The MIT Quest for Intelligence has been renamed the MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence in recognition of support from David Siegel. SQI’s goal is to understand intelligence — how brains produce it and how it can be replicated in artificial systems to address real-world problems that exceed the capabilities of current AI technologies.
From The Siegel Times, a special edition of our Year in Review, President and Executive Director Katy Knight examines the blueprints, partnerships, and strategies behind 2025’s most under-covered success stories.
Introducing The Siegel Times: our 2025 Year in Review, inspired by the look and feel of a classic news magazine and grounded in the work we’ve built together this year. More than a retrospective, this special report brings together feature stories from grantees, letters from leadership, and a clear record of what we’ve accomplished collectively—alongside playful, interactive moments designed to put the buzzwords of 2025 to rest and refocus on what actually matters. It’s a snapshot of a year defined not by hype, but by shared effort, learning, and progress.
Grantmaking Manager Evan Trout contributes a guest post this #CSEdWeek exploring a key gap in how we talk about “durable skills.” While communication and problem-solving often take center stage, one essential skill is still missing from the conversation: computational thinking (CT). In his piece, Evan breaks down why CT is foundational to young people’s learning today—and why it will matter even more in the future.
ICA has nurtured small businesses in the Bay Area through capital investment and mentoring for nearly thirty years. A central part of their approach is a form of impact investing that focuses on buying equity in promising companies rather than offering loans. As those businesses succeed, ICA creates pathways for the original owners to buy back that equity over time.
ICA Fund is known as an innovator in the CDFI field because it extends patient, flexible capital on founder-friendly terms to the small businesses in which it invests. This approach is in contrast to most CDFIs, which typically offer small businesses loans rather than convertible notes or equity investment options that have extended, flexible repayment expectations aligned with the businesses growth. It’s also in contrast to venture funding, which typically focuses on high-growth businesses and expects a high rate of return over a short period of time.
Since its founding, ICA Fund has invested in small businesses with the potential to positively impact their communities. It does so by supporting founders who often have a difficult time securing capital through traditional financing institutions.
Still, a noble mission isn’t enough to sustain and prove a financial model and theory of change. That’s why ICA Fund has turned its attention to answering three interrelated questions about its investment approach.
Building on our five-year partnership, we created this new series of case studies to spotlight ICA Fund’s work to shape a more inclusive economic system: one where entrepreneurs can access the capital and partnership they need to grow, where local economies thrive, and where quality jobs expand alongside profit. Each case study speaks to a core audience and a core belief: investors can generate both social impact and returns; business owners deserve capital designed for their success; policymakers can drive widespread economic growth by supporting equity investing that works for real people.
Kylan Rutherford is a Siegel Research Fellow at New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics, where he studies the complex relationship between social media content creators, platform consumers, and the platforms themselves. We sat down with Kylan to learn more about his research on how AI is affecting search, misinformation, and data voids.
Our Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jumee Song, recently spoke with a leading Korean outlet about how Siegel Family Endowment approaches “technology and the public good” and what it means to fund bold, long-term ideas that drive systemic change.
We know that philanthropy is strongest when working in collaboration, and right now, there is an opportunity to come together, imagine, and support new ideas about what our future with AI can be. We’re excited to work alongside the Humanity AI advisory board and other coalition members to ensure that AI is developed in ways that protect and enhance human creativity, labor, and security.