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AI Forge Program is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). AI Forge is a joint DARPA and NSF program designed to accelerate breakthroughs in AI for national security.
It seeks to identify AI capabilities and research interests of U.S. universities to conduct high-impact, university-led fundamental AI research focused on critical AI challenges for national security, including AI interpretability, control, and adversarial robustness.
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Department of War organization. DARPA and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) have jointly developed AI Forge to catalyze breakthroughs in AI for national security, working in close collaboration with the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The program is focused on aligning government, academia, and industry around forward-looking foundational research to accelerate advances in AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. AI Forge hypothesizes that pre-competitive AI research in these thrust areas can accelerate the adoption of AI innovations by industry and federal agencies.
AI Forge aims to accelerate progress towards AI that is significantly more reliable and predictable in high-stakes settings, understandable to its operators, and secure in contested environments. It also envisions building a durable research ecosystem around priority AI challenges and enabling a more robust exchange of talent and ideas across universities, frontier AI companies, and government than is possible today.
AI Forge will establish a forum – comprised of industry, university, and government participants – to identify, fund, and manage university-led research efforts aimed at challenges defined in the AI Forge Critical AI Challenges for National Security report . The forum will be administered by a nonprofit. This page will be updated with additional details as they become available.
AI Forge: Critical AI Challenges for National Security Report AI Forge: Accelerating AI breakthroughs for national security Information Processing Techniques Office
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: U.S. universities and research organizations. The program aims to integrate academic talent with advanced capabilities from frontier AI companies and government. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Applications for AI Forge Program are due July 9, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
AI Forge Program is funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
AI Forge Program: University Research Capabilities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategic Thrusts Request for Information (RFI) is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). The AI Forge Program is a joint DARPA and NSF initiative designed to fund university-led research on critical AI problems for national security.
DARPA AI Forge Program is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). A jointly developed program by DARPA and NSF to catalyze breakthroughs in AI for national security, focusing on aligning government, academia, and industry around foundational research to accelerate advances in AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness.
DARPA Young Faculty Award is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The DARPA Young Faculty Award program identifies and engages rising academics in early-career research positions, particularly those with minimal prior DARPA funding, to expose them to Department of Defense (DOD) needs. The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) within DARPA has open topic areas in Physical Sciences, including open quantum systems, quantum-enhanced sensing, novel qubit platforms, complex chemical systems, nuclear systems and beams, nuclear particle/photon interactions, and nonequilibrium thermodynamics.
Operation Stonegarden (OPSG) is a federal grant program administered by FEMA through the Office of the Governor's Public Safety Office that funds enhanced border security cooperation among Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol, and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies. The program supports joint operations to secure land and water border routes, improve intelligence sharing, and expand 287(g) screening operations within correctional facilities. In 2025, the national priority is Supporting Border Crisis Response and Enforcement, covering training, operational coordination, and risk management. Eligible expenses include operational overtime costs, staffing support for screening activities, and training programs in immigration law, civil rights protections, and 287(g) procedures.
DoD Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) is sponsored by Department of Defense (DoD) - Office of Naval Research (ONR). The Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI), administered by the Department of Defense Office of Naval Research, supports basic research in science and engineering at U. S.
On June 1, DARPA and NSF announced AI Forge — a jointly governed forum that will fund university-led research on three thrusts: AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. The RFI on sam.gov closes June 22, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET. Project Ventures awards run roughly \$750K to \$3M with one-year durations and multiple awards expected annually. Administration runs through a nonprofit, intellectual property will be shared via open-source licensing, and CAISI at NIST is the third partner. Here is what the 15 priority research challenges look like and how U.S. universities should respond.
Read articleDARPA and NSF launched a joint program on June 1 to fund university work on AI interpretability, control, and adversarial robustness. Awards run $750K to $3M+ per project, the forum launches this summer, and the universities listed in the AI Forge repository will sit closest to the money. The Request for Information closes June 22.
Read articleOn June 1, 2026, DARPA and the National Science Foundation announced AI Forge — a jointly governed forum that will fund, guide, and manage university-led research on AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. The RFI on sam.gov closes June 22. The forum itself will be administered by a new nonprofit launching in summer 2026. The structure is what matters: this is not a one-off solicitation, it is a multi-year venue for university-government-industry research that operates outside the normal merit-review timelines of either agency. What university research teams should be doing in the seventeen-day window between the announcement and the RFI deadline — and what the forum model means for federal AI funding through FY 2028.
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