Securebio Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To reduce catastrophic risks from novel biotechnologies by conducting research on pandemic prevention, detection, and mitigation.
- Income
- $7.3 million
- Spending
- $4.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 10.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 93%
- Employees
- 16
- Highest pay
- $151,815, nao project lead
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 76% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 10.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 42% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 70% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 56% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 254 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $1.5 million spent. As part of its work on the Nucleic Acid Observatory NAO project, the organization runs experiments to detect metagenomic sequences in wasterwater, with the ultimate aim of detecting new diseases before they grow exponentially in the community. In 2024, The NAO team conducted real-world biosurveillance of metropolitan sewage and airplane wastewater samples from selected US airports. It expects to scale its detection efforts in 2025.
- $1.1 million spent. As part of its SecureDNA project, the organization continued to make significant progress in 2024 on its gene synthesis screening software. The team released an alpha version and prepared for a public beta launch. This free software offers best-in-class performance in screening criteria and runs against a continuously updated hazard database. SecureDNA uniquely integrates with both vendor order flows and benchtop synthesizers. The organization successfully tested with major manufacturers and collaborated with leading gene synthesis companies. Two papers were prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals, one on the screening system and another on its cryptographic architecture. These advancements further the organization's goal of securely monitoring synthetic DNA orders against various public health hazards.
- $748,527 spent. The organization is developing measurement tools to assess AI systems' potential contribution to global catastrophic biological risks and creating mitigation strategies for when AI capabilities cross specific risk thresholds. Working with government and industry partners, they aim to de-risk upcoming AI model releases against severe biological hazards. The team has already published a pre-print on biorisks associated with model weight proliferation in Large Language Models, garnering major media attention. Their ongoing projects include research on risks from frontier models, developing benchmarks to evaluate large language models' biosecurity-relevant capabilities, creating task-based assessments for frontier systems' autonomous capabilities, and implementing technical interventions for risk mitigation, such as model unlearning of dual-use biological concepts and enhancing adversarial robustness against dual-use input prompts.
- $47,305 spent. The organization focuses on pandemic-proof personal protective equipment PPE that reliably shields essential workers against highly infectious agents without requiring fit-testing, ensuring the maintenance of critical infrastructure during pandemics. To enhance the availability and accessibility of this crucial equipment, the organization has undertaken several key initiatives. These include mapping critical infrastructure and essential workers, identifying cost-reduction strategies, advocating for public funds to build and maintain stockpiles, and exploring market mechanisms to support government efforts in stockpiling pandemic-proof PPE. Through these activities, the organization aims to strengthen pandemic preparedness and protect those who must continue working during health crises.
- As part of its work on the FAR-UVC project, the organization conducted an in-depth examination of the safety of far-UVC germicidal light throughout 2023. This comprehensive study involved convening a group of experts for both in-person and remote workshops over a 12-month period. The culmination of this extensive research was the release of a major paper on far-UVC safety, effectively concluding the organization's work on this project. While the organization designed a clinical study to further investigate the application of far-UVC technology, it determined that executing such a trial was not feasible given the available resources. This decision marked the completion of the organization's active involvement in the FAR-UVC research initiative.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2022.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.