The OpenAI Foundation People-First AI Fund is a $50 million initiative supporting U.S. nonprofits using AI to advance education, community innovation, economic opportunity, healthcare, and community resilience. Wave 1 distributed $40.5 million in unrestricted grants to 208 community-based nonprofits across the United States through an open call that received nearly 3,000 applications. Wave 2, totaling $9.5 million in board-directed grants, is slated for early 2026 and targets organizations already advancing scalable AI work in health, education, and community resilience. The fund prioritizes efforts that use AI in creative ways to expand access, improve programmatic and service delivery, build resilience, and advance community-led research. Example grantees include STEM From Dance (combining dance and AI learning for young girls of color) and digital literacy and workforce development programs.

NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program is a grant from NVIDIA providing up to $60,000 per award to PhD students conducting research that advances accelerated computing and its applications. Now in its 25th year, the program invites nominations from doctoral students pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. Recipients receive not only research funding but also access to NVIDIA technology, products, and engineering expertise, along with a mandatory in-person summer internship. Students are nominated by their faculty advisors and selected based on academic achievement and research area alignment.

CalSEED Concept Award is a grant from the California Energy Commission that provides $150,000 in funding to early-stage clean energy innovators in California. The program targets individuals, businesses, and nonprofits developing hardware, software, or integrated solutions at Technology Readiness Levels 2-4. Eligible technology areas rotate each cycle and have included battery recycling and reuse, long-duration energy storage, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification, industrial electrification, and advanced EV charging. Applicants must be located in California, have under $1 million in private funding, and propose innovations that benefit California ratepayers. Concept Award winners also receive professional development resources and access to accelerator programs, and may compete for a subsequent $450,000 Prototype Award.

NASA STRIDE (Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration) is a grant program from NASA that solicits proposals from U.S. industry to conduct design studies of advanced robotic surface and aerial mobility systems with payload transportation and deployment capability for Mars surface operations. The program supports innovation in robotic mobility systems that could enable future Mars science missions. U.S.-based universities and nonprofit research organizations may also be eligible per the grant record. The application deadline for this cycle was March 31, 2026.