Experiment

Experiment operates an online platform through which researchers publish project proposals for hypothesis-driven scientific work and raise funds from individual backers and institutional funders. Projects follow a defined process: a researcher creates and organizes an open grant application, receives feedback from community peer reviewers and platform staff, raises funds from backers, and then posts progress through open lab notes and shared results.

Beyond crowdfunding, the platform hosts grant programs on behalf of science funders and foundations, allowing the same project submission to be used both for a crowdfunding campaign and for applications to grant opportunities. Listed programs include Hyperspectral Biology, The Range Storytelling Science Fund, MPA Monitoring and Enforcement Innovation, and California Species Collection, alongside programs from funders such as the Homeworld Foundation and the Wildlife Disease Association at the $50,000 level.

Platform features include project dashboards with analytics, lab notes for documenting research narratives, flexible fund disbursement options, collaborator management, optional public or private project visibility, free Digital Object Identifier archival for funded projects, support for methods, files and citations, and a researcher guide covering science communication.

Business model

Experiment intermediates between scientists seeking project funding and funders, operating both open crowdfunding campaigns and managed grant programs for organizations that want to distribute research funding through the platform.

Traction

The site states more than 1 million users and features funded projects at 100-167% of goal with dozens of backers each. Individual grant programs report awarded totals from roughly $45,970 to $112,630, and one partner reports funding 109 projects through a program run on Experiment. Highlighted projects include genome sequencing of the Azolla fern by a Duke University team, published in Nature Plants, and genetics research on fatal familial insomnia by Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel.

Latest developments

The platform lists two new grant programs from the Homeworld Foundation (biology) and the Wildlife Disease Association (ecology), each at $50,000. A funded community lab, Cellsius Community Biology Laboratory, reports plans to expand to a second space by the end of 2025 with 50 members and a broader community of more than 1,800 people.