White House Memo Makes AI and Quantum the Twin Pillars of FY2027 R&D

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued its annual R&D priorities memo directing federal agencies to center their FY2027 budget requests around artificial intelligence and quantum information science — a clear signal of where the next wave of research funding will land.

The memo, released in early 2026, instructs agencies to invest in "novel AI paradigms and computing architectures" for accelerated scientific discovery, while developing consortia to support quantum R&D, testbeds, and next-generation device manufacturing.

How This Reshapes Federal Grantmaking

The directive is already producing visible results. NSF, the largest funder of fundamental research, has reoriented its entire grantmaking apparatus around these two priority areas. Acting director Brian Stone confirmed that AI and quantum now drive the agency's restructured division clusters, and broader solicitations will route proposals through an AI-and-quantum lens.

The practical effect: even researchers in fields not traditionally associated with AI or quantum — biology, social science, environmental engineering — will find that proposals incorporating AI methodologies or quantum sensing applications receive warmer receptions from program officers.

Specific programs already flowing from the directive include:

• NSF's National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NSF 26-505): $12-20 million annually for 8-16 university user facility sites
• DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Centers: $625 million renewal to advance quantum computing, hardware, and applications
• NIST Quantum Centers: Up to $18 million annually from FY2026-2030 for three new centers in quantum sensing, measurement, and engineering

The Strategic Calculus for Grant Seekers

OSTP priority memos have outsized influence on funding outcomes. Agency budget offices use them as the primary filter when deciding which programs to expand, maintain, or cut. For grant seekers, the message is unambiguous: proposals that connect to AI or quantum — even tangentially — have structural advantages in the current funding environment.

This doesn't mean every proposal needs an AI component bolted on. But researchers working on problems where machine learning could accelerate analysis, or where quantum sensors could improve measurement precision, should make those connections explicit.

The Granted blog has in-depth analysis of how individual agencies are interpreting the White House priorities and which specific programs are expanding.