National Science Foundation Seeks Proposals for $100M AI Research Program

The National Science Foundation has issued the fourth annual solicitation for its National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program, which was launched in 2019 to provide funding opportunities for AI researchers.

Up to $100 million will be awarded under the competition.

The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan’s 2023 update, emphasizing long-term AI research investments in areas with potential long-term payoffs, is cited as central to the NSF solicitation.

The solicitation provides funding windows for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, with themes focused on wide-ranging areas, including transformational advances in the economic sectors, science and engineering, Boston University said.

Group 1 awards, which are set for FY2024, will revolve around the collaboration between AI experts and astronomers on imaging and data analysis of current and future astronomy instruments. Preliminary proposals are due Oct. 31, 2023, while full proposals are due Feb. 16, 2024.

Group 2 awards are scheduled for FY 2025, with one of the themes focusing on AI for discovery in materials research and the other devoted to strengthening AI based on grounding, instructiblity and alignment. Preliminary proposals are due Jan. 12, 2024, while full proposals are due May 17, 2024.

The NSF’s partners in the new solicitation include the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Defense’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Capital One Financial Corp., the Simons Foundation and Intel Corp.