Meridian Cambridge

Meridian Cambridge — operating as Meridian Impact CIC — was incorporated on 30 September 2021 as Cambridge Effective Altruism CIC. It was renamed Meridian Impact CIC on 8 May 2024, and the rebrand to the public-facing name "Meridian Cambridge" was announced in December 2024. The organisation is registered at 53-54 Sidney Street, Cambridge, CB2 3HX, the same address it uses as a physical coworking and events space. Meridian describes itself as an independent research and incubation hub focused on AI safety, biosecurity, frontier-risk policy, and institutional design. Through labs, fellowships, and practical support, it helps researchers and practitioners test new ideas and apply them in the real world. The organisation brings together over 100 members — University of Cambridge students, think-tank professionals, researchers, and visitors — united by a commitment to tackling high-stakes global challenges. Meridian hosts and operates several distinct initiatives. The Cambridge AI Safety Hub (CAISH) is a network conducting technical and policy research in AI safety, running educational programs, and building community. The Cambridge Biosecurity Hub addresses technical and policy dimensions of biotechnology risks. The UK AI Forum convenes researchers, innovators, and policymakers in salon-style gatherings focused on AI security and governance. The Cambridge Long View Initiative is a foresight and strategy programme for long-term catastrophic-risk reduction. The organisation also runs its own research labs: the Mathematics of Safe AI Lab (developing algebraic and probabilistic methods for machine-checkable safety guarantees in frontier AI models) and the Geodesic Research Lab (scaling interpretability techniques for multi-step reasoning in large language models). Fellowship programmes include the ERA Fellowship (an 8-week paid summer research fellowship for aspiring AI safety and governance researchers) and the MARS programme for student AI safety research. The Research Accelerator Week (formerly Visiting Researcher Programme) is an intensive programme helping independent AI safety researchers develop fundable proposals, with over $1M in funding secured for its first cohort. In partnership with Cambridge University's Centre for Data-Driven Discovery (C2D3), Meridian produces a 16-part online lecture series titled "Language Models and Intelligent Agentic Systems." Membership is free thanks to a grant from Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy). The core team as of early 2026 comprises 12 named staff members, with Olivia Benoit serving as Executive Director.