Astera Institute

Astera Institute is a research organization that empowers and incubates high-leverage science and technology projects, with a focus on creating transformative progress for human civilization. They offer residency programs for scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs, and have dedicated programs for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Open Science, emphasizing open access and collaboration.

Astera Institute aligns well with the concept of a decentralized rogue think tank and R&D platform. It incubates 'high-leverage science and technology projects' and has programs like 'Residency' and 'Open Science' that foster collaboration and the development of new tools and research. The 'AGI Program' directly relates to cognitive AI engines. While it doesn't explicitly mention a 'community-driven funding platform' in the same way as the concept, it does offer funding and resources to its residents and projects, and its 'Open Science' initiative promotes open access and sharing of knowledge, which aligns with the spirit of an open contributor network. The focus on 'public goods' and 'open-first' projects also strongly supports the 'open contributor network' and 'vision and mission framework' features. The 'Residency' program's structure, including salary and additional budget for teams, and the expectation of 'final products and key learnings' being accessible, supports the 'rapid prototype development' and 'blueprint repository' aspects, even if not explicitly called a 'blueprint repository'.