GovAI in Washington, DC
GovAI has opened a permanent office in Washington, DC. Over the coming years, we expect to hire substantially more DC-based staff, expand our research portfolio and talent programs, and deepen our engagement with the institutions shaping US AI policy.
Building on a long history
Founded in 2016, at Yale University, GovAI was one of the first AI policy think tanks. From early in our history, we have produced research that focused on AI policy priorities in the United States. For example, GovAI offered comments to US federal agencies on AI policy as early as 2022, and produced some of the earliest work on compute governance. Alumni of our programs have also gone on to fill roles in DC think tanks. However, until recently, we lacked a permanent staff presence in DC.
In the past year, we have launched a permanent DC office, hired several DC-based staff members, and launched two new talent programs focused on addressing US AI policy talent needs. We believe that the next few years will be a critical period for US AI policy – and that we can play a key role in addressing the rapidly growing need for expert insight and talent. As a result, expanding our contributions in DC has become one of our central goals as an organization.
Planning for an ambitious buildup
We see our recent DC buildup as the beginning of a much larger expansion. In the coming years, we hope to expand our US policy research team from five people to dozens. We will continue to scale our talent programs and experiment with new offerings to better fill unmet talent needs. And, of course, we will continue to build on our track record of producing deeply-researched analysis that informs US AI policy.
Some recent work
Within the past year, our researchers have published on topics such as the impact of AI on American jobs, the economics of American data center construction, barriers to AI adoption in the US military, and the implications of AI systems’ cybercapabilities for the security of America’s critical infrastructure.
We have also welcomed two cohorts of Seasonal Fellows, including 13 fellows in fall 2025 and 17 fellows in summer 2026. These fellows have taken part in an immersive full-time, three-month program to accelerate their AI policy careers. We have also launched the GovAI US AI Policy Program – a part-time program for policy professionals working in Congress, the executive branch, and think tanks. The GovAI US AI Policy Program has already graduated three cohorts; a fourth cohort will graduate in December 2026.
In DC for the long term
We are committed to an ambitious expansion of our work in DC. GovAI is here for the long term. If you are excited to help us build, we are excited for you to join us.