a bug; it lets us make decisions quickly and test new approaches without excessive process.
Truth-Seeking
We pursue truth rigorously. That means being honest about uncertainty, updating our beliefs when the data demands it, and building accurate models of how our programs create impact. We'd rather have clarity than false confidence, and we actively resist motivated reasoning, even when it might be more comfortable to believe otherwise.
Our team
Agustín Covarrubias
Co-Director
Agus is a generalist and software engineer who has been involved in the AI safety space for the past 3.5 years. He led digital projects for a transparency nonprofit, América Transparente, built models for cost-effectiveness evaluations for Rethink Priorities, and kickstarted support for AI safety groups at the Centre for Effective Altruism. Agus has worked across a wide range of projects and organizations, spanning areas such as public policy and cybersecurity.
Neav Topaz
Co-Director
Neav is a generalist and builder with a strong passion for entrepreneurship and AI safety. Before co-founding Kairos, Neav worked at large tech companies such as Akamai Technologies as well as at small startups, taking on roles across marketing, analytics, talent, and operations. In addition to his professional roles, Neav has been involved in building several long-lasting communities.
Rebecca Baron
Founding Generalist
Rebecca leads internal operations and grantmaking logistics at Kairos. Previously, she worked in operations at METR and Open Philanthropy, handling nonprofit and grantmaking compliance, HR, and other administrative functions. She also has a background in community building and event planning.
Antonia Boetsch
Operations Associate
Antonia handles operations for SPAR and Pathfinder and is leading the transition for Kairos's takeover of the Global Challenges Project. Before joining Kairos, she spent over three years on the groups team at the Centre for Effective Altruism and worked in grants administration at Effective Ventures. Antonia studied Hispanic Literature and Linguistics at UC Chile.
Jeremy Kintana
Generalist
Jeremy is a software engineer and fieldbuilder with a background in AI safety community building. Before joining Kairos, he directed the Wisconsin AI Safety Initiative, where he led a team of 22 organizers coordinating technical programming and outreach at UW-Madison, and he has mentored organizers through Kairos's Pathfinder program since 2024. He has also worked as a software engineer at Arrows, and is finishing a BS in Computer Science and Data Science at UW-Madison.
Jesse Gilbert
Founding Generalist
Jesse is a generalist with an engineering background and experience in AI safety fieldbuilding. Before joining Kairos, he was a member of technical staff at CivAI, where he worked on demonstrations of AI risks, and he mentored AI Risk Demos streams through SPAR and the Cambridge AI Safety Hub's MARS program. Earlier, he interned at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Advent Technologies, and Cleo Robotics across mechanical R&D and automation engineering. Jesse holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science from Tufts University.