Bill Ackman commits $400 million to a new brain research institute in New York
The Ackman Oxman Institute will focus on brain research, rehabilitation and longevity, with Mount Sinai as a clinical partner.
Investor Bill Ackman and designer Neri Oxman are founding the Ackman Oxman Institute (AOI), a neuroscience and longevity center in Manhattan. Ackman is committing Pershing Square shares worth about $400 million, and has said a further gift of similar or larger size will follow.
What the institute will do
AOI will work on brain research, rehabilitation and what its founders call human optimization, with Mount Sinai as a key clinical partner. Reports say it is assembling a large campus on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and its board includes inventor Dean Kamen, Regeneron CEO George Yancopoulos and Nobel laureate James Rothman.
Ackman has said the institute was inspired by his daughter’s recovery from a severe brain hemorrhage earlier in 2026.
Connection to the BCI industry
The Ackman Oxman Institute was also one of the co-leaders of Precision Neuroscience’s $250 million funding round in September (our coverage). That makes it an investor in brain-computer interfaces as well as a research center.
Why it matters
Large private funding is shaping neurotechnology alongside government programs such as the NIH BRAIN Initiative. A well-funded center outside traditional universities could speed the move from research to products, especially in rehabilitation.
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