The O’Shaughnessy Ventures Fellows have demonstrated the drive, ability, and ideas to create a brighter tomorrow. Join this salon series to hear about their unique insights and groundbreaking projects. Explore topics ranging from AI to gender to quantum physics, and be part of the conversation shaping our future!
Is human progress inevitable? How can we harness quantum technologies to answer previously unanswerable questions? Why are some countries more gender equal than others? What is the future of filmmaking? What are we getting wrong about education? These questions, and more, inspired the O’Shaughnessy Fellows to participate in OSV’s inaugural Fellowship Program.
The Fellowships are a one-year program for ambitious people who want to build something great. Fellows receive $100,000 and access to OSV’s network of founders, investors, and experts to support them in bringing their projects to life.
Join us in this series, during which each Fellow will shine a light on their unique areas of expertise, journey to the Fellowship, and plans to transform our world for the better.
This is a wonderful opportunity to obtain a behind-the-scenes view of some of the most exciting work being carried out today. You may even find that you leave the series with a world-changing idea of your own. See you there!
More on the Fellows:
Each episode will be hosted by an OSV Fellow, with the help of some special guests: Nat & Martha Sharpe, Dr William Zeng, Dr Alice Evans, Tony Morley, Mykhailo Marynenko, Isabella Teng & Varsha Raghavan, Rohan Taori, Diana Hrisovescu & Shay McDonnell, Kiubon Kokko, Oghenekevwe Emadago, Keshav Sharma, Sandro Luna, and more!
This series meets monthly with some exceptions.
| # | Date | Episode | Link to Recording |
| 1 | August 23, 2023 | Alternative Childhood Education: A Documentary with Nat & Martha Sharpe Nat and Martha Sharpe have been a creative team for over a decade. Nat and Martha are using their Fellowship (jointly) to create a documentary exploring alternative models for childhood education. How can we prepare kids for a future where no career is safe? Is self-directed learning the answer? What happens when we let kids learn whatever they want? In this salon, Nat and Martha will dive into their Fellowship experience thus far, updates on their documentary, and their insights on childhood education. | |
| 2 | September 26, 2023 | Girlified: The Eco-Friendly Sanitary Pad with Oghenekevwe Emadago Oghenekevwe is an environmental activist, entrepreneur, and female rights advocate. Oghenekevwe is using his fellowship to research and develop Girlified—an eco-friendly and cost-effective sanitary pad made from banana fiber and natural cotton—with the goal of reducing pollution and helping women and girls in their quest for education and employment. In this salon, Oghenekevwe will go into his unique experience as an activist and advocate, the impact of Girlified, and his plans for the future. | |
| 3 | October 19, 2023 | Progress Studies: The Promise of the Future with Tony Morley Tony Morley is a progress studies writer and communicator, exploring the historical trends and contemporary forces that drive human progress and flourishing. In conjunction with funding research and innovation in progress studies, Tony is using his fellowship grant to continue work on Human Progress for Beginners, the world’s first children’s book on progress. In this salon, Tony will discuss the history of progress, reasons for optimism, and the details of his upcoming book. | |
| 4 | November 29, 2023 | Building the Future of Brand Engagement: With Isabella Teng and Varsha Raghavan Varsha and Isabella are computer scientists and artists with a passion for leveraging new technology to uplift the community. They are using their fellowship grant to build Rue, an AI-enabled platform that turns any casual social event into a brand pop-up. Billions of interactions across trusted communities occur daily that are highly valuable to up-and-coming brands but are currently inaccessible. By helping brands meet customers where they’re at (dinners, housewarmings, birthday parties), Rue builds a world in which businesses can intimately connect with consumers in non-traditional retail space. | |
| 5 | January 19, 2024 | Unlocking the World’s Potential: How Grants Are Taking Over As a Key Funding Model Are you interested in grant funding and how grants are won? Would you like to explore the current landscape and the future of funding? Join us for a panel discussion with experts in the field of (micro-)grants and the new ways for independent researchers and makers to raise funding. Together, we’ll explore the complexities and prospects of this dynamic new arena. Join Interintellect founder Anna Gát for a panel on grant making and grant winning with experts Atman Pandya (O’Shaughnessy Fellowships), Shruti Rajagopalan (Emergent Ventures India), Arnaud Schenk (Polaris), and Benjamin Yeoh (Then Do Better). | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqA5kDSdNU |
| 8 | May 6, 2024 | Open-sourcing the Quantum Revolution with William Zeng Quantum Computing holds the promise to revolutionize the world someday. However, the challenge of controlling matter at the quantum scale is formidable and requires a collective effort. What if anyone had open access to top-tier quantum software and hardware tools, similar to how anyone with Internet access can build an app? Join a fascinating salon with OSV Fellow William Zeng, who has been at the forefront of quantum computing research for over a decade—in academia, industry and, now, the non-profit sector. As recipient of the OSV Fellowship, he has embarked on a journey to develop open-source quantum computing tools to benefit the most people. William is joined in conversation by quantum researcher Asier Piñeiro Orioli. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQGmeriVxAc |
| 9 | May 31, 2024 | OSV Book Club | The Lessons of History by Ariel Durant and Will Durant We’ll explore books often mentioned by our founder and CEO, Jim O’Shaughnessy, and his guests on the Infinite Loops podcast. Whether you’re a seasoned bookworm or just curious about new reads, this is your chance to join the fun! OSV community member Nicolás Forero will lead the discussion for this book. | |
| 10 | June 8, 2024 | Building the Future of Construction Design With AI Keshav Sharma plans to do it with Augrade by creating a new platform that generates code-compliant, error-free 3D designs with material quantities, cost estimations & documentation. Keshav lives at the intersection of design, technology, and marketing. He has been creating and selling products since he first developed and sold a remote-controlled boat at the age of twelve. As a co-founder and CEO of Augrade, Keshav is using his $100k O’Shaughnessy Fellowship to build Augrade’s proprietary AI models with an understanding of Geometry, Physics, and Mechanics to maintain accuracy and speed across construction projects. | |
| 11 | July 12, 2024 | OSV Book Club | Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make by Rory Sutherland We’ll explore books often mentioned by our founder and CEO, Jim O’Shaughnessy, and his guests on the Infinite Loops podcast. Whether you’re a seasoned bookworm or just curious about new reads, this is your chance to join the fun! OSV community member Nicolás Forero will lead the discussion for this book. | |
| 12 | August 28, 2024 | Transforming Health: Vital Signs from Your Mobile Device In this engaging salon, Dr. Sandro Luna, physician and health tech pioneer, will explore his revolutionary project funded by an OSV $100,000 fellowship grant. He is developing an app that measures vital signs and biomarkers—such as heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation—exclusively through mobile device videos, without the need for additional sensors or hardware. Dr. Luna’s expertise in non-invasive technologies and his passion for preventive health come together in this innovative approach. Attendees will learn about the potential of this technology to empower individuals with real-time health data, its implications for preventive care, and the future of mobile health diagnostics. Hosted by Camellia Yang, a key figure in the OSV Fellowship Committee and creator of Chiwi Journal, this salon promises an insightful discussion on the future of health technology and its impact on everyday life. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7B9TmKtkIU |
| 13 | September 9, 2024 | Behind Video and Text-Based AI Models: Building the Future with OSV Fellows Rohan Taori, who has been deeply involved in the AI field from his academic pursuits at Stanford University to practical applications at UC Berkeley, is now using a $100,000 fellowship grant to pioneer new frontiers in AI. In this salon, Rohan will share insights into: His journey and experiences that led to the development of cutting-edge AI technologies. The process of building AI models that are flexible, accessible, and interactive, tailored to handle complex video data. The challenges and triumphs of working with synthetic data and tuning AI to follow nuanced user instructions. His vision for how these AI models can revolutionize content creation, editing, and reasoning, making these processes more intuitive for users across various industries. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjPRlvbqUrk |
| 14 | September 14 | OSV Book Club | Tao Te Ching by Laozi We’ll explore books often mentioned by our founder and CEO, Jim O’Shaughnessy, and his guests on the Infinite Loops podcast. Whether you’re a seasoned bookworm or just curious about new reads, this is your chance to join the fun! OSV community member Nicolás Forero will lead the discussion for this book. | |
| 15 | October 16, 2024 | When Life Becomes Art: Fireside Chat with Kiubon Kokko (OSV Film-making Fellow) How do you heal a rift across time and space? Documentary film-maker Kiubon Kokko will talk about his experience of transforming life into art in this exclusive fireside chat with fellow film-maker and Interintellect host Olga Yakimenko. |