Who's funding the future?
Six of the world's best-known founders have put their own money behind inventions on the HumanNext list. Here is what each of them funds, with sources, and the invention pages it connects to. Then vote for the one you would build first.
Independent editorial page. None of the people or organisations below are affiliated with, sponsor or endorse HumanNext. Every fact links to its source.
Elon Musk
Carbon removal, reusable rockets, brain-computer interfaces
- Funded the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal through the Musk Foundation. On 23 April 2025, Mati Carbon won the $50M grand prize for spreading crushed basalt on farmland in India, which locks CO₂ into rock. NetZero won $15M, Vaulted Deep $8M, UNDO $5M, and Planetary and Project Hajar $1M each. Source: ESG Today
On HumanNext:
Larry Ellison
Health, food security, climate and AI at Oxford
- Founded the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford. Its stated mission is to "deliver scaled solutions to humanity's important problems" in four areas: health and generative biology; food security and sustainable agriculture; climate change and atmospheric CO₂; and AI and robotics. Source: eit.org
On HumanNext:
Sam Altman
Fusion, longevity, brain-computer interfaces
- Executive chairman of fusion company Helion, valued at $15.5B in June 2026. Personally put $180M into longevity company Retro Biosciences in 2023, and co-founded Merge Labs (brain-computer interfaces) in January 2026. Source: StartupHub.ai, July 2026
On HumanNext:
Jeff Bezos
Climate grants, fusion, space
- Pledged $10B to the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020. In its second round of AI for Climate and Nature grants, the fund awarded $30M. Source: Carbon Pulse
- An investor in fusion company General Fusion through Bezos Expeditions. Founded Blue Origin. Source: GeekWire
On HumanNext:
Bill Gates
Long-duration storage and fusion
- Founded Breakthrough Energy. Its fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, backs Form Energy (iron-air batteries that store power for days) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are also among the fund's backers. Source: GeekWire, 2018
On HumanNext:
Brian Armstrong
Reversing cellular ageing
- Co-founded NewLimit, which is developing medicines that restore youthful function to ageing cells through epigenetic reprogramming. NewLimit raised $435M in June 2026 in a round led by Founders Fund, with human trials planned for 2027. Source: Athletech News
On HumanNext: