Astera Residency

Astera Residency — B (next

Supports scientists and technical founders in AI and neuroscience through Astera residency opportunities for high-impact public-benefit work.

The Astera Residency is a fully funded 12–18 month programme based at the Astera Institute's hub in Emeryville, California, designed for researchers and engineers pursuing early-stage open-science projects that would not otherwise be created by government, academia, or markets. Astera's focus areas are neuroscience and artificial intelligence, AI-enabled life sciences, open science, and infrastructure including tools, standards, hardware, and software. The programme selects approximately 20 residents per cohort across cycles that run roughly twice per year; the most recent cycle (Fall 2026) had a deadline of April 19, 2026 and the next cycle date has not yet been announced.

Each resident receives an annual salary of $125,000–$250,000 commensurate with experience, plus a project budget of up to $1.5 million for team and operational costs. Compute resources through Voltage Park — including 24,000 NVIDIA HGX H100 GPUs as well as B200s and GB300s — are provided as part of the package. All IP generated during the residency is assigned to Astera, which makes it publicly accessible; Astera takes no equity in spin-outs, though it may request follow-on investment rights. Residents must be physically present in Emeryville for the full term; visa sponsorship and relocation funding are available.

The programme is best suited to individuals with a specific high-leverage, open-first project concept that is too early or too unconventional for conventional funders. Applications must demonstrate people-project fit, a credible path to real adoption, and alignment with Astera's open-science policy — software must ultimately be open-source and data publicly available. Commercially interested projects may negotiate modified terms. Candidates should monitor astera.org for the next cycle opening, as dates are not announced far in advance.