arXiv Secures $17.2M to Fund Nonprofit Spin-Off from Cornell

The preprint server arXiv announced $17.2 million in multiyear philanthropic commitments to underwrite its spin-out from Cornell University into an independent nonprofit, according to a statement on its blog dated September 23, 2026. The money comes from three donors: Simons Foundation International, XTX Markets, and Siegel Family Endowment. It is meant to fund three to five years of operations.

Penelope Lewis, arXiv's first CEO, said in the announcement that the commitments "put arXiv on solid footing as we move into this next chapter" and provide "a strong foundation and momentum for arXiv to continue to grow and serve the research community for the long term." A Board of Directors was seated two months before the funding announcement, per reporting from Library Journal infoDOCKET.

The funders described their motivations in plain terms. Simons Foundation president David Spergel said arXiv "will be positioned to evolve and modernize its systems." Simon Coyle, XTX Markets' head of philanthropy, framed arXiv as "robust, open-source infrastructure for science." Joshua Elder of the Siegel Family Endowment pointed to arXiv's role letting communities "share ideas, build on one another's work."

arXiv laid out three uses for the money: general operations and service improvements, technical platform development including management of AI-generated content, and strengthening its nonprofit governance and operations. The platform has operated for 35 years and hosts more than 3 million articles across physics, mathematics, computer science, and related fields.