# Edge Esmeralda

> Edge Esmeralda is a monthlong popup village in Healdsburg, California, co-organized by Edge City and Esmeralda Institute. The 2026 edition runs May 30 through June 27, bringing together 500+ builders, researchers, founders, artists, and families for co-living, collaboration, and experimentation at the frontier of technology and human flourishing.

## Key Details

- Dates: May 30 through June 27, 2026
- Location: Healdsburg, California (Sonoma County wine country)
- Format: Monthlong co-living popup village
- Organizers: Edge City + Esmeralda Institute

## Key Pages

- [Edge Esmeralda Home](https://www.edgeesmeralda.com): Main site with applications and details
- [About Edge Esmeralda](https://www.edgeesmeralda.com/about): Mission, format, and team
- [Edge City Ecosystem](https://www.edgecity.live/ecosystem): 113+ partner organizations
- [Grants and Fellowships](https://www.edgecity.live/grants-fellowships): Funding opportunities
- [Edge City LLM Context](https://www.edgecity.live/llms-txt): Full context about the parent organization

## Programs

- **Long Journey Residency**: Monthlong thematic residencies with dedicated programming
- **d/ACC Track**: Defensive acceleration projects in biosecurity, cyber defense, cryptography, neurotech
- **World Builder Residency**: For creators building new worlds and experiences
- **Edge City Fellowship**: Full-ride 6-week program for builders under 25
- **Inflection Grants**: $2,000 grants for creative builders under 25
- **SHIFT Grants**: $5,000 to $40,000 for d/acc aligned projects

## The Experience

- Co-living in a curated community of builders, researchers, and families
- Three meals a day, communal dining
- Daily unconference sessions and workshops
- Dedicated coworking spaces
- Fitness, yoga, movement, and nature activities
- Family-friendly with kids programming
- Located in Sonoma County wine country with access to nature, hiking, and swimming

## Focus Areas

- Artificial Intelligence: alignment, agents, embodied AI, open-source AI
- Cryptography and Web3: zero-knowledge proofs, decentralized governance, protocol research
- Health and Longevity: biotech, neurotech, biohacking, longevity
- Hard Tech: space, materials science, energy, climate
- Governance: mechanism design, network states, quadratic funding
- Human Flourishing: intentional communities, consciousness, education

## Past Editions

- **Edge Esmeralda 2025**: May through June 2025, Healdsburg, California
- **Edge Esmeralda 2024**: June 2024, Healdsburg, California. 1,300 visitors, 300 full-time residents, 25 emergent programs

## Notable Community

Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum co-founder), Grimes (artist and technologist), Laura Deming (Longevity Fund), Juan Benet (Protocol Labs founder), Justin Drake (Ethereum Foundation), Devon Zuegel (GitHub), Joscha Bach (AI researcher), Balaji Srinivasan (Network State author)

## Key Concepts

- **Popup Village**: A monthlong gathering where people advancing science, technology, and culture live and work together in a temporary community designed for serendipity and collaboration.
- **Society Incubator**: Testing new technologies, governance models, institutions, and ways of living outside existing systems before mainstream adoption.
- **d/ACC (Defensive Acceleration)**: Technology development focused on protective technologies that increase human agency.
- **Network State**: A highly aligned online community with collective action capacity that crowdfunds territory.

## Organizers

Edge City is a project of Edge Institute, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Co-organized with Esmeralda Institute.

## Contact

- General: hello@edgecity.live
- Twitter/X: @joinedgecity
- Instagram: @joinedgecity