January 24, 2026, 2:00 PM
Uber Co-Founder Donates €5 Million to Austrian AI Research
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A significant gift will bolster the Institute of Science and Technology Austria’s work in developing trustworthy and human-centered artificial intelligence.
- Canadian entrepreneur Garrett Camp, co-founder of Uber, has donated €5 million to the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA).
- The funds will support ISTA’s research into responsible AI, focusing on areas like trustworthiness, sustainability, and ethical considerations.
- Camp believes that collaborative, long-term research is key to unlocking the next generation of AI breakthroughs.
- ISTA’s interdisciplinary approach, combining computer science, mathematics, and natural sciences, positions it as a leading hub for AI innovation.
The future of artificial intelligence just got a substantial boost. Garrett Camp, the Canadian entrepreneur and co-founder of ride-hailing giant Uber, has pledged €5 million to the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) to advance AI research. This isn’t just about building smarter algorithms; it’s about ensuring AI benefits humanity, a goal that’s becoming increasingly urgent as the technology rapidly evolves.
A Vision for Responsible AI
Camp, who also founded the non-profit research organization Camp.org, visited the ISTA campus on January 13 to formally sign the donation agreement with ISTA President Martin Hetzer and Managing Director Georg Schneider. “With this generous gift, ISTA can further build upon fundamental research in artificial intelligence, drawing on our strengths in computer science, mathematics, and the natural sciences,” Hetzer stated. “It helps us pursue AI research within a broad, interdisciplinary scientific context, deepen our understanding of how these systems work, and address their limitations. It is essential for developing robust and trustworthy AI systems that deliver long-term value for both science and society.”
For Camp, the investment reflects a belief that true AI breakthroughs won’t come from a race to be first, but from a commitment to rigor, collaboration, and lasting impact. He emphasized his focus on fostering AI development that empowers people globally. “Global solutions demand global perspectives and collaboration,” Camp said. “Supporting ISTA is about investing in a community that unites brilliant minds from around the world to further advance trustworthy AI in harmony with humanity and helps to ensure that innovation continues to grow with integrity, transparency, and respect for human values.”
ISTA: An Emerging AI Hub
ISTA’s AI research is remarkably broad, concentrating on creating systems that are not only powerful but also reliable, efficient, and scientifically sound. Researchers like Christoph Lampert are focused on building “principled solutions” – fixing the underlying causes of AI errors rather than simply patching symptoms – to enhance AI safety, robustness, fairness, and data privacy.
Sustainability is also a key priority, with Dan Alistarh leading research to make AI models more resource-efficient and accessible. Francesco Locatello and his team are pioneering “causal AI,” aiming to help systems understand cause-and-effect relationships and adapt to changing data patterns.
The institute also integrates AI with other scientific disciplines. For example, Alex Bronstein and Paul Schanda developed a method to refine the AlphaFold3 AI model using experimental data for protein structure prediction. Meanwhile, Monika Henzinger is exploring privacy-preserving techniques for training large language models, and Marco Mondelli’s group is developing advanced methods for analyzing massive datasets.
Researchers Krishnendu Chatterjee, Thomas Henzinger, and Matthew Robinson, among others, will continue to contribute to this work, bolstered by Camp’s generous donation. “We greatly value this transatlantic vote of confidence in ISTA’s research mission and in our role in shaping the future of AI,” Hetzer added.
Since its founding in 2009, ISTA has attracted scientists from across the globe, currently hosting around 90 research groups, with plans to expand to 150 in the next decade.
Further information:
https://ista.ac.at/en/research/
