Austin Chen's Manifund hires ex-Alameda CEO amid FTX $1.5M lawsuit

Manifund, an AI and effective altruism charity started by Austin Chen, has drawn controversy after it announced it hired Caroline Ellison, the disgraced former CEO of Alameda Research.

Though the hiring has sparked debate, the circumstances leading up to it are intricate, long, and peculiar.

In March 2022, Chen's outfit, previously known as Manifold Markets, submitted a request for $500,000 to the FTX Future Fund — FTX's charity division — to create Manifold For Charity, which has since been renamed Manifund.

Key effective altruism figures William MacAskill and Leopold Aschenbrenner were involved in running the Future Fund, meaning they played a role in approving Chen's grant.

Six months later, FTX and Alameda Research had filed for bankruptcy, and their CEOs, Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, were on their way to prison.

Time marches on

In the end, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh — both former FTX and Alameda executives — avoided prison, while Bankman-Fried got 25 years and Ellison received two years.

Ellison was freed in January 2026.

During Ellison's incarceration, effective altruism has continued despite widespread criticism, and Manifund has carried on as well.

Over that time, Manifund says it has funded close to 500 projects and distributed roughly $20 million in grants, per its own figures.

Yet what it has not accomplished is also significant.

FTX sues Manifund

Even though Manifund has supported hundreds of projects and disbursed millions, the $500,000 grant from the FTX Future Fund in 2022 has become a sticking point.

FTX filed a lawsuit against Manifold Markets in 2024, seeking $508,000 back. In July 2025, it included Manifold For Charity (now Manifund) in the revised complaint.

The amended complaint now seeks "no less than $1,508,000."

The case has progressed, but no resolution has been reached. The appearance of an effective altruism charity holding back money from creditors is unflattering, though it could be worse.

That would be the case if you hire someone to whom you owe a debt.

Hiring someone with a criminal record is not inherently problematic, particularly if you think they have changed, as Chen argued in his EA forum post. But what matters more is Chen's own background and his continuing dispute with FTX.

The fact that Chen is willing to hire Ellison, given her Alameda past, his own FTX Future Fund connection, and a $1,508,000 lawsuit, raises questions about his adherence to effective altruism.

People on EA forums are openly questioning whether this move maximizes positive impact.