Research Fellowship
9 weeks to produce impactful research in AI safety and governance — with expert mentorship, funding, and a world-class research community in London.
Know someone who'd be great? Recommend and receive $1,000 if we accept them.
What you get
Everything you need to do your best work
Expert mentorship
Weekly 1-on-1s with established researchers providing methodological expertise, critical feedback, and strategic direction.
Research management
Pivotal's dedicated research managers help you scope projects, stay on track, navigate blockers, and plan your career.
LISA workspace
In-person co-working at the London Initiative for Safe AI. Lunch and dinner included weekdays.
Financial support
£6k–£8k stipend. Plus travel to London, £2,000 housing for non-London fellows, and the compute you need for your research to succeed.
Workshops & speakers
Q&A sessions with leading domain experts and hands-on workshops to sharpen your thinking and expand your network.
Extensions
Up to 6 months continued financial support, mentorship, management, and workspace for strong projects. 70–90% of applicants received extensions in our last cohorts.
Application process
From application to research
Apply
By May 3rdWritten application with information about you, your interests, and mentor preferences.
Evaluate
RollingAutomated interviews, and mentor-specific work tasks and personal interviews.
Fellowship
Jun 29 – Aug 289 weeks full-time research at LISA with your mentor, research manager, and cohort.
Extension
Up to 6 monthsContinued funding and mentorship for strong projects. Located in an AI safety research hub.
Mentors
Work with researchers shaping the field
Our mentors bring focused research agendas and hands-on guidance — explore their profiles to find the right fit for your work.
Outcomes
Where fellows go
Past fellows went on to work at
GovAI, SaferAI, UK AISI, IAPS, AI Futures Project, Timaeus, Google DeepMind, Cooperative AI Foundation, Beneficial AI Foundation, FLI, the Institute for Progress, among others.
Founded
PRISM Evals and Catalyze Impact.
Started PhDs at
University of Oxford and Stanford University.
Published research
In top academic venues and policy forums. See our research →
Testimonials
What they say
"Pivotal helped me grow my professional network and launch my career in AI governance."
"I’m more bullish on starting projects or a startup compared to research since starting at Pivotal. [I am also] more confident now that AI governance is the most important thing."
"My first independent AI safety project since university. I was intimidated, but the team was supportive, and I surprised myself by how much I achieved."
"I think the Pivotal research fellowship accelerated my AI safety career by 15 months in expectation."
"I thought I would like it and it would be good for my career, but I actually liked it more than I thought and think it was better for my career than I thought."
"The fellowship sharpened my thinking on AI security and helped me figure out where I can have the most impact in AI policy."
"The fellowship allowed me to work with top AI safety researchers — a great privilege early in my career. People were surprised what can be accomplished in two months, including me."
"Tremendously educational, inspirational, and fun. I'd highly recommend joining — it was one of the most enjoyable work environments of my life."
How to apply
Three steps, straightforward process
Written application
Tell us about yourself, your research interests, and which mentors you'd like to work with. Takes about 1–2 hours.
Work task
A mentor-specific exercise relevant to your chosen research area. Gives us signal on your thinking and lets you preview the work.
Interview
A personal conversation with the team or your selected mentors. We want to understand how you think and what drives your research.
FAQ
Common questions
Application
Anyone 18 or older. We've had fellows from ML, philosophy, policy, physics, biology. Your background matters less than motivation and ability.
You need to apply to at least one mentor. That said, there's often room to shape the project together with the guidance of your mentor.
A written application (~1–2 hours), then for shortlisted candidates: an automated interview, a mentor-specific work task, and a personal interview.
Senior Fellows have significant experience, such as a PhD, industry track record, or strong publications, and receive £8,000 instead of £6,000. The fellowship experience is otherwise the same.
Fellowship
It's an in-person programme in London. We make rare exceptions for people with a strong independent research track record. If you can't fully be in-person, apply either way and flag it in the form.
The fellowship is full-time. Small side commitments are usually fine and you can mention them in your application.
Some mentors have fellows work in teams, others work one-on-one. Either way, collaboration between fellows is common and encouraged.
Usually a research paper, but we're open to blog posts, policy briefs, or other formats if they suit the project. In any case, you retain ownership over your research.
No, Pivotal will not employ you, but we'll have a stipend agreement. Meeting entry requirements is your responsibility — we have an info doc on entry requirements and can sometimes help with the process.
We cover travel to and from London. If you don't already live here, you'll get £2,000 towards accommodation on top of the stipend.
About Pivotal
The field needs more good researchers working on AI safety and governance. The fellowship is the main way we try to make that happen.
Yes, have a look at Work With Us or just get in touch.
Start your application
The 2026 Q3 fellowship is open for applications until May 3rd. We look forward to reading yours.