Schmidt Sciences Offers Up to $5M for Trustworthy AI Research

Schmidt Sciences has opened its 2026 Science of Trustworthy AI Request for Proposals, offering grants ranging from $1 million to more than $5 million for researchers tackling the technical foundations of AI safety. The deadline for proposals is May 17, 2026.

Two Funding Tiers for AI Safety Research

The program provides two award levels. Tier 1 offers up to $1 million for focused investigations into specific aspects of AI trustworthiness. Tier 2 provides $1 million to $5 million or more for larger, multi-year collaborative efforts that bring together interdisciplinary teams.

Applicants may also request funding for compute resources or access to Schmidt Sciences' GPU and CPU clusters, which include large-scale data storage and high-speed networking.

Three Research Aims Define the Scope

The RFP targets three interconnected research priorities: characterizing and forecasting misalignment in frontier AI systems, developing generalizable measurements and interventions for AI risks, and overseeing AI systems with superhuman capabilities while addressing multi-agent risks.

These aims are detailed in a published research agenda that applicants should reference when framing proposals. The Effective Altruism community and LessWrong have both highlighted this as a significant funding opportunity for the AI alignment field.

Who Should Apply

Universities, research institutions, and nonprofit organizations worldwide are eligible. The program explicitly seeks proposals that go beyond theoretical contributions to produce tools, benchmarks, and frameworks that practitioners can deploy.

With federal AI funding increasingly focused on applied deployment through programs like the DOE's Genesis Mission, Schmidt Sciences is filling a critical gap in foundational safety research. Researchers can track this and similar AI funding opportunities on grantedai.com. For a deeper analysis of how this fits into the broader AI funding landscape, visit the Granted blog.