a16z Incubates Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation to Protect Under-Resourced Public Institutions

a16z Incubates Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation to Protect Under-Resourced Public Institutions Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation (SAIF) has launched as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incubated by a16z to provide underfunded public bodies—such as small municipalities, school districts, and rural hospitals—with AI-enabled cybersecurity tools and technical defense. SAIF uses a forward-deployed engineering model to supply software, incident response, and training at no cost rather than issuing monetary grants. Backed by $25 million in committed funding from a16z founding partners, SAIF aims to expand to 5–10 anchor cities over five years. The initiative begins with a pilot across two geographically distinct small cities, initially prioritizing critical sectors like the nation's 1,800 rural hospitals. Mission and Operational Model Critical public infrastructure frequently absorbs sophisticated cyberattacks, such as ransomware disruptions to emergency services and medical facilities, while lacking the budget and technical staff to defend themselves. Rather than issuing traditional grants, SAIF provides direct software deployments, hands-on training, and incident response at zero cost to ensure sustainable cybersecurity adoption. Pilot Program and Five-Year Roadmap The foundation is initiating its rollout with a pilot across two small cities in different regions before scaling to roughly 5 to 10 anchor cities over five years. The primary technical focus targets AI-driven cybersecurity—such as detecting and remediating vulnerabilities in medical equipment code—specifically directing support toward critical community providers like rural hospitals. Leadership and Governance Initially directed on a volunteer basis by a former Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, SAIF will eventually hire an executive director. Its governing board brings together cybersecurity and public sector figures, including utility CSO Brian Barrios, former municipal leaders like Stephen Goldsmith, and veteran enterprise security executives including Bob Lord and Phil Venables.

a16z 孵化非营利组织 SAIF，承诺 2500 万美元助中小公共机构筑牢网络安全 由 a16z 孵化的 501(c)(3) 非营利组织“保护美国基础设施基金会”（SAIF）正式成立。该机构获得 a16z 创始合伙人 2500 万美元承诺资金，旨在为美国缺乏技术资源的中小城市、学区及乡村医院免费提供 AI 与网络安全防御支持。 SAIF 专注于解决中小公共机构面临的勒索软件与网络攻击威胁，打破 AI 防御技术的获取壁垒。 采用类似“前线部署工程”的实地支持模式，免费提供软件、人员培训与事件应急响应，而非单纯资金捐助。 首年将在两个不同地理区域的小城市启动试点，重点关注全美约 1800 家乡村医院等关键基础设施。 a16z 创始合伙人承诺提供 2500 万美元启动资金，计划在五年内将支持范围扩展至 5 至 10 座核心城市。 成立背景：公共基础设施网络防御资源匮乏 美国中小城市正频繁遭遇网络安全冲击，包括 911 调度系统瘫痪、学生数据泄露以及乡村医院无力承受勒索赎金等问题。尽管这些机构承担着关键数据和系统的保护责任，却严重缺乏预算、技术团队和人员。与此同时，主流 AI 技术虽能大幅提升网络防御与生产力，却因成本和门槛问题无法惠及小型公共机构。 运作机制：前线部署与五年扩张路线 与传统开支票式的慈善项目不同，SAIF 采取实地支持模式，由技术专家深入一线搭建防御体系，免费提供软件工具、技能培训及事件应急响应。项目初期聚焦利用 AI 修复医疗监控等设备漏洞，首阶段将在两个不同地区的小城市试点，重点针对全美 1800 家乡村医院展开。依托 a16z 创始合伙人承诺的 2500 万美元资金，基金会计划在五年内覆盖 5 至 10 座城市。 领导架构与专业董事会阵容 该基金会负责人曾在 NSA 及白宫担任网络与新兴技术副国家安全顾问，现作为志愿者牵头战略并搭建团队，未来将聘请执行董事负责日常运营。其董事会汇集了多领域资深专家，包括南加州爱迪生公司首席安全官 Brian Barrios、哈佛大学肯尼迪学院实践教授 Stephen Goldsmith、曾任 Twitter 首位安全主管及 CISA 高级技术顾问的 Bob Lord、哥伦比亚大学工程学院副院长 Vishal Misra，以及前高盛首任 CISO 兼谷歌云创办 CISO Phil Venables。

America’s small cities are on the front lines of a fight most of the country doesn’t see. A ransomware attack shuts down a county’s 911 dispatch system. A school district’s student records end up for sale on the dark web. A rural hospital pays a six-figure ransom it can’t afford because paying is cheaper than losing patient care for a week. These aren’t hypotheticals — they are a regular occurrence across the United States, and the institutions absorbing the damage rarely have the budget, staff, or technical bench to defend themselves. I spent the last several years working on exactly this problem from inside the U.S. government, first at the NSA and then as Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology in the White House. The pattern is consistent: the same institutions expected to protect the most sensitive data and systems in our communities — student records, patient files, water systems, emergency services — are the least resourced to do it. Meanwhile, the AI wave that is improving productivity, diagnostics, and cyber defense in well-resourced organizations is largely passing these institutions by. This isn’t because the technology doesn’t apply, but it may not be accessible, affordable, and practical for smaller institutions. That’s the gap we built Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation to try to close. *We believe that the best thing that a society can do for a person is to give them a chance. Give them a shot at a great life regardless of their circumstance, background, ethnicity, religion, gender or any other attribute. That’s the best we can do. We know across America, there are places where people don’t have an equal shot, where the social infrastructure, hospitals, municipal services don’t have the resources or training to get the benefits of AI, and may bear more of the risks. The goal of the Foundation is to change that. —Ben Horowitz* Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation (SAIF) is a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit, incubated by a16z, built to deliver AI and cybersecurity tools, hands-on support, and training to public institutions across America that otherwise lack access to AI tools — think small municipalities, school districts and rural hospitals. This isn’t a grants program in the traditional sense. We’re not writing checks and hoping the right thing gets built. Instead, the Foundation will deliver software, hands-on training, and cyber incident response at no cost to the recipient. The model is closer to “forward-deployed engineering” than philanthropy as usual: our experts show up, help stand up real defenses, and stay long enough to make sure the capability sticks. Concretely, that means: **A deliberately mixed pilot:** We will launch with a pilot in two small cities in different geographic regions because the vulnerabilities we’re addressing — ransomware, digital exclusion, underinvestment in public IT — affect communities across America. **Sectors:** We want to focus on specific sectors - the nation’s 1,800 rural hospitals for example - that provide critical services to communities where they are the only providers. **Cybersecurity:** We’re focused on AI based cybersecurity to start, given the risks of more and more sophisticated cyber attacks and the way AI is a game changer for cybersecurity (e.g., using AI to find and fix vulnerabilities in code for devices like MRI machines or hospital monitors) **A five-year path to scale:** From that pilot, we’re building further. We aim toward roughly 5-10 anchor cities over five years, beginning with $25 million in committed funding from a16z’s founding partners. There is a lot AI and advanced technology could do for the public sector, but our first-year focus is deliberately narrow because we know these are hard problems: cybersecurity, digital literacy, and responsible AI use for public benefit. As we evaluate recipients, factors like leadership buy-in, digital vulnerability, infrastructure readiness, and the diversity of communities we can reach will be key. A program like this only works if it’s built *with* the people it’s meant to serve. I’m leading this effort and will initially run the nonprofit as a volunteer, establishing its strategy and building the founding team. Over time, we will hire an executive director to lead the organization’s day-to-day operations and continue building the team on the ground. I am proud to be joined by board members who have demonstrated exactly the kind of expertise — across cybersecurity, technology, and public-sector leadership — that this work demands. **Brian Barrios** is Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, where he leads the company’s cybersecurity and physical security strategy. Before SCE, he was the Executive Director, Threat Management and Intel for IT for Southern Company and spent years at MITRE supporting national cybersecurity infrastructure and the FBI’s Cyber Division. **Stephen Goldsmith** is the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, where his work focuses on how cities use data and technology to better serve residents. Having served as Deputy Mayor of the City of New York and Mayor of Indianapolis, he brings direct governing experience to that research and firsthand knowledge of what it actually takes to get new technology adopted inside a city government. **Bob Lord** has spent his career securing high-profile cybersecurity targets, serving as Twitter’s first security hire, CISO at Yahoo, and later as a Senior Technical Advisor at CISA focused on making basic cyber practices accessible nationwide. **Vishal Misra** is the RKS Family Professor of Computer Science and Vice Dean of Computing and AI at Columbia’s Engineering school. His research spans network systems, AI, and global technology policy, including work shaping India’s net neutrality framework. As part of the founding team at CricInfo (later acquired by ESPN), he pioneered live sports coverage online, and he later built a commercial GPT-3 application before ChatGPT’s release — reflecting a career spent bridging research with entrepreneurial deployment. **Phil Venables** spent 17 years as Goldman Sachs’ first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and later became Google Cloud’s founding CISO, where he led the risk, security, compliance, and privacy teams for one of the world’s largest cloud platforms. His experience securing a systemically important bank and then building security for a hyperscaler serving thousands of customers gives him a rare view into both the enterprise-grade defenses under-resourced institutions need and how to make them practical at scale. Phil is now a Partner at Ballistic Ventures. AI brings opportunity and risks. For small cities and municipalities, it’s harder to take advantage of AI to make city services better or more secure. We intend to show up, understand their specific constraints, and build alongside them. We know these are hard problems and we will approach them with hard work and humility. That’s what Securing America’s Infrastructure Foundation is for. We’re starting small and focused deliberately — two cities, one sector, one clear mission. If you lead a municipality, school district, hospital system, or community organization that’s trying to hold the line on cybersecurity, we want to hear from you. Contact us at [info@secureourinfra.org](mailto:info@secureourinfra.org). *This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not investment advice, nor is it intended for use by any investors or prospective investors in any a16z funds. 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