Lifeboat was founded by online dating service entrepreneur[5] Eric Klien, who continues to run Lifeboat as president and chairman of the board of directors.[6] The organization has raised over $500,000 in total donations from individuals and corporate matching funds programs, most of which went to "supporting conferences and publishing papers".[7] Writer and advisory board member Sonia Arrison describes the group as "basically a Website, that raises money for various things".[3]
Lifeboat has tried to raise more money by accepting donations in Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency. According to Fast Company, Lifeboat raised $72,000 in Bitcoin donations and pledges, and sought to use Bitcoin to protect itself against events such as the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis.[9]
The Board of Directors includes Eric Klien, Carl Martinez, Philippe van Nedervelde, Chris K. Haley, Sergio Tarrero.[10]
Activities
According to Fast Company, Lifeboat runs a number of "programs" to protect Earth against threats such as an asteroid impact, grey goo from molecular nanotechnology, and unfriendly artificial general intelligence.[11] Lifeboat maintains a list of "dozens and dozens" of catastrophic threats - including the eventual burnout of the Sun — divided into four main categories of "calamities", "collapse", "dominium", and "betrayal".[12] Journalist Ashlee Vance notes that it's "unclear how far along any of these projects is".[7]
