Random Walk: Atlas

Each flow traces funding sources to outcome categories across 51 discoveries. Width indicates the number of discoveries following each path. Many flows cross categorical boundaries — money invested in one field producing breakthroughs in another.

The Sheet

# Discovery Year Span (yrs) Crossed Origin field Outcome field Funder type # Funders Mechanism Near-deaths Depth

Ara Varma is a designer based in San Francisco. She was an Associate at SOSV ($1.5b deep tech VC) and worked in sales at Loft Orbital. In these roles, she encountered many people on their own random walks, building interesting science.

This project catalogues and formalizes what many know to be true: funding research in one area often leads to value in unexpected areas. We document the positive unintended consequences of high-intensity research, and seek to understand how we can support more.