Updated October 16, 2026
AI Research Grants 2026
Open AI research grants and funding opportunities for 2026, from NSF, DOE, and NIH to Schmidt Sciences and Sloan. A live list, updated daily.
AI is the clearest funding priority of 2026. NSF officials have said openly that artificial intelligence now drives agency grantmaking, backed by the AI Institutes network and major new initiatives. The Department of Energy stood up a dedicated AI office, and philanthropic funders including Schmidt Sciences, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Sloan Foundation have all launched substantial AI research programs. While most fields are fighting over a shrinking pool, AI funding is growing on both the federal and private side.
Featured grants
Updated automatically from Atom's grant database. Summaries are AI-generated.Artificial Intelligence in Materials Science
Artificial Intelligence in Materials Science supports researchers combining AI and physical theories for materials discovery, simulation, inverse design, and autonomous experiments to advance scientific discovery.
Technology in the Public Interest
Supports research and networks to improve oversight, evaluation, and accountability in AI governance, prioritizing public interest, equity, and transparency in high-impact sectors.
Emerging Algorithms and Mathematical Paradigms for Reliable Next-Generation AI
A workshop by IPAM exploring new mathematical and algorithmic methods to ensure reliable, interpretable, and robust next-generation AI systems.
The opportunity is much broader than core machine learning. A large share of new funding targets AI for science: applying modern models to problems in biology, chemistry, materials, medicine, agriculture, and the social sciences. There is also growing investment in trustworthy and safe AI, in AI infrastructure and benchmarks, and in training the research workforce. Researchers whose work touches AI from any direction, whether building methods or applying them, have more doors open than the traditional program lists suggest.
This collection tracks open grants supporting AI and machine learning research across funders. It updates automatically as new programs are announced, so it reflects the current cycle rather than last year's landscape. Forecasted opportunities are labeled, which matters in a field where agencies are announcing programs faster than they open them.
AI for Privacy, Safety, and Security Academic Research Awards
Google's AI for Privacy, Safety, and Security Academic Research Awards fund interdisciplinary research using AI to tackle digital privacy, safety, and security challenges.
AI Safety Fund
The AI Safety Fund supports global research projects advancing responsible and safe development of advanced AI systems, focusing on urgent challenges like evaluation, biosecurity, cybersecurity, and governance.
Advancing Research at the intersection of Biology and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)
NSF BIO supports research combining biology and AI/ML to advance biological discovery or develop AI/ML methods inspired by biological systems, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration.
AI for Information Security call for proposals - Fall 2026
AI for Information Security call for proposals - Fall 2026 supports academic and nonprofit researchers developing AI for security operations, threat detection, and model protection to address security challenges.
Anthropic Fellows Program for AI Safety Research
Anthropic Fellows Program for AI Safety Research supports engineers and researchers with mentorship and resources for empirical AI safety and security work aimed at public research outputs.
Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology
Supports early-stage research and technology projects in science, with a focus on AI and automation, to clarify needs and inform future strategies where other funding is scarce.
Utilizing the Full Power of Empire AI
Utilizing the Full Power of Empire AI supports Empire AI researchers developing and using foundational machine learning models on multinode GPU clusters to solve fundamental problems in mathematics and basic science.
Artificial Intelligence and Society Fellowship Program
Artificial Intelligence and Society Fellowship Program supports postdoctoral researchers bridging AI, social sciences, and humanities to bring ethical and humanistic principles into AI development and use.
Technical PhD Fellowships
Technical PhD Fellowships support PhD researchers studying AI existential risks and developing technical approaches to reduce them, strengthening the research community working on AI existential safety.
Researcher Access Program
Researcher Access Program supports researchers and research nonprofits with OpenAI API access to study responsible AI deployment, mitigate risks, and examine AI’s effects on people and society.
Artificial Intelligence in Communication Sciences and Disorders Research Grant
Supports interdisciplinary research integrating ethical and innovative AI solutions to advance clinical practice, education, and research in communication sciences and disorders.
AI Opportunity
AI Opportunity supports Chicago youth, communities, and nonprofits through work on AI, the economy, and workforce, community-centered development, and nonprofit uses to expand equitable participation in AI.
Request for Proposals: AI Governance
Request for Proposals: AI Governance supports researchers and organizations with research, training, and governance project funding to reduce catastrophic risks from advanced AI.
U.S. National Science Foundation State and Regional Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Hubs
NSF’s State and Regional Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Hubs fund consortia to build advanced AI research infrastructure and workforce training across states and territories.
Funding for work that builds capacity to address risks from transformative AI
Funding for work that builds capacity to address risks from transformative AI supports new and existing AI-risk talent through training, networks, and shared knowledge to help society navigate transformative AI.
AstroAI Fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics
The AstroAI Fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics supports early-career researchers using AI to tackle innovative astrophysics research, with mentorship from both AI and astrophysics experts.
AWS Agentic AI call for proposals - Fall 2026
AWS Agentic AI call for proposals - Fall 2026 supports researchers developing agentic AI and open-source tools to advance human-AI collaboration, scientific discovery, and benefits for the wider AI community.
Frequently asked questions
Federal agencies fund the largest share: NSF through the AI Institutes and programs like Mathematical Foundations of AI, NIH through AI-focused initiatives and the National Library of Medicine, and the Department of Energy. Private funders include Schmidt Sciences, the Sloan Foundation, the Simons Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and AI companies such as Anthropic and Google run their own academic research programs.
Yes. Much of today's AI funding supports applying AI to other fields, such as biology, chemistry, materials science, medicine, agriculture, and the social sciences. Several programs explicitly prefer interdisciplinary teams that pair domain scientists with machine learning researchers, so a strong scientific question can matter as much as AI expertise.
Yes. Beyond standard faculty grants, AI funding includes PhD and postdoctoral fellowships, industry-sponsored fellowship programs, and early career awards. Eligibility varies by program, so check each listing for career stage, citizenship, and institutional requirements.
AI research grants cover the full field, from new methods to AI for science. AI safety grants focus on making advanced AI systems reliable and beneficial: alignment, interpretability, evaluations, security, and governance. Atom keeps a separate AI Safety Research Grants collection for those programs.