AI for Good

AlphaLab is a nationally recognized startup accelerator based in Pittsburgh, supporting early-stage companies across software, hardware, life sciences, and robotics. Founded in 2008 and powered by Innovation Works, AlphaLab provides founders with capital, mentorship, and a structured program to accelerate growth. The platform operates multiple specialized tracks, including AlphaLab (software), AlphaLab Gear (hardware), AlphaLab Health (life sciences), and Robotics Factory, offering tailored support depending on the company’s sector. AlphaLab has played a key role in building Pittsburgh into a leading innovation hub, helping startups move from idea to scalable venture.

Cerulean Ventures is a $10 million pre-seed venture capital firm that backs founders building asset-light, rapid scaling software companies focused on climate solutions. They specifically target companies applying AI to build exponential solutions for nature and climate change. Their mission is to bring climate solutions to market quickly while fighting greenwashing and moving the climate economy beyond the green premium. Unlike traditional climate investors who focus on niche markets with green premiums or first-of-a-kind moonshots with decades-long timelines, Cerulean takes a different approach by identifying systemic leverage points where proprietary data, compute, AI scaling, and fintech solutions can rapidly scale. Cerulean matters in the ecosystem because they focus on transforming large economic sectors that have been resistant to digital transformation, including mining, niche manufacturing, soft tropical commodities, pharma supply chains, and emerging markets of natural capital and biodiversity. They position themselves as addressing the gap in climate investing by targeting systemic change rather than status quo business model disruptions.

Climate Collective is a leading innovation network that specializes in putting digital technologies to work for climate and nature at scale. They focus on connecting AI and digital tools with environmental impact, running innovation programs and building AI fluency across climate and nature nonprofits. The organization operates by connecting innovators, nonprofits, and global leaders to turn technology into lasting climate and nature impact. They accomplish this through running innovation programs, building AI fluency across climate and nature organizations, and convening sustainability leaders and technologists to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. Climate Collective plays a crucial role in the ecosystem by bridging the gap between technology innovation and environmental impact. Their flagship AI Explorers Summit brings together 100 leaders annually and is co-hosted by major organizations like Conservation International, UNDP, and TechChange, demonstrating their significant influence in shaping how AI is responsibly deployed for climate and nature solutions.

Google.org is Google's philanthropic arm that connects nonprofits to funding and additional resources to aid underserved communities worldwide. The organization focuses on three key areas: Knowledge, Skills & Learning, Scientific Progress, and Stronger Communities, leveraging Google's innovation and technology to promote progress and expand opportunity for everyone. The organization operates by providing funding, programs, and technical expertise to accelerate the missions of organizations around the globe. Google.org brings the best of Google's resources, research, and innovation to support initiatives that unlock AI's full potential to advance society and improve lives. Their approach combines direct funding with Google's technological capabilities and expertise. Google.org plays a significant role in the philanthropic ecosystem by bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and social impact. The organization matters because it represents one of the world's largest tech companies dedicating substantial resources to address society's biggest challenges, from reducing traffic congestion and tracking wildfires to expanding cybersecurity opportunities and supporting veterans' mental health.

Omidyar Network is a philanthropy whose mission is to bend the arc of the digital revolution toward shared power, prosperity, and possibility. They envision a future where shared humanity steers our digital future and work to hardwire humanity into technology development and implementation. The organization operates with a broad network of visionaries and innovators, focusing on key drivers of our shared digital future including the culture of technology, governance of technology, and the business of technology. With new leadership under CEO Michele Jawando, a tech and policy leader and civil rights attorney, Omidyar Network is positioned to address pivotal moments in AI development and the broader digital transformation.

ReGen Ventures is an impact-focused venture capital firm that invests in foundational regenerative technologies designed to power a future of abundance. They focus on four core investment areas: clean energy, planetary intelligence, programmable matter, and adaptive robotics, partnering with founders who are building transformative technologies from the atomic to planetary scale. The firm operates with a mission to reimagine the world by supporting technologies that make regeneration inevitable, enabling infinite growth and prosperity on a finite planet. They take a hands-on approach with founders, providing comprehensive support that ranges from business modeling to personal wellness, emphasizing long-term sustainable returns over short-term wins. ReGen Ventures positions itself as an innovator in the investment space, paving a new path for what investments should be by focusing on root causes rather than symptoms of environmental challenges. They are building what they call a "ReGenerative Future" where climate change is reframed as an opportunity for transformation, backing founders with unreasonable ambition who alter understanding of what's possible in addressing planetary challenges.

SOSV is a global venture capital firm and accelerator founded in 1995, operating one of the most active deep tech and life sciences investment programs in the world. The firm runs multiple accelerator programs, including HAX for hardware and robotics, IndieBio for life sciences and biotech, and Orbit for climate and sustainability — providing intensive company-building support alongside early-stage capital. With over $1.5 billion in AUM and a portfolio exceeding 1,000 companies across more than 70 countries, SOSV occupies a distinctive position in the venture landscape: a programmatic investor that takes companies from idea stage through to growth and beyond. The firm's accelerator model means it is often the first institutional check into a company, with follow-on capability through later rounds. SOSV has a strong impact orientation across its portfolio, with climate, food systems, health, and sustainability representing a significant share of its investments. Its programs in particular have become known as launchpads for companies working on hard scientific and engineering problems that require more than capital to succeed.