Back when the Signal org used to be called Open Whisper Systems it received grants and auditing from the Open Technology Fund which, at the time, was still a part of Radio Free Asia.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150521181458/https://www.opentechfund.org/project/open-whisper-systems
Yup, I got dogpiled with smarmy comments downplaying my pointing out that the Open Technology Fund (that’s affiliated with Radio Free Asia) audited the Signal Protocol. I still try to get people to switch to it from SMS or Whatsapp (with limited success, an ex was one of the few who already had it installed prior… cuz of their dealer), but it’s not like I have any illusions of organizing the revolution on the app