About YCROur mission at YC is to enable as much innovation as we can. Mostly this means funding startups. But startups aren’t ideal for some kinds of innovation -- for example, work that requires a very long time horizon, seeks to answer very open-ended questions, or develops technology that shouldn’t be owned by any one company.We think research institutions can be better than they are today. So we're starting a new research lab, which we're calling YC Research, to work on some of these areas.YC ResearchYCR_f775ed84-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8cYCR is a non-profit. To start off, it is funded by $10 million donated by Sam Altman, with plans to raise more money for specific groups soon.Sam AltmanSam Altman is the President of YC Group. He was cofounder and CEO of Loopt, which was funded by Y Combinator in 2005 and acquired by Green Dot in 2012. At Green Dot, he was the CTO and is now on the Board of Directors. Sam also founded Hydrazine Capital. He studied computer science at Stanford, and while there worked in the AI lab.Slightly Heretical PeopleWe'll especially welcome outsiders working on slightly heretical ideas (just like we do for the startups we fund) and we'll try to keep things small ...Small Groupswe believe small groups can do far more than most people think. Also, smallness usually means less politics, which has plagued science in recent decades.Research InstitutionsWe think research institutions can be better than they are today.ResearchersThe researchers will, of course, have full discretion over when they're ready to release their work, and we'll have a process in place to address technology that could be dangerous.Research institutions are better._f775eeba-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8cTo enable as much innovation as we can._f775ef50-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8cInnovationOpennessBecause of the openness, the researchers will be able to freely collaborate with people in other institutions. CollaborationAltruismWe're not doing this with the goal of helping YC's startups succeed or adding to our bottom line. At the risk of sounding cliché, this is for the benefit of the world. Fundamental ResearchAs we've seen throughout history, new technological breakthroughs help all of us. Fundamental research is critical to driving the world forward, and funding for it keeps getting cut.Incremental ProgressFunding for technological development is actually relatively high, but funding for fundamental research keeps getting cut. Investors want to fund incremental progress -- and the world has gotten very good at delivering that. This is more valuable than it sounds; incremental progress compounds quickly. Open-EndednessBut it's not all we need -- we are dependent on the unpredictable breakthrough jumps to drive humanity forward. Technology startups today work very well for making a super-efficient piston engine, but they are unlikely to fund the kind of open-ended R+D required to develop a jet engine.QualityYC has a very high problem flux at this point -- we fund hundreds of companies per year. Compensation and power for the researchers will not be driven by publishing lots of low-impact papers or speaking at lots of conferences -- that whole system seems broken. Instead, we will focus on the quality of the output.LongevityWe plan to do this for a long time. If some of these projects take 25 years, that's perfectly fine with us.ExcitementWe're very excited to see what comes out of this.ResultsLong-Term ResearchFund work that requires a very long time horizon._f775efc8-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8c1_f775f086-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8cOpen-Ended QuestionsFund work that seeks to answer very open-ended questions._f775f108-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8c2_f775f180-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8cPublic TechnologyFund work that develops technology that shouldn't be owned by any one company._f775f20c-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8c3_f775f28e-9259-11e7-9956-1f800cdc5b8c2017-02-032017-09-05https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-research/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net