Updated July 27, 2026

AI Research Grants

Grants funding artificial intelligence and AI-for-science research, across federal agencies and private foundations. Updated as new programs open.

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.

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.