Build what the
problem requires.
Altruism Lab is an applied research institution built around one conviction: the point of studying an important problem is to change it — measurably, and on terms you can defend.
The structural mismatch
The hardest welfare problems cross economics, policy, technology, markets, institutions, capital, and culture.
Yet organizations are typically structured around disciplines. The problems don't care about those boundaries.
Research Institutions
Often stop at publication.
Program Organizations
Often commit to a single delivery model.
Venture Firms
Optimize for financial return.
Altruism Lab
Structured around problems, not disciplines.
The Lab sits between these worlds: it assembles the research, people, capital, and implementation capability each intervention actually requires — and holds all of it to one published evidence standard.
New, and honest about it
The Lab is being built in the open. Credibility is its core asset, so this page draws the line plainly between what exists and what doesn't — yet.
What exists today
- Two focus areas: Eradicating Poverty, a proposed new economic layer described in a working paper, and Animal Welfare, with two approaches in design and published briefs.
- A public document library, hosted on this site.
- Free signups for the founding Coalition of Altruism Leaders, reviewed individually.
- An open Donate an Asset intake — non-cash assets, reviewed before anything is accepted.
- A published measurement framework the Lab has bound itself to.
What does not exist yet
- Verified outcomes. None are claimed anywhere on this site.
- Running pilots or a launched platform. Both focus areas are at the design-and-research stage.
- An acquisition fund or any producer transactions — the Factory Farm Exit page is explicit about this.
- Meals transitioned. The 100 million figure is a long-term target, not a tally.
The left column will grow. The discipline is that it only grows when something actually changes status — the rules are public in the measurement framework.
Seven commitments
Evidence over intuition.
Good intentions do not guarantee good outcomes.
Implementation matters.
A solution that cannot be deployed cannot create impact.
Measure outcomes.
Activity is not impact.
Follow the problem.
Do not force problems into organizational silos.
Capital is a tool.
Use philanthropy, earned revenue, government, or investment depending on what the intervention requires.
Build for replication.
One successful intervention matters. A repeatable intervention matters much more.
Intellectual humility.
Treat interventions as hypotheses until evidence demonstrates otherwise.
Founder
Pete Zheng
Founder, Altruism Lab
A multidisciplinary product and operations leader whose work spans technology, venture-backed startups, financial technology, research, and public-sector innovation.
Technology & Product
Head of Generative AI Product at Prospectory.ai; led product at Farther, a Series C fintech managing ten-figure assets; shaped product and policy on Meta's Core Ads Business Integrity team across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Entrepreneurship
Founded and chaired his family's restaurant business, scaling it into new verticals generating seven-figure revenue; serves on DoorDash's Restaurant Advisory Council.
Academia & Research
NIH-backed, internationally cited researcher at Columbia Business School.
Public & Civic Leadership
Managed a 2020 New York City mayoral campaign that polled in the top ten; advised UNICEF USA, the U.S. Department of Defense, Trickle Up, and Leadership Now Project; co-founded two social-justice organizations.
Education & Honors
MPA from Columbia University (2020 Campbell Award); B.A. and Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh Honors College, summa/magna cum laude across four majors; named one of Gaingels' "100 Under 100" global leaders in 2024.
He founded Altruism Lab around a simple question: what would an institution look like if it were designed not merely to study important problems, but to repeatedly turn promising ideas into measurable real-world interventions?
Who else is here — stated plainly
No advisory pages with borrowed credibility, no team photos before there is a team. Each group below is published the moment it becomes real, and not a moment sooner.
Team
Founder-led today. Roles are published as they are filled — the founder’s full record is above.
Altruism Coalition
A supporting community for the Lab’s research, now forming. Learn more and sign up. Participation is free; each signup is reviewed.
Advisors
Published only once an advisory relationship is formalized in writing. The “Advise the Lab” door above is open.
Governance & external review
Oversight and independent-review arrangements are published as they are established.
Who controls the Lab, stated plainly.
What is true today, and which safeguards are only proposed.
- Legal operator
- Empire Palace Group Inc., a Delaware for-profit corporation. Not a charity; support is not tax-deductible.
- Fact
- Leadership & oversight
- Founder-led. No independent governing or advisory board is currently listed on this site.
- Public record
- Finances
- No reviewed or audited financial statements are published, and no operating-cost totals are available to display.
- Fact
- Supporters & sponsors
- Paying, applying, or sponsoring gives no control over research conclusions or Coalition selection.
- Fact
- Conflict of interest
- Because a for-profit operates the Lab, its commercial interests could diverge from the research. Written disclosure of sponsors and conflicts on each publication is a proposed safeguard, not an implemented policy.
- Proposed
- External review
- Independent oversight and outside review of findings are proposed, not established.
- Proposed
Outcomes are tracked only in the Impact Ledger. Verified impact to date: none.
Research principles & transparency.
Evaluating research
Questions, methods, and stop conditions are stated before results. Internal review precedes publication.
Handling sponsorship
Sponsors are disclosed. Funding never buys conclusions, and findings publish whether favorable or not.
Reporting failure
Negative and null results are published alongside successes. If evidence says stop, the work stops.
Making decisions
Founder-led today. Decisions follow published evidence thresholds; governance is added as it is formalized.
The fine print, up front
Legal structure
Altruism Lab is operated by Empire Palace Group Inc., a Delaware corporation.
Contributions
Support goes to the Lab's research and operations and is not tax-deductible.
What gets published
Program statuses, the measurement rules, and every public document live in Research & Resources. Questions the site doesn't answer: contact the Lab.