James BabcockTeam (Specialist)
Field builder · Funders · Berkeley, California · Est. 2021
Lightcone Infrastructure is a Berkeley-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds and operates “opinionatedly neutral” community and grantmaking infrastructure for people working on long-term future improvement, with a stated emphasis on AI risk reduction. It operates and maintains major community platforms (LessWrong and the AI Alignment Forum), runs the Lighthaven campus and venue (hosting conferences, researchers, and programs), and develops grantmaking coordination and delegation tooling (including Lightcone Commons and Lightspeed Grants).
The organization also supports longer-running institutional and community “infrastructure” efforts such as residencies (Inkhaven) and editorial/community events (LessOnline).
Publications are not yet indexed for this organization. Read them on lightconeinfrastructure.com ↗.
The Lightcone Commons FAQ states application deadline and recommendation announcement dates for the first round, plus a tentative funder list.
Lightcone Commons introduced as an end-to-end platform for coordinating ambitious philanthropyA July 24, 2026 post introduces Lightcone Commons as a coordinated “one-stop shop” for funders, describing it as using the S-Process and discussing the expected scale of the first round.
LessOnline 2026 is announced (save-the-date)A LessOnline tag page entry references LessOnline 2026 with dates and Berkeley location.
Lightcone is hiring for a generalist, a designer, and a campus operations co-leadA January 17, 2026 hiring announcement outlines three open roles and states that Lightcone had begun actively hiring after a period without active growth.
Lightcone Infrastructure fundraiser for 2026 reports total raised of $2,277,973 (and describes stated operating needs)A December 13, 2025 fundraiser post describes Lightcone Infrastructure’s role and reports fundraiser progress and total raised; it also states an amount described as needed to make it through the next year.
LessOnline 2025 early bird tickets on sale (event details and attendance/feedback from 2024)A March 18, 2025 post provides dates/location for LessOnline 2025 and includes descriptive details from the previous year’s attendance and feedback.