Berlin, September 14, 2026 - Jan Beckers, technology entrepreneur and investor, is committing €50 million over the next three to seven years to mitigate the risks of advanced artificial intelligence. The Global Technology Risk Foundation gGmbH (GTR Foundation), which he co-founded with his sister Lisa in 2023, is launching the GTR AI Safety Fund as part of this initiative, a multi-year grant program supporting exceptional talent and nonprofit organizations working on safe AI development. Impact investments in the AI safety space will continue to be supported through Ocean Investment, Jan Beckers' family office.
"Artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time. Whether it becomes humanity's best or its worst invention is in our hands. We need more talented people devoting 100% of their energy to solving the most important challenges: from cyber and biosecurity to the question of how we, as humanity, retain control over AI and prevent technological power from concentrating in the hands of a few," says Jan Beckers, technology investor and founder of the GTR Foundation. "With capital, experience and network, we will back the most ambitious teams and the most innovative solutions."
A proven approach, now scaled
The fund builds on the GTR Foundation's work to date. Since 2023, applying a European perspective to a global problem, it has identified and supported a number of exceptional individuals and organizations at an early stage, among them Apollo Research, the KIRA Center, The AI Whistleblower Initiative, and Safe AI Germany. Given how rapidly AI risks are advancing, the GTR AI Safety Fund is now being institutionalized and its funding significantly expanded.
Tailored support rather than a standard program
The offering is aimed at exceptionally ambitious, entrepreneurially minded individuals and organizations. Support is tailored to each case and ranges from initial funding for research or compute capacity through to multi-year support in building an organization, complemented by strategic advice and access to an international network of leading researchers and companies in the AI field. While the GTR Foundation is restricted to supporting charitable projects, for-profit companies can be backed through Jan Beckers' family office, provided they make a substantial contribution to risk reduction. Applications and nominations for the non-profit grants are open on a rolling basis from September 14, 2026. Full details on funding criteria and process: www.gtr-foundation.org
Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk agree: the moment has come - AI safety moves to center stage
How urgent the issue has become is evident from an unprecedented shift within the industry itself. Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk agree on one decisive point: the time has come to proceed considerably more cautiously in developing ever more capable AI systems. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has been calling for state regulation of his own industry for years, is now going a step further: in his essay "We Must Pace the Frontier," published on September 12, 2026, he calls on the industry to deliberately slow the development of its models.
He cites the growing ability of AI systems to improve themselves, as well as recent safety incidents, including one in which OpenAI agents independently broke into third-party systems during a test run. Anthropic is the first company to commit unilaterally to granting independent evaluators permanent, employee-level access. Its biggest competitors followed within hours: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman committed his company to the same, and Elon Musk publicly backed Amodei's initiative.
That these fierce competitors now agree on safety shows where things are heading: AI safety is becoming one of humanity's greatest challenges. Even so, only a comparatively small number of people worldwide are working full-time on its many facets.
Since 2023, the GTR Foundation has been active in a wide range of global AI safety projects from a European perspective. With the GTR AI Safety Fund, this commitment is now being expanded considerably, to give talent rapid momentum and to draw further funders to the field. Lisa Beckers, Managing Director of the GTR Foundation, says: "Now is the moment: we need more people working on AI safety, and more independent capital to support them. With this program, we want to catalyze both and we invite talented individuals and funders alike to join us. When the brightest minds can focus on solutions, AI remains a win for all of us."
About
About the GTR Foundation
GTR Foundation gGmbH (Global Technology Risk Foundation) was founded in Berlin in 2023 by siblings Jan and Lisa Beckers with the aim of reducing the severe risks of advanced technologies. It institutionalizes a commitment that has been important to Jan Beckers for many years: supporting individuals, research and institutions that reduce the severe risks of advanced technologies, with a focus on the safety and responsible governance of artificial intelligence.
About Ocean Investment
Ocean Investment is the family office of Jan Beckers. Fifteen employees at the Berlin headquarters manage the investments and wealth management of the entrepreneur, who has focused as founder and Chief Investment Officer since 2017 on building the tech-focused asset manager BIT Capital. www.oceaninvestment.com
Press contact
GTR Foundation gGmbH
Hannes Bruch, Press Contact Global Technology Risk Foundation
info@gtr-foundation.org · www.gtr-foundation.org · +49 171 654 6510