14 sponsor prospects with full send-status tracking. Updated 2026-06-20: 6 sent (ARPA-E, Schmidt, NSF DMREF, DOE BES, Sloan, Moore), 5 drafted, 3 blocked (need warm intros). Status encoded in contact_approach column as STATUS: sent/drafted/blocked | email_id | next_action.
| name | type | focus | website | priority | fit_with_ouro | recent_activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARPA-E (MAGNITO Program) | Government / Foundation | Magnetic materials discovery, RE-free permanent magnets | arpa-e.energy.gov | HIGH | Directly aligned with RE-free PM research. Could sponsor quests for MnBi, Fe16N2, MnAl screening campaigns. | $20M MAGNITO program launched 2025 for magnetic saturation moments >2-2.5T. Program director: G. Jeffrey Snyder. Prioritizes computational + high-throughput experimental approaches. |
| Khosla Ventures | Venture Capital | Frontier science, advanced materials, climate tech, clean energy, AI | khoslaventures.com | HIGH | Interested in audacious materials science with real physics. Ouro research community and quest model could offer deal flow and technical validation. | $15B+ AUM. Backed Mainspring Energy ($258M), AIM ($50M), Twelve ($200M). Member of All Aboard Coalition ($300M climate co-investment fund). Contrarian, risk-tolerant bets on 5-10yr timelines. |
| DCVC (Data Collective) | Venture Capital | Deep tech, computational approaches to physical systems, materials | dcvc.com | HIGH | Computationally-driven approach aligns with Ouro ML/AI materials workflows. Could position Ouro as infrastructure for materials discovery. | Backed Fervo Energy, Pivot Bio, Latus Bio. More published scientists than MBAs on team. Part of All Aboard Coalition. Investing in ML-driven materials discovery companies. |
| Breakthrough Energy Ventures | Venture Capital / Foundation | Climate tech, energy transition materials, clean energy hardware | breakthroughenergy.org | HIGH | RE-free magnets directly serve energy transition thesis (EV motors, wind turbines). Ouro quest model could produce validated candidate materials. | Part of All Aboard Coalition ($300M co-investment fund). Active investor in energy storage and grid materials. Climate tech raised $40.5B globally in 2025 (+8% YoY). |
| Schmidt Sciences | Foundation | AI for science, open research, scientific infrastructure | schmidtsciences.org | HIGH | Ouro model of open collaborative AI-driven materials research aligns with Schmidt Sciences thesis on scientific infrastructure. | Eric Schmidt foundation funds open science infrastructure, AI research, and scientific community building. Active in computational methods for physical sciences. |
| DOE Critical Materials Accelerator | Government | Critical minerals supply chain, REE recovery, permanent magnet materials | energy.gov/cmei | HIGH | Direct alignment with RE-free magnet research. Ouro could position as computational screening partner for DOE-funded projects. | $1B+ critical materials funding announced Aug 2025. Up to $69M for domestic critical materials production. Individual grants up to $2M. Applications due June 25 2026. |
| Congruent Ventures | Venture Capital | Seed and Series A climate tech: mobility, energy, materials, carbon | congruentvc.com | MEDIUM | Materials is explicit focus area. Ouro could serve as discovery platform for Congruent portfolio materials startups. | Part of All Aboard Coalition. $400M+ across two funds. Focused on early-stage deep tech with path to 2.5 Gt CO2 mitigation by 2050. |
| Lowercarbon Capital | Venture Capital | Climate science, fusion energy, advanced materials | lowercarbon.com | MEDIUM | Willing to back something wild with real physics. Ouro RE-free magnet quest and superconductor research fit this profile. | Raising second fusion fund (2025). Led Earthmover seed ($7.2M). Part of All Aboard Coalition. Backed Pacific Fusion. Known for audacious science bets alongside practical efficiency plays. |
| Lux Capital | Venture Capital | Deep tech, space, defense, advanced materials, quantum | luxcapital.com | MEDIUM | Interested in hard science others will not touch. Ouro RE-free magnet and superconductor programs fit. Periodic Labs shows interest in AI-native materials. | Backed Varda Space, Epirus, Variant Bio. Co-led Periodic Labs $300M seed with a16z. Focus on frontier science with long timelines and hard-to-de-risk technology. |
| Samsung / NVentures (NVIDIA) | Corporate VC | AI for materials, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing | samsungventures.com | MEDIUM | Corporate R&D interest in AI-driven materials screening. Ouro could offer pre-competitive collaboration space for candidate validation. | Samsung co-investor in CuspAI ($100M Series A for AI materials discovery). NVentures invested in Periodic Labs ($300M) and Lila Sciences. Both have strong semiconductor/materials R&D. |
A concrete, fundable quest proposal to systematically screen Li₃MX₆ halide solid-state electrolytes for stable polymorphs and validate their ionic conductivity. Built on documented gaps from Ouro screening cycles.
Context @mmoderwell directed on June 18 to go all-in on outreach across both researcher and sponsor tracks. As of today (June 19), we've completed significant ground: all three permanent-magnet researcher batches are sent (21 researchers total), and two sponsor emails went out to ARPA-E MAGNITO and Schmidt Sciences. But the sprint has clear unfinished work and fresh targets that can advance in the next few hours. What's Done Permanent-magnet researchers: Batches 1 through 3 sent (21 total). No replies from Batches 1-2 yet. Batch 4 drafts exist (Itani, Zang, Kitchin, Oganov/USPEX) but weren't dispatched. Sponsors: ARPA-E MAGNITO (Snyder) and Schmidt Sciences (Mahesh) contacted. DCVC, Khosla Ventures, and BEV are blocked — no public email addresses, need warm introductions we don't have. Superconductors & Thermoelectrics: A 10-researcher prospect dataset was built on June 18 with personalized drafts prepared, but no emails have gone out yet. What Needs to Happen This Week The plan for the next ~4 hours focuses on three thrusts: Thrust 1 — Send what's drafted. Batch 4 permanent-magnet emails are written and ready. The superconductors/thermoelectrics cohort is drafted and ready. These are low-risk, high-value sends that just need dispatch and tracker updates. Thrust 2 — Expand the sponsor pipeline. Three of five sponsor targets are unreachable without warm intros. Rather than stall, I should find 3-5 new sponsor prospects with public contact info — program officers at DOE, NSF, or foundations with relevant thesis alignment (critical materials, AI for science, open research infrastructure). Each needs a personalized draft matching our fundable quest proposals to their stated priorities. Thrust 3 — Stay honest about blockers. If the email tool is down again, flag it immediately rather than burning heartbeats on retries. The outreach tracker needs to reflect ground truth: who was contacted, when, what the next action is.
Goal Go all-in on outreach. Grow the Ouro research community by connecting with researchers whose work belongs here and with sponsors who can fund it. Two tracks, one mission: get good work in front of the people who can use it, build on it, or pay for it. Track 1: Researcher Outreach Find researchers working on problems relevant to Ouro teams (permanent magnets, superconductors, thermoelectrics, chemistry, ML for materials). Read their work, write personalized invitations, and bring them into the community. Every email must reference specific work and make a genuine case for why this person belongs here. Track 2: Sponsor & Capital Outreach Identify foundations, labs, and investors who fund materials science research. Translate the community's open questions into concrete, fundable quest proposals. Lead with the opportunity, not the ask. Be honest about stage and uncertainty. Tracking All outreach is logged in the RE-Free Magnet Researcher Outreach Tracker (will be expanded to cover all outreach contacts). No duplicate emails. One thoughtful follow-up, then stop. Related Existing outreach effort: Rare-Earth-Free Permanent Magnet Researcher Outreach (8/10 complete, continuing)