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Robust Intelligence is NSF's core foundational artificial intelligence program and, for an academic AI researcher without a domain application or a national-security angle, it is the most direct federal funding route that exists.
NSF describes it as encompassing the foundational computational research needed to understand and develop systems that can sense, learn, reason, communicate, and act in the world, and it spans five research areas: artificial intelligence covering learning, abstraction, inference, knowledge representation, reasoning, planning and multi-agent systems; machine learning covering algorithms and models that generalize from data; computer vision; human language technologies covering analysis and generation of text and speech; and computational neuroscience.
Two exclusions define the program more sharply than its inclusions, and both are stated explicitly by NSF. First, RI does not fund projects that simply apply existing techniques to a specific domain - a proposal that takes an off-the-shelf model and points it at a new dataset is not responsive, however useful the application.
Second, RI does not fund robotics research, which NSF directs instead to the Foundational Research in Robotics program. Those two boundaries account for a large share of misdirected proposals, and getting on the right side of both is the main framing task before writing.
RI is administered through the CISE Core Programs solicitation, NSF 25-543, which is the same vehicle that carries Human-Centered Computing and other CISE core programs and which sets the Small and Medium project classes, budget bands and submission arrangements.
In recent CISE core cycles proposals have been accepted without fixed annual deadlines, but that arrangement has changed between solicitation versions, so confirming the current submission rules in the active solicitation is essential rather than optional. Program contact is cise-ri@nsf. gov.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Robust Intelligence is a CISE core program administered under solicitation NSF 25-543, and eligibility follows that solicitation and NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide - principally U.S. institutions of higher education and non-profit non-academic research organizations, subject to NSF research security requirements. Awards are made under the solicitation's project classes, with Small projects typically supporting one to two investigators for around three years and Medium projects supporting larger teams for around four years; applicants must confirm the current budget bands, durations, PI limits and submission windows in the active CISE Core Programs solicitation, since these are revised between versions and RI does not publish a separate ceiling of its own. The program supports foundational computational research on systems that can sense, learn, reason, communicate and act, across five areas: artificial intelligence including learning, abstraction, inference, knowledge representation, reasoning, planning and multi-agent systems; machine learning; computer vision; human language technologies; and computational neuroscience. Two exclusions are stated explicitly and are the most common causes of misdirected submissions: RI does not fund projects that merely apply existing techniques to a specific domain, and it does not fund robotics research, which should be directed to the Foundational Research in Robotics program instead. Prospective applicants whose work sits near either boundary should discuss fit with a program director before investing in a full proposal. The program contact is cise-ri@nsf.gov, telephone (703) 292-8930. Verify all eligibility conditions, award sizes, deadlines and scope in the current CISE Core Programs solicitation before submitting. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows robust Intelligence is funded through the CISE Core Programs solicitation NSF 25-543, which sets budget bands by project class rather than publishing a single RI-specific ceiling. amount_min of 600,000 and amount_max of 1,200,000 reflect the Small and Medium project bands under which the large majority of RI awards are made - Small projects supporting one to two investigators over roughly three years, Medium projects supporting a larger team over roughly four years. These figures are the solicitation's class bands rather than an RI-specific published ceiling, and the CISE core solicitation is re-issued periodically with revised bands, so applicants must confirm the current numbers in the active solicitation. The practical planning point is that RI is a core disciplinary program funding investigator-led research, not a centre or institute mechanism - proposals scoped at the scale of an AI institute belong in a different competition entirely. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
NSF Robust Intelligence (RI) Core Program NSF 25-543 for Foundational Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Vision and Language Technologies is funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). 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.
CISE Future Computing Research (Future CoRe, NSF 25-543) is the National Science Foundation's core foundational research program for computer and information science, and it is the single most accessible NSF pathway for investigator-initiated AI and machine learning research. The solicitation spans three participating divisions - Computing and Communication Foundations, Information and Intelligent Systems, and Computer and Network Systems - which together cover machine learning theory, algorithms, foundation model architectures, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics and intelligent systems, and the systems and hardware substrate that large-scale AI training and inference depend on. Awards run up to $1 million over four years, with typical projects landing between $150,000 and $250,000 per year. Unlike NSF's large center-scale AI competitions, Future CoRe funds single investigators and small teams, which makes it the realistic target for a faculty member starting or sustaining a generative AI research agenda. The program has two annual submission windows: the first Thursday in February and the second Thursday in September, with the September 2026 target date falling on 10 September 2026. Proposals may indicate the extent to which generative AI was used in preparing the proposal, per NSF guidance.
NSF's Robust Intelligence (RI) program advances the science of intelligent computational systems that perceive, learn, reason, and act robustly in complex, uncertain, and adversarial environments. It funds core AI and machine learning research spanning computer vision, natural language processing, knowledge representation, planning, and the foundations of trustworthy and robust AI. Awards typically range from about $500,000 to $1.2 million over three to four years, with proposals accepted on a rolling or annual basis depending on the current solicitation.
NSF Robust Intelligence (RI) Program for Core Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Research is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Advances the science of intelligent computational systems that perceive, learn, reason, and act robustly in complex, uncertain, and adversarial environments.
The Department of Defense FY2026 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) provides funding for U.S. universities to acquire research equipment and instrumentation in areas important to national defense, including AI and machine learning hardware. The program is administered jointly by the Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), with approximately $34 million available and 95 awards anticipated. DURIP funds the acquisition of specialized computing hardware for AI/ML research (GPU clusters, TPUs, neuromorphic processors), robotics and autonomous systems testbeds, sensor arrays and data collection systems for machine learning training, high-performance computing infrastructure for defense-relevant AI research, and laboratory equipment for human-AI interaction studies. The program specifically supports equipment that enhances research-related education in DoD-priority disciplines. While general-purpose computing is not eligible, computing equipment directly supporting DoD-relevant AI research programs qualifies. No cost sharing is required.
Vinnova, Sweden's national innovation agency, funds projects developing applied AI solutions for Swedish industry through its Advanced Digitalization Programme. Each project can apply for between 2 and 10 million SEK (approximately $190,000 to $950,000 USD) covering up to 50% of eligible project costs. The total call budget is 60 million SEK. Projects run for 12-24 months and focus on two key areas: Intelligent Edge (AI for real-time application in the sensor chain) and AI-based decision support. All projects must address industrial needs and integrate gender equality and climate change perspectives. Scientific publications must be open access. A parallel call also funds AI and cybersecurity projects at 1-10 million SEK per project with a 50 million SEK total budget.
NSF 26-523 folds 12 core physics programs and three cross-cutting ones into a single solicitation with $180 million and roughly 300 awards. Proposals are accepted anytime, but AMO-Experiment and Gravitational Physics still target November 25 and QIS targets December 8. Cost sharing is prohibited, indirect cost rates are now a tiebreaker, and NSF reserves the right to phase out long-duration efforts after comparative review.
Read articleOn August 26, 2026, NSF named the STC class of 2026: TEMPEST at Michigan State, GENIE at Northwestern, and a human-robot co-adaptation center at UT Austin. $90 million total, $6 million a year each. The 2023 class was four centers and $120 million. The award size is intact; the shelf space shrank 25 percent — and that is the number that should reshape how you plan a center proposal.
Read articleNSF just committed $380 million to build a national network of AI-programmable, remotely operated laboratories — the Programmable Cloud Laboratories Test Bed (NSF 25-541), the agency's flagship contribution to the Genesis Mission. Twenty nodes, four years, self-driving experiments in chemistry, biology and materials. Here is what it funds, who is eligible, why the 'existing facilities only' rule matters, and how researchers and companies should position for what comes next.
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