Responsible Innovation Labs is a coalition of founders, investors, engineers, policymakers, and innovators in the technology industry ¹ devoted to integrating left-of-center values like diversity and inclusion into emerging technology. ²

Founding and Activities

Responsible Innovation Labs was founded in June 2022 by a collection of charter member organizations and businesses, predominantly in the technology space. ³

Responsible Innovation Labs is a coalition of technology founders, investors, engineers, policy makers, and innovators to create what they term the “responsible innovation” of technology according to the organization’s core values. The coalition argues that technology cannot be solely devoted to growth, near-term profits, speed, or scalability. Instead, the coalition calls for technological development in line with left-of-center principles like promoting diversity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability as well as promoting innovation that respects human flourishing and promotes healthy societies. ⁴

To advance its principles, Responsible Innovation Labs conducts events and generates research. The organization’s first public event was the Responsible Innovation Founders Summit in November 2022 that convened nearly 500 tech leaders from New York, San Francisco, and online. The event was co-hosted by the Startups and Society Initiative and included sessions on subjects such as “What can we do differently to advance inclusive prosperity?” and “Responsible Innovation for Venture Capital.” ⁵ Additional events hosted by the coalition include roundtables on artificial intelligence and climate technology, as well as private, invite-only dinners for like-minded business founders. ⁶

Responsible Innovation Labs has also produced a variety of reports geared toward early-stage founders and operators on the intersection between technology and current events. Recent reports include “Carbon Accounting Tools Report,” “Responding to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” and “Responding to Reproductive Rights and Healthcare Changes in the U.S.” ⁷

Beginning in July 2023, Responsible Innovation Labs launched a weekly update on artificial intelligence collecting resources, news, and proposed policies on artificial intelligence. ⁸

Funding

Responsible Innovation Labs received $250,000 in 2023 from the Ford Foundation through the Hopewell Fund, a funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors. The Ford Foundation grant was given “to promote a more responsible and ethical ecosystem of technology entrepreneurs and investors.” ⁹

Partners

Responsible Innovation Labs has a coalition of charter-member organizations devoted to reforming the technology industry. These members include 7Wire Ventures, Atypical, Avaana, Base10, Bessemer Venture Partners, Breeyr Capital, CRV, Cityblock, Cowboy Ventures, DCVC, Deigner Fund, Detect, Elemy, Elevate K-12, Energize Ventures, Evolv, Ford Foundation, Galvanize Climate Solutions, General Catalyst, Generation, Grammarly, Guild, Gusto, Hall Capital Partners, Human Capital, Khosla Ventures, Kibo, Kinnevik, Knightsbridge, Lux, Mae, Matchstick Ventures, Multitudes, Near Space Labs, Norwest, One Ten, OU Endowment Management, PSL, Princo, RapidSOS, RO, Samsara, Sands Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Slauson and Co., Sora, Spring Point Partners, Square Peg, Thrive Capital, Transcarent, Uno, Village Global, Vintage, Warby Parker, The Westly Group, and Witcho. ¹⁰

People

The Founding Executive Director of Responsible Innovation Labs is Jon Zieger. ¹¹ Zieger formerly worked as the general counsel for Strip, the associate general counsel for Microsoft, and as an attorney at Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm that serves Democratic and left-of-center political candidates and non-profit clients. ¹² Responsible Innovation Labs was also co-founded by Died van Lamoen, co-founder of Commure, and Hemant Taneja, managing partner at General Catalyst. ¹³

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