1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
NSF PCL Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). This initiative establishes a nationwide network of AI-enabled automated laboratories to test, scale, and demonstrate new methods and tools that advance automated science and engineering for discovery and translation, particularly in emerging biotechnology.
It's a core contribution to the U.S. government's Genesis Mission.
Get a weekly digest of new grants like this
A free weekly digest of new foundation and federal funding opportunities as they're added to Granted. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL Test Bed) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL Test Bed) Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .
All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. Supports the development and operation of a national network of AI-powered, remotely accessible laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery, enhance reproducibility and improve access to advanced research tools in science and engineering.
Supports the development and operation of a national network of AI-powered, remotely accessible laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery, enhance reproducibility and improve access to advanced research tools in science and engineering. Autonomous experimentation is poised to accelerate research and unlock critical scientific advances that bolster U.S. competitiveness and address pressing societal needs.
Programmable Cloud Laboratories are able to execute automated workstreams, including self-driving lab workflows, to efficiently move research goals through artificial intelligence (AI) enabled experiment design, laboratory preparations, data collection, data analysis and interpretation.
While limited-scale efforts have shown promise, versatile programmable and self-driving labs capable of addressing complex research questions with trustworthy results will require coordinated technological advances and an engaged research community.
Additional challenges include the availability of automated laboratory infrastructure, standardized approaches to data collection for interoperability, advances in AI for data interpretation and experimental design, and more. This solicitation aims to address such gaps and realize the potential of autonomous experimentation.
The Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL Test Bed) program seeks to establish and facilitate the operation of distributed autonomous laboratory facilities. These laboratories will combine technological and human capacity to enable integration, testing, evaluation, validation, and translation of cutting-edge technology solutions in automated science and engineering.
The PCL Test Bed will consist of a set of Programmable Cloud Laboratory Nodes (PCL Nodes) that can be remotely accessed to run custom workflows specified and programmed by users, that are linked together via computational networking, shared science questions, and data and artificial intelligence (AI) standards.
The PCL Test Bed will facilitate access to advanced scientific equipment, accelerate translation and scaling of basic research into industry applications, enhance reproducibility and the exchange of experimental data, and assist in training the next generation of scientists and engineers in state-of-the art methodologies.
It will help develop community norms, best practices, and formal standards for automated laboratory procedures, workflows, and instrument testing and validation. It will also advance consistent practices for the collection, sharing, and use of metadata and training data and the use and exploitation of AI methods.
This program will also support the development of automated laboratory methods, including self-driving autonomous experiment workflows.
Proposals must have a set of well-defined science drivers poised to derive significant benefit from targeted use of the PCL Test Bed capabilities, including but not limited to synthesis, optimization, and/or characterization experiments, in specific sub-disciplines within materials science, biotechnology, chemistry or other areas of science and engineering.
These science drivers will guide the protocols and standards necessary for each node and facilitate collaboration across the Test Bed. For example, science drivers could include but are not limited to: Materials science, materials synthesis and characterization efforts that advance U.S. competitiveness.
Biotechnology experiments in scalable, high-throughput engineering and characterization services for proteins or microbes with novel applications in the U.S. bioeconomy. High-throughput experimentation for the accelerated development of catalysts to support more efficient chemical synthesis to address urgent national needs.
User Recruitment and On-Boarding Workshops will be a key component of the PCL Test Bed program and will serve to recruit users to individual PCL Nodes and the Test Bed to help make progress on the proposed science drivers, provide access to technology, test the limits of the experimental set-up of the nodes, and explore new research opportunities between the PCL Nodes and institutions including, but not limited to, R2 Universities, PUI (Primarily Undergraduate Institutions), and two-year institutions.
The PCL Test Bed will be available to researchers in academia as well as industry, including current and former awardees from the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. The portfolio of projects is available here, https://seedfund. nsf.
gov/portfolio . PCL Nodes are expected to develop and implement plans for continued operation after the period of this award.
Updates and announcements NSF PCL program resources October 16, 2025 - Office Hours and Teaming Opportunity: NSF PCL Test Bed September 26, 2025 - Office Hours and Teaming Opportunity: NSF PCL Test Bed September 5, 2025 - Office Hours and Teaming Opportunity: NSF PCL Test Bed Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: 20 teams were selected for the initial investment, focused on establishing AI-enabled automated laboratories. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $380,000,000 total (initial investment). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
NSF PCL Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories is funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
MGPV Travel Grant is sponsored by Geological Society of America (GSA), Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, Volcanology Division. MGPV Travel grants support student travel to the annual GSA meeting. Applications are restricted to active graduate or undergraduate students who are the presenting authors of an accepted abstract at the annual GSA meeting.
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) - 2025: A.4 Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This omnibus research funding opportunity includes various program elements, with rolling submissions for Earth Science research through August 2026. Proposers to Earth Science using the NASA Center for Climate Simulation high-end computing facility must include specific budget details.
TCUP lists eight funding tracks and roughly $10.3M a year, but the October 14, 2026 deadline applies to only three of them — CHAI, Pre-TI, and TCUP Partnerships — and each carries a restriction that disqualifies most applicants. Here is the track-by-track math.
Read articleNSF 26-513 makes roughly $100 million available for up to 10 State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs at $4M to $12M each over five years. One award per state or multi-state region. One proposal per organization. And NSF is not buying you GPUs — it funds the coordination, the workforce and the faculty training, while the compute has to come from partners you have to already have.
Read articleAs of September 12, NSF had obligated $6.3 billion across 6,200 grants versus $8.1 billion and 8,600 last year. AHRQ has made 61 awards. Judge Allison Burroughs ordered the government to report by September 28 on whether IES will obligate $180 million before it expires. Here is what actually happens to the money on October 1 — and what it means for your FY2027 application.
Read article