Over the last decade, Yuri Milner has evolved from a successful tech investor into a pivotal figure in science and space exploration. As the founder of the venture fund DST Global, Milner believes in investing in ideas now to secure future rewards. He understands the importance of asking big questions and searching for solutions that deepen our knowledge and enrich our lives.
Milner has applied his investment philosophy to the world of science. He founded the Breakthrough Foundation to invest in cutting-edge space science programmes. The Foundation also supports leading researchers in fundamental science and mathematics and helps spread scientific ideas to the next generation.
DST Global Founder Yuri Milner’s Science Philanthropy
Milner founded DST Global in 2009. The internet investment firm became one of the world’s top tech investors, with a portfolio featuring leading companies like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Airbnb, and Alibaba. In part due to DST Global’s success, Milner’s current net worth is approximately $6.8 billion.
Before he was a tech investor and entrepreneur, Milner was a quantum field theory researcher. Although his career pivoted from physics to business, he is still passionate about science. A prominent philanthropist, he funds projects that support scientists and advance scientific ideas.
For instance, Milner created the Breakthrough Initiatives in 2015. The multi-million-dollar research programmes investigate the biggest mysteries of life in the Universe. Mysteries like: Are we alone, or are there other intelligent beings beyond Earth?
Milner’s science philanthropy started in earnest after he and his wife Julia joined the Giving Pledge in 2012. The couple pledged to donate most of their wealth to scientific causes. They established the Breakthrough Foundation to help achieve their aim.
The Breakthrough Foundation funds various science-focused endeavours, and Milner founded or co-founded many of these. Amongst the projects are the Breakthrough Initiatives, the Breakthrough Prize, and the Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
The Breakthrough Initiatives
Milner launched the first Breakthrough Initiative, Listen, with Stephen Hawking. The $100 million initiative has transformed the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Breakthrough Listen uses a network of the world’s largest and most advanced radio telescopes to scan for radio signals that could be alien in origin.
To date, Listen has surveyed thousands of our closest stars, dozens of nearby galaxies, and the galactic plane and centre of our Milky Way. The Listen team has also developed cutting-edge computer and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to help search billions of radio channels for candidate signals.
Oxford University recently became Listen’s international headquarters. The partnership between Listen and Oxford University will advance the scope of the programme, placing the UK at the forefront of the rapidly expanding SETI field.
Two other multi-million-dollar Breakthrough Initiatives are Starshot and Watch. Milner and Hawking launched Starshot in 2016 with Mark Zuckerberg. The $100 million research and engineering programme seeks to develop technologies for interstellar travel.
Meanwhile, Watch hopes to identify and characterise planets that could host alien life. The initiative uses innovative Earth- and space-based instruments to search for these “exoplanets” around our neighbouring solar system.
The other two Breakthrough Initiatives are Message and Discuss. Message is a $1 million competition to design a message representing life on Earth that an alien civilisation could understand. The competition encourages humanity to think as one and sparks public debate about the ethics of sending messages into space.
Discuss is an annual academic conference that focuses on life in the Universe. The theme of Breakthrough Discuss 2023 was “Welcome to the Neighborhood.” The event brought together science leaders to debate ideas about near-Earth space exploration.
The Breakthrough Prize
The Breakthrough Prize is a collection of prizes that recognise scientific achievement. There are three main prize categories: Fundamental Physics, Mathematics, and Life Sciences. The brilliant researchers who win in these categories receive prizes of $3 million. There are also prizes worth $50,000-$100,000 for early-career physicists and mathematicians.
Each year, a televised gala ceremony celebrates the Breakthrough Prize laureates’ achievements. Viewers worldwide tune in to watch the event, which features the stars of entertainment alongside the stars of science. Celebrities like Chris Pine, Robert Downey Jr., and Gal Gadot attended the 2023 Breakthrough Prize ceremony in Los Angeles.
Milner and his wife co-founded the Breakthrough Prize in 2012 with Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Sergey Brin, and Anne Wojcicki. To date, the Breakthrough Prize has awarded $308 million in recognition of major scientific discoveries.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition for students aged 13-18. Milner and his wife created the competition to get young people thinking about scientific ideas and sharing their insights with their peers.
Each year, teenagers create and submit short videos explaining a complicated theory or principle from physics, maths, or the life sciences. The 2023 finalists’ videos explored concepts like neurotransmitters, Eulerian circuits, and the power of antimatter.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge winner receives a life-changing $250,000 post-secondary scholarship. They also win $50,000 for a teacher who inspired them and a new science lab worth $100,000 for their school.
Yuri Milner’s Cosmic Vision for Humanity
In 2021, Milner wrote and released a short book called Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation. The book explores his cosmic vision for humanity and our place in the Universe. It also illuminates the origin of his fascination with space and alien intelligence. This fascination began in his childhood when he read Iosif Shklovsky and Carl Sagan’s Intelligent Life in the Universe.
At the heart of Milner’s Eureka Manifesto is his belief that humanity needs a shared mission. He suggests that the mission could be to “explore and understand our Universe.” By advancing this mission, we can ensure the survival of our species and, perhaps, build a galactic civilisation that extends far beyond Earth.
We rarely frame our civilisation in the context of the wider cosmos. Few schools teach an interconnected history of our Universe, instead focusing on fragmented moments in Earth’s timeline. We tend to identify as members of nations or other sociopolitical groups, rather than as belonging to a planet-wide collective.
In Eureka Manifesto, Milner offers an alternative view of humanity. His version of the Universal Story places humans in a central role, as rare sentient beings in a vast cosmos.
Maybe, as Sagan once said, we are a way for the cosmos to know itself. Our ability to sense, feel, and think has allowed us to begin unravelling the deepest mysteries of the Universe. As a result, our existence gives us our mission — our calling — to explore and understand.
Answering The Call
Impactful projects like the Breakthrough Initiatives illustrate Milner’s commitment beyond financial investments to inspire a broader public interest in space and science. They also represent his efforts to advance humanity’s mission via the plan of action he proposes in Eureka Manifesto.
For example, the Breakthrough Prize encourages the public to celebrate scientists as heroes. Milner believes that raising the profile and prestige of scientists is one way to motivate further scientific advances. Plus, the Breakthrough Prize and the Breakthrough Junior Challenge both inspire the next generation to engage with science or pursue scientific careers.
In addition, the Breakthrough Initiatives represent ongoing investments into fundamental science and space exploration. It may be decades before humanity achieves interstellar travel. But, on the way to becoming a spacefaring civilisation, we can dramatically improve our lives through the fruits of scientific and technological progress.
Visionary individuals like Milner continue to steer humanity towards a cosmic future. Meanwhile, we all have an important role to play in building a society that values science, knowledge, and exploration.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner is a billionaire who has established several programmes supporting science, technological innovation, and humanitarian aid. His Breakthrough Foundation has committed several million dollars to projects like CERN Science Gateway and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ initiative to help displaced Ukrainian researchers.
The Breakthrough Foundation also funds Tech For Refugees, which Milner launched in 2022. The non-profit works with leading tech companies and organisations to further programmes that support refugees from Ukraine and around the world.
Learn more about Yuri Milner.