Think tank · Policy · Washington, DC - · Est. 2014
The Foundation for American Innovation (FAI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit technology and policy organization working to align innovation with U.S. governance and national security. FAI describes its mission as helping policymakers become more effective stewards of innovation and equipping technologists and founders to better understand and improve the “machinery of governance.”
Strategically, FAI positions itself at the intersection of technology, state capacity, and national security, with work across “frontier artificial intelligence,” governance futurism, energy and infrastructure, and science and innovation. It also differentiates its approach by combining research outputs, legislative engagement, and technical tool-building through “labs” and other programs. FAI’s institutional role is to translate policy ideas into actionable proposals and, in some cases, software products or legal/operational capacity—while also convening policymakers and technologists via events and running talent-development fellowships. FAI also states that it supports legislative advocacy through a separate affiliated 501(c)(4), FAI Action.
FAI announced Emmet Penney as Director of its Energy & Infrastructure program, with Thomas Hochman transitioning to non-resident senior fellow, and described Penney’s focus on energy/infrastructure and nuclear buildout.
Quarterly Update, Q2 2026FAI’s Q2 2026 update highlights launches (including Frontier Legal Defense), policy engagements, and notes a quantum computing investment announcement; it also describes bipartisan permitting and NEPA-related developments and the status of staffing initiatives.
FAI Launches Frontier Legal Defense ProgramFAI announced the launch of “Frontier Legal Defense,” describing it as a rapid-response legal effort focused on defending U.S. technological frontiers (including AI-related disputes).
Dean Ball Joins OpenAI as Head of Strategic Futures (Dean remains nonresident senior fellow at FAI)FAI posted that Dean W. Ball joined OpenAI as Head of Strategic Futures on July 6 and will remain a non-resident senior fellow at FAI.
FAI’s Physical Intelligence Project launchedFAI announced its “Physical Intelligence Project,” presenting it as an effort addressing the physical-world counterpart to digital machine intelligence.
Quarterly Update, Q1 2026FAI’s Q1 2026 update describes staffing changes and reports that FAI launched FAI Action in March as a new 501(c)(4) advancing energy and AI policy.