ERA

ERA (Existential Risk Alliance) is a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, UK, focused on reducing catastrophic and existential risks from advanced AI by building a community of highly skilled researchers and entrepreneurs. The organization grew out of the Cambridge Existential Risks Initiative (CERI), which was founded in April 2021 by Nandini Shiralkar as a student group at the University of Cambridge. In December 2022, the fellowship program previously run under CERI was spun off into ERA as an independent nonprofit project, with Rethink Priorities serving as its fiscal sponsor in the early years. ERA's primary program is the Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship, an intensive fully funded in-person summer fellowship held annually in Cambridge. The fellowship typically runs for 8-10 weeks and supports fellows working across three research domains: technical AI safety (developing safeguards against harmful or unpredictable behavior in advanced AI), AI governance (international cooperation, regulatory frameworks, and responsible corporate governance of frontier AI), and technical AI governance (sociotechnical approaches at the intersection of technology and policy). Fellows receive a prorated salary equivalent to £34,125 per year, complimentary accommodation, meals during working hours, visa support, and travel expense coverage. As of 2024, ERA had supported over 85 early-career researchers from more than 10 countries. The program shifted its strategic focus specifically to AI safety and governance in 2024, reflecting the field's evolving priorities. ERA has received funding from Open Philanthropy, including a grant of approximately £1,876,458 for its 2025 fellowship programs and a related technical AI governance conference. The organization's team includes around 14 named staff spanning research management and program operations, with founder Nandini Shiralkar setting overall strategy and vision. For the Summer 2026 fellowship, applications opened on March 20, 2026.