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NSF AI Research Institutes is a grant program from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) that funds large-scale, multi-institution research institutes advancing foundational artificial intelligence research and its application across science, engineering, and society. Individual institute grants can exceed $20 million, with NSF investing over $800 million in AI-related activities in FY 2023.
Eligible applicants include universities and research institutions that can lead collaborative AI research agendas aligned with national priorities. Institutes focus on areas such as trustworthy AI, human-AI interaction, AI for the environment, healthcare AI, and AI education, with an emphasis on broadening participation and translating research into real-world impact.
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National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes Status: Waiting for new publication NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website .
These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.
Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.
Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.
Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.
Supports the development of new AI Institutes that focus on one of the following themes: astronomical sciences, materials research and new methods for strengthening AI. Supports the development of new AI Institutes that focus on one of the following themes: astronomical sciences, materials research and new methods for strengthening AI.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced tremendously and today promises personalized healthcare; enhanced national security; improved transportation; and more effective education, to name just a few benefits.
Increased computing power, the availability of large datasets and streaming data, and algorithmic advances in machine learning (ML) have made it possible for AI research and development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries.
Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, holds the potential for further economic impact and quality-of-life improvements .
This program is a multisector effort led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the Simons Foundation (SF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)), Capital One Financial Corporation (Capital One), and Intel Corporation (Intel).
Group 1 - Awards anticipated in FY 2024: Theme 1: AI for Astronomical Sciences Group 2 - Awards anticipated in FY 2025: Theme 2: AI for Discovery in Materials Research Theme 3: Strengthening AI For the institute themes listed in Group 1, NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2024; and for themes listed in Group 2, NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2025.
Each group has a specific set of due dates and review timeline pertaining only to that group. More detail is found under Due Dates and in the timeline provided in the Program Description. For general inquiries regarding this program (not theme specific) please email the program leads at: AIInstitutesProgram@nsf.
gov Program Leads (Reachable at the above address) For inquiries related to the responsiveness of your ideas for the Themes listed in this solicitation, please contact the program officers listed below. You are advised to address theme-specific questions to all program contacts listed for that theme Theme 1: AI for Astronomical Sciences Andreas Berlind, MPS/AST, aberlind@nsf. gov Gioia Rau, MPS/AST, grau@nsf.
gov Vladimir Pavlovic , CISE/IIS, vpavlovi@nsf. gov Elizabeth Roy, Simons Foundation, telephone: (212) 524-6966, email: eroy@simonsfoundation. org Theme 2: AI for Discovery in Materials Research Serdar Ogut, MPS/DMR, sogut@nsf.
gov Sylvia Spengler, CISE/IIS, sspengle@nsf. gov Theme 3: Strengthening AI Hector Munoz Avila, CISE/IIS, hmunoz@nsf. gov Raj Acharya, CISE/IIS, racharya@nsf.
gov Tatiana D. Korelsky, CISE/IIS, tkorelsk@nsf. gov Eleni Miltsakaki , CISE/IIS, emiltsak@nsf.
gov Juan Wachs, CISE/IIS, jwachs@nsf. gov AI Research Institutes Program Team AIInstitutesProgram@nsf.
gov June 2, 2025 - NSF at the AI+ Expo October 29, 2024 - ExpandAI Program Webinar (October 2024) September 5, 2023 - AI Institutes Webinar November 16, 2021 - National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes… September 25, 2020 - National AI Research Institute in Dynamic Systems Webinar Additional program resources Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes Program (NSF 22-502) AI Institutes Webinar ,September 5th ,2023 , 1:30 pm 3:00 pm -- Register here AI Institutes Webinar ,September 5th ,2023 , 1:30 pm 3:00 pm -- Webinar Recording Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)
Key questions and narrative sections extracted from the solicitation.
Project Summary (1 page): overview of project vision and goals
Project Description Section 3.a: Overview and Rationale
Project Description Section 3.b: Research Plan — foundational AI objectives, use-inspired integration, five-year timeline, partner roles
Project Description Section 3.c.1: Education and workforce development broader impacts
Project Description Section 3.c.2: Broadening participation plans with evidence-based strategies
Project Description Section 3.c.3: Collaboration and knowledge transfer
Project Description Section 3.d: Key Personnel, Management, and Integration Plan — organizational structure, management team roles, external advisory board plan
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Universities, research institutions, and potentially other organizations depending on the specific institute or program. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows over $800 million in AI-related activities in FY2023 (total program funding, individual awards vary, e.g., $100M investment, $20M grant). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
NSF AI Research Institutes (various initiatives) is funded by U.S. 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.
The solicitation lists 12 required documents: Cover sheet, Project Summary (1 page), Project Description (25 pages max for full proposal), References cited, Biographical sketches (3 pages per person), and Budget (5-year breakdown), among others (the full list is in the Required Documents section on this page). Check the official notice for formatting and page-limit rules.
Economics of AI Fellowship is sponsored by Stripe. The fellowship supports foundational academic research in the economics of AI, an area currently understudied despite rapid technical progress in artificial intelligence. Fellows receive a baseline grant, opportunities to attend conferences with leading economists and technologists, and potential access to unique data via Stripe and its customers.
The UKRI Policy Fellowships 2025, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, offer 18-month placements for academics to co-design research with UK government and What Works Network host organizations. Awards range from £180,000 to £280,000 and support three fellowship tracks: core policy fellows, Natural Hazards and Resilience policy fellows, and What Works Innovation fellows. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent research experience, be based at a UKRI-eligible UK organization, and possess relevant subject matter or methodological expertise. Government-hosted positions target early to mid-career academics, while What Works fellowships welcome all career stages. Fellows work directly with policymakers to bridge academic research and policy development on pressing national and global challenges. The application deadline is July 15, 2025.
NSF 26-516 folds Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, Earth Sciences and Ocean Sciences into a single GEO Core solicitation: $110 million, 200 to 350 awards, proposals accepted anytime. Geosciences piloted no-deadline review nine years ago and knows what it does to submission volume. Here is the per-award math, the ship-time and permitting traps, and the two-year data-archive clock that now governs every award.
Read articleNSF 26-520 consolidates 14 mathematical sciences programs into $200 million and 400 to 600 awards with no per-PI cap and no deadline. Folded into it are Research Training Groups and Focused Research Groups — department-scale, cohort-building competitions that ran on a fixed annual date. Here is why removing that date is a different kind of change for training grants than for single-investigator grants, and what math departments should do before the fall.
Read articleNSF 26-522 consolidates AAG, ATI and MSIP into a single astronomical sciences solicitation with $100 million and about 140 awards. Accomplishment-based renewals will be returned without review, voluntary cost sharing is prohibited, and routine instrument upgrades are explicitly deprioritized. The new Innovations track — one to three awards a year — is where facility operations and community observing time now live.
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