OpenAI engineer is using his stock awards to launch new community makerspace in this East Bay city

BERKELEY, Calif. - An OpenAI software engineer is using his stock-based compensation from the tech giant’s upcoming initial public offering to create a non-profit collaborative workspace where the community can come together and build things.

The East Bay Maker’s Club, located on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, is slated to have its grand opening next week.

It will be one of only a handful of makerspaces in the East Bay, amid the growing global popularity of these workshop spaces that provide digital fabrication tools for hands-on experiments, designing, and creating.

"The space is being built for practical making: prototyping, fabrication, electronics, repair, art experiments, and the weird half-formed ideas that turn into good evenings," the founders shared on their website.

Dream realized

The backstory:

It’s a dream come true for co-founders and friends Joe Taylor and John Boiles.

Taylor, a software engineer and a Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI, and Boiles, chief technology officer of San Francisco-based wearable e-reader company SOL, met years ago when they both worked at pioneering social media companies Periscope and Twitter.

The makerspace idea was born out of a casual building night they would hold in Boiles’ basement.

"After the kids went to bed, we would get together and build stuff, and we started inviting people, and friends of friends, and so that was back in 2017."

The East Bay residents, Boiles in Albany and Taylor in Berkeley, have kept this makeshift maker’s club going for nine years, adding friends and fellow building enthusiasts to the group. 

A couple of years in, they began brainstorming ways to try and grow this collaborative meet-up into something bigger. 

"Around 2019, we have notebooks of us trying to figure out how we could bring this to the community," Taylor said, "reach a wider audience and kind of like help more people."

The pandemic brought that plan to a halt and there were also financial constraints.

Funds from OpenAI tender offer

"Financially, we're like, I don't know how we can make this work," Taylor shared. "Then fast-forward. I started this wild job at OpenAI."

He said OpenAI's tender offers to its employees was how he would find a way to fund this project.

"So part of my thought was to make this dream, that John and I had, be real and bring it back to the community," Taylor shared, adding, "As an East Bay native, I really do want to connect back with the community I grew up with."

He said the two are on a mission to build "a hyper-local community space focused on making."

Makers' tools 

On Friday, at its open house, the makerspace was buzzing with excited creators checking out the equipment and tools available to visitors.

They include 3D printers, a laser cutter, an electronics bench which allows for soldering, scoping, and debugging.

Makers will also have access to a heavy-duty, computer-controlled cutting system 3D carving and machining materials like wood, plastics, foams, and aluminum.

There’s also a sewing machine and computer stations, equipped with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software.

Makerspaces having a moment

Dig deeper:

In recent years, makerspaces have seen a major boom in this tech-driven digital age. 

"The maker movement has become more accessible than ever, with affordable tools, online tutorials, and supportive communities," according to the Electronic Engineering Times, which added, "The cost of development boards, sensors, and other components continues to decrease, making it easier for more people to get involved."

They're sometimes referred to as fabrication laboratories, and these hubs have also become increasingly more common in educational, corporate settings and beyond. 

"At a high level, fab labs are spaces to play, create, learn, mentor, and invent," according to a 2025 MIT News article. "In addition to offering access to equipment and education, fab labs foster education, mentorship, and innovation. Businesses often use local fab labs to make prototypes or test new products." 

Community and diversity

Big picture view:

The East Bay Maker’s Club is opening with a goal to promote creativity, innovation, and foster connection. But an emphasis will be on serving a diverse community at all different interest points and skill levels.

"I want to bring a place where people can get a spark for building, come for the tools, be community," Taylor said.

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Special classes and programs

He told KTVU the plan will be to eventually offer after-school programs for kids. 

The East Bay Makers Club will also hold workshops on building basic things that will appeal to a wide audience, like classes on creating Halloween costumes or Valentine’s gifts to more tech-centered workshops like those on building a robot.

"As part of that objective, you will be learning the tools and learning the parts to go from zero to one on a project, and also kind of learn and be inspired about what you can do in a space like this," Taylor said. "We want diversity. Making can mean lots of things. It's a huge wide breath, and we believe that there's kind of a space for everybody in this."

He said they want the hub to be open and accessible to a wide group. And he envisioned it will evolve based on what the community is seeking.

Filling a need

Taylor also explained, they hoped the space would feed a need in an area that has seen such outlets for fostering connection and collaboration slowly disappear. 

"People want to have a place to hang out and share interests and not go to bars and things like that, right? I think this really fills that need," Taylor said. "We're missing so many community spaces now that everything is so expensive. These weird kooky spaces that used to be in Berkeley and Oakland and all over the Bay, just don't exist as much. So, that's kind of the dream."

He said the location is a bit unusual, as many makerspaces often occupy big warehouse-like settings in less centrally located areas.

"There's a big need in Berkeley because the university has a really great space, but it's for students. And then there's some places that are a little bit farther in Oakland, but there's not a lot going on right there, and so people are really excited to have this in their backyard," Taylor said.

He said that the area of San Pablo Avenue brings a lot of foot traffic, drawing in a diverse group of makers, and he’s been blown away by the turnout during pre-grand opening events. 

"Our space is right in the thick of it," the co-founder explained. "So, the amount of people that come in who do making, but not something considered like traditional makerspace-making, who come in interested to learn these new skills — people who are into sewing or crocheting or woodworking — has been really amazing."

Costs

The co-founder said that the largest expense to run the non-profit is rent.

He and Boiles have set a five-year runway budget goal.  

"That's just the base, and then we hope that with memberships and other donations and programming for kids school programming and things like that, we can keep this open for decades," Taylor shared.

The current cost to use the hub is based on a membership model, each adult membership costing $55 a month. There’s also a family package that allows families to add each minor for $30. He noted kids must be accompanied by an adult.

Making it affordable

Taylor also acknowledged that because a project like this is a first for him and his co-founder, he expects the operational process will be fluid.

"What I really want to do is bring people in who have never seen this technology or could never afford to buy a laser cutter because they don't have the expendable income," the software engineer said. "And so my goal is to keep it as affordable as possible, where we can keep memberships active and reach a broad audience. But some of this will be like learning."

Hours of operation 

What's next:

The official grand opening is set for Friday, July 3 and will be held from noon until midnight. 

The East Bay Makers Club will begin with the regular hours of Wednesday through Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

And to bring it back to where it all started, Taylor said they continue to hold their build nights in this new space, where people are invited to "Bring a project, borrow a second brain, or start something new." 

Community Build Nights are scheduled for every other Friday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

He hopes the East Bay Makers Club will ultimately be a place where people can use technology to create, where they can find belonging and inspiration, and where they can not only build things, but build community. 

"I think getting in a physical space, being face to face with someone else, getting off your screen, these are all things that will make us healthier, more connected," Taylor said, adding, "These are only good things."