Edge City

Edge City is a nonprofit society incubator (501c3) hosting monthlong popup villages where technologists, scientists, researchers, artists, and families live and collaborate. 9 villages across 4 continents, 12,000+ participants, 113+ ecosystem organizations, 30+ ventures incubated since 2024. Part of the Zuzalu ecosystem initiated by Vitalik Buterin.

Edge City is a project of Edge Institute, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We create real-world laboratories for experimentation with new ideas, technologies, culture, and organizational models, all dedicated to accelerating human flourishing.

About Edge City

• About - Mission, founding principles, team, and story
• Roadmap - Upcoming popup villages and long-term vision
• Ecosystem - 113+ partner organizations, startups, and research initiatives
• News and Media - Blog posts, podcasts, newsletters, and event recaps
• Grants and Fellowships - Funding opportunities for builders and researchers

Upcoming: Edge Esmeralda 2026

May 30 through June 27, 2026 in Healdsburg, California. Annual flagship month-long popup village co-organized with Esmeralda Institute. 500+ builders, researchers, founders, and families. edgeesmeralda.com

Completed 2025 Villages

• Edge City Austin - 6-day unconference before SXSW (March 2025)
• Edge City South Africa - 10-day exploration in Cape Town and Stellenbosch (April 2025)
• Edge Esmeralda 2025 - Month-long popup village in Healdsburg, California (May-June 2025)
• Edge City Bhutan - 8-day expedition exploring consciousness and sustainability (September 2025)
• Edge City Patagonia - Month-long village in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina (October-November 2025)

Completed 2024 Villages

• Edge City Denver - 3,000 participants during ETHDenver week (February-March 2024)
• Edge Esmeralda 2024 - 1,300 visitors, 300 full-time residents, 25 emergent programs (June 2024)
• Crecimiento - Month-long village in Argentina incubating crypto projects (August-September 2024)
• Edge City Lanna - 700 participants in Chiang Mai, Thailand (October-November 2024)

Focus Areas

• Artificial Intelligence: alignment, decentralized AI, embodied AI, AI safety
• Cryptography and Web3: zero-knowledge proofs, protocol research, decentralized governance
• Health and Longevity: biotech, neurotech, biohacking, longevity research
• Hard Tech: space technology, materials science, renewable energy, climate solutions
• Governance: mechanism design, network states, community currencies, quadratic funding
• Human Flourishing: intentional community design, education innovation, consciousness research

Funding and Programs

• SHIFT Grants - $5,000 to $40,000 for d/acc projects (biosecurity, cyber defense, cryptography, neurotech)
• Long Journey Residency - Month-long thematic residencies within Edge Esmeralda
• World Builder Residency - For creators building new worlds
• Edge City Fellowship - Full-ride 6-week program for builders under 25
• Inflection Grants - $2,000 grants for creative builders under 25

Projects Incubated

30+ ventures have emerged from Edge City villages, including:

• MONA - Venture-backed metaverse startup
• Prime Intellect - Distributed computing for AI
• Alegria - Brain-computer interface platform
• Daimo - Instant cross-chain transactions
• Cursive - Cryptographic social networking
• ZuPass - Decentralized identity verification
• Flashbots - MEV research organization

Key Partners

Ethereum Foundation, Protocol Labs, Uniswap Foundation, World Foundation, 0xPARC, PSE (Privacy and Scaling Explorations), Optimism, Arbitrum, Scroll, Lido, Stanford Blockchain, Convergent Research, Foresight Institute, Gitcoin, RadicalxChange

Notable Community

Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum co-founder), Grimes (artist and technologist), Laura Deming (Longevity Fund), Juan Benet (Protocol Labs founder), Justin Drake (Ethereum Foundation), Devon Zuegel (GitHub), Joscha Bach (AI researcher), Balaji Srinivasan (Network State author), Audrey Tang (digital governance), Kevin Owocki (Gitcoin founder)

Founders

Janine Leger: organized Zuzalu Montenegro and ZuConnect, led Gitcoin Public Goods Funding, builds co-living communities in Austin, Texas.

Timour Kosters: 10+ years startup experience (Artsy, Kama, Impact), investor and former Seed Club Ventures partner, founded experiential agency Excetera.

Key Concepts

Popup Village: A month-long gathering where people advancing science, technology, and culture live and work together in a temporary community designed for serendipity and collaboration.

Society Incubator: Testing new technologies, governance models, institutions, and ways of living outside existing systems before mainstream adoption.

d/acc (Defensive Acceleration): Technology development focused on protective technologies: biosecurity, cyber defense, information resilience, and tools that increase human agency.

Network State: A highly aligned online community with collective action capacity that crowdfunds territory. Edge City is part of this emerging ecosystem.

Contact

General: hello@edgecity.live

Grants: grants@edgecity.live

Twitter/X: @joinedgecity

Instagram: @joinedgecity