Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, and his wife Wendy have committed to a major new effort in astronomy by privately funding a suite of next-generation telescopes. Their nonprofit, Schmidt Sciences, unveiled plans at the American Astronomical Society meeting in early January 2026 for four large observatories aimed at expanding how scientists observe the cosmos and accelerating discovery timelines, tells The New York Times.
Central to the initiative is the Lazuli Space Observatory, a space-based telescope with a 3.1-meter mirror that would collect about 70% more light than the Hubble Space Telescope. Operated in a lunar-resonant orbit and equipped with a wide-field optical imager, integral-field spectrograph, and coronagraph, Lazuli is designed to study exoplanets, supernovae, and cosmic expansion. The project seeks a launch as soon as 2029.
Complementing the space-based instrument are three ground-based observatories. The Argus Array will link 1,200 small optical telescopes to survey vast portions of the sky in visible light with high cadence. The Deep Synoptic Array in Nevada will use 1,656 radio dishes to scan radio wavelengths rapidly, potentially doubling the known catalog of radio sources in a single day. The Large Fiber Array Spectroscopic Telescope (LFAST) will be a modular optical spectroscopic facility built from multiple smaller units for flexible follow-up observations. All three are expected online by the end of the decade.
Schmidt Sciences emphasizes open science and broad access to data and software from these observatories. That approach aims to widen participation in astrophysics research and reduce dependence on traditional, often slow and costly, government-led projects. Placing these telescopes into service quickly could help fill observational gaps, support rapid follow-up of transient cosmic events, and provide complementary data to missions such as NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
The Schmidts’ plan marks a significant moment in private support for large-scale science infrastructure, reflecting a trend toward philanthropy playing a larger role in fields once dominated by public agencies.