What Speculative Technologies does
Speculative Technologies is a nonprofit industrial research lab for public good that works to create the missing “institutional infrastructure” for ambitious, coordinated scientific and technological programs. It aims to move promising but “big-if-true” work out of limbo by (1) developing research leaders who can run long-horizon programs and (2) incubating specific coordinated research programs until they have an institutional home elsewhere (e.g., government programs, startups, or larger organizations).
Its current flagship vehicle for leader development is the four-month Brains fellowship (a research accelerator and training program for starting coordinated research programs). The organization also publishes operational guidance intended for program leadership and funders, including the Research Leader’s Playbook, and it runs multiple technical research programs in areas such as microelectronics and materials/manufacturing roadmaps.