The KIRA Center (Center for AI Risks & Impacts) is a Berlin-based independent think tank working to ensure the transition to advanced AI is safe and beneficial. It conducts policy research and engages governments, particularly in Germany and the EU, on AI governance and safety.
The KIRA Center (Center for AI Risks & Impacts) is a Berlin-based independent think tank working to ensure the transition to advanced AI is safe and beneficial. It conducts policy research and engages governments, particularly in Germany and the EU, on AI governance and safety.
People
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.aiFounder & Executive Director
Funding Details
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.ai- $89,435
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Org Details
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.aiThe KIRA Center (Zentrum fur KI-Risiken und -Auswirkungen gUG) is an independent German nonprofit think tank founded in April 2023 and based in Berlin. Its full name translates to Center for AI Risks and Impacts, and it operates under a gUG limited liability structure. The organization was founded by Daniel Privitera, who serves as Executive Director, alongside co-founders including Charlotte Siegmann. The small core team also includes Philip Fox as European AI Policy Lead and Anton Leicht as an affiliate for international AI policy.
KIRA was founded on the premise that advanced AI presents both extraordinary opportunities and severe risks, and that neither outcome is guaranteed by default. The organization focuses on ensuring that governments, particularly in Germany and the EU, develop the institutional capacity, technical understanding, and policy frameworks needed to govern advanced AI systems responsibly.
Key programs include an AI Boot Camp for Policymakers, which delivers tailored technical training to parliamentarians and civil servants covering AI foundations, societal benefits, risk categories, and governance strategies. KIRA also produces policy-relevant research, including a 2025 AI Compute Report examining Germany's AI infrastructure and global competitiveness, and contributed to EU AI Act implementation guidance for frontier AI.
On the international stage, KIRA's founder Daniel Privitera served as Lead Writer of the 2025 International AI Safety Report, a landmark scientific consensus document supported by 30 countries, the UN, and the EU. KIRA has also published op-eds in TIME magazine with Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio introducing a Beneficial AI Roadmap (BAIR), and in outlets including Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, The Economist, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Al Jazeera. The organization is registered on the EU Transparency Register and engages in advocacy at the European level.
As of 2023, KIRA operated with an annual budget of approximately EUR 89,000, funded primarily through donations from foundations and individuals including the GTR Foundation, Reinhard Wiesemann, and Joel Richard.
Theory of Change
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.aiKIRA believes that independent, technically grounded policy research combined with direct engagement with decision-makers is the most effective way to shape AI governance before advanced AI systems outpace existing oversight capacity. By educating parliamentarians and civil servants, advising on regulation such as the EU AI Act, and producing scientific consensus documents like the International AI Safety Report, KIRA aims to build state capacity and international coordination mechanisms that reduce the probability of harmful or ungoverned AI deployment. The causal chain runs from improved policymaker understanding and better-designed regulations to governance frameworks that enable beneficial AI while constraining catastrophic risks.
Grants Received– no grants recorded
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.aiProjects
Updated 05/18/26By grantmaking.aiDiscussion
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