Zero to One in AI Safety: Halcyon's Mike McCormick on Launching 30 New Orgs & the Founder Bottleneck

AI safety and security require a rapid expansion of organizational capacity to address the risks posed by accelerating AI development. Mike McCormick, CEO of Halcyon, identifies the primary bottleneck in this field as a shortage of experienced founders capable of building scalable institutions. Halcyon addresses this by providing career transition grants and venture funding to leaders launching organizations like Goodfire, which focuses on interpretability, and AIUC, which develops standards for AI risk. Effective safety measures depend on both technical innovations, such as verification technologies and indoor air quality improvements for biosecurity, and robust coordination mechanisms to bridge the gap between policy and implementation. Because the current AI trajectory suggests critical milestones by 2027, the focus must shift from theoretical research to the rapid execution of practical, mission-driven solutions that harden society against systemic vulnerabilities.