Pour Demain

Pour Demain ("For Tomorrow") is an independent, non-profit think tank founded in 2021 in Basel, Switzerland by four co-founders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization was created to build bridges between technology and policy and develop innovative solutions to neglected societal challenges. It is registered as a Swiss association (Verein) and is tax-exempt.

Pour Demain focuses on three main areas: artificial intelligence safety and governance, biosecurity and pandemic preparedness, and emerging technology risks including the convergence of synthetic biology and AI. The organization develops concrete, science-based policy proposals with positive impact for Switzerland and beyond.

In the AI domain, Pour Demain has established itself as an active contributor to European and international AI governance. The organization created and runs the Swiss AI Safety Prize in partnership with the Swiss Cyber Security Days and the Swiss federal government, with the first edition awarded in February 2024 offering up to CHF 15,000 in prize money. Pour Demain contributed over 230 pages of feedback across three drafting rounds to the EU Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI Models, advocating for stronger external assessment requirements, extended consultation periods, and independence requirements for assessors. The organization published a policy brief on resourcing the EU AI Office, analyzing whether the office has sufficient staffing and budget for its mandate. Pour Demain's EU AI Policy Lead serves on the OECD Expert Group on AI Incidents. In 2025, Pour Demain conducted the project "Safe Artificial Intelligence for Basel-Stadt" with support from the Christoph Merian Foundation.

In April 2024, Pour Demain opened a Brussels office to focus on EU AI policy, expanding its geographic reach beyond Switzerland. The Brussels office works on policy recommendations for the responsible development and deployment of general-purpose AI at the European level.

In the biosecurity domain, Pour Demain has published recommendations based on expert interviews, addressing laboratory safety in Switzerland, pandemic pathogen monitoring, and capacity building in countries with biological risks. The organization has partnered with the Centre for Future Generations, IBBIS, and RAND Europe on EU biosecurity policy priorities.

The organization is led by a small core team including Patrick Stadler (Coordinator, also co-founder of GiveWell top charity New Incentives), David Marti (AI Programme Lead, with background in physics and data science from ETH Zurich), Jimmy Farrell (EU AI Policy Lead, formerly with the European Parliament's IMCO committee), and Laurent Bachler (Biosecurity Programme Lead). Pour Demain maintains an advisory board of approximately 25 members including ETH Zurich researchers, and a professional network of over 200 individuals.

Pour Demain is financed through charitable donations from private individuals and foundations, including the Hasler Foundation, the Christoph Merian Foundation, and Stiftung Mercator Schweiz. The organization maintains independence by declining paid or unpaid mandates and ensures donations remain separate from corporate or political interests.