Stanford's Hoover Institution Awarded $2.5 Million to Launch Tech Futures Lab

The new initiative aims to anticipate strategic technological surprises and strengthen US resilience.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Hoover Institution's Technology Policy Accelerator program has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Hewlett Foundation to launch the Tech Futures Lab, an initiative designed to better anticipate potential strategic technological surprises and help the United States strengthen resilience through improved planning and risk management.

Why it matters

Emerging technologies are accelerating the pace of change and introducing new possibilities and risks, with China's increased technological competencies and the rapid diffusion of capabilities across borders compounding uncertainty and increasing the chance of strategic shocks that could leave the United States at a disadvantage. The Tech Futures Lab aims to explore potential future trajectories and offer alternative assessments of how these technologies could transform the world in unplanned and unexpected ways.

The details

The grant enables Hoover to pursue this mission at a time when America faces a hinge-of-history moment. The Tech Futures Lab will conduct state-of-the-art foresight exercises with researchers, innovators, investors, and government leaders to draw out new insights, identify vulnerabilities and opportunities, and develop strategies to mitigate risk while maximizing advantages. The initiative will harness expertise from across Stanford University and the Hoover Institution, as well as from inventors, investors, and executives in Silicon Valley and beyond.

  • The Hoover Institution's Technology Policy Accelerator program was awarded the $2.5 million grant from the Hewlett Foundation in February 2026.

The players

Hoover Institution

A public policy think tank located at Stanford University.

Hewlett Foundation

A private foundation that provides grants to support education, the environment, global development and population, and other social issues.

Condoleezza Rice

The director of the Hoover Institution and the sixty-sixth US secretary of state.

Amy Zegart

The Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, who will co-lead the Tech Futures Lab.

Herbert Lin

The Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security at the Hoover Institution, who will co-lead the Tech Futures Lab.

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What they’re saying

“Emerging technologies are bringing transformational change at record pace, and this is raising profound questions for societies and governments. The Hoover Institution is committed to rigorous, forward-looking research and cross-disciplinary collaboration to ensure these advances strengthen American leadership and resilience.”

— Condoleezza Rice, Director of the Hoover Institution and the sixty-sixth US secretary of state

“Technological advances like those we're seeing with AI hold great promise while also posing novel security challenges. We believe that civil society institutions like Hoover's new Tech Futures Lab can play an important role in the deployment of new technologies to help people and boost American competitiveness, while tackling vulnerabilities they create in our critical infrastructure.”

— Amber D. Miller, President of the Hewlett Foundation

“Too often, current policy discussions of technology risk are driven by fear, herd thinking, and evidence-free conjecture. As a result, policymakers and business leaders are more likely to get blindsided by technological surprise. Thanks to the Hewlett Foundation's grant, the Tech Futures Lab at Hoover can refine the debate, uncover new possibilities, and develop indicators and policy steps to mitigate the risks it identifies.”

— Amy Zegart, Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

What’s next

The Tech Futures Lab will complement and build on the work of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review, which recently launched its 2026 flagship report. The Hewlett Foundation's grant will also support the Hoover Technology Policy Accelerator's annual Tech Track II convening, which fosters cooperation between US government leaders, technology executives, and distinguished academics on key challenges related to emerging technologies and national security.

The takeaway

The launch of the Tech Futures Lab at the Hoover Institution underscores the growing importance of anticipating and mitigating the strategic risks posed by rapid technological change, particularly in the face of increasing global competition and the potential for disruptive surprises. By bringing together experts from academia, industry, and government, the lab aims to strengthen American resilience and leadership in the face of an uncertain technological future.