Grant programs across
crypto, AI and open source.

NSF X-Labs is a planned $1.5 billion initiative for large, multiyear awards to independent, full-time research and development teams pursuing technical breakthroughs outside traditional university and industry-lab structures. The first two topic announcements closed in July 2026. Scientific Instrumentation for Sensing and Imaging proposals were due 13 July 2026. Quantum Systems interconnects and integrated photonics proposals were due 24 July 2026. NSF has said additional topics will be announced.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

NIH's Common Fund PRIMED-AI initiative has two open RFAs for AI precision medicine: RFA-RM-27-011 (multi-use AI frameworks playbook, due 2026-10-09) and RFA-RM-27-013 (translating AI precision-medicine models into clinical use, due 2026-10-19).

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

The Survival and Flourishing Fund's recurring grant rounds, run once or twice per year via the S-Process algorithm and meeting procedure, recommend donations to organizations working on the long-term survival and flourishing of sentient life, including existential and global catastrophic risk reduction. A rolling Speculation Grant application runs year-round; a Speculation Grant guarantees eligibility for consideration in an S-Process round.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

Joint Japan-Canada research call under JST's SICORP program, focused on AI and automation solutions for agricultural productivity and resilience. Japanese proposals go through e-Rad. Canadian teams register with NRC first.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

NSF initiative funding State/Territory AI Readiness Coordination Hubs and a single National Coordination Lead (up to $5M/year for up to 5 years) to coordinate them nationally.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

DOE Office of Science funding opportunity announcement DE-FOA-0003612 for interdisciplinary teams applying AI to energy, nuclear, environmental, and national-security science; phased Phase I/II review with a final Phase II application deadline of 2026-12-17. Phase I grants have been reported at $500K-$750K, with total program funding around $293.76M.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

UNICEF Venture Fund's equity-free cohort for early-stage, open-source blockchain startups in emerging markets, funding accountability/financing use cases for children; up to US$100,000 in ETH/BTC/USDC plus mentorship over 12-18 months.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

FLI's PhD fellowship for doctoral research on US-China AI governance dynamics, distinct from FLI's technical AI-safety PhD fellowship track.

Status

Active

How to apply

In rounds

A 12-month fellowship from Adobe Research for full-time PhD candidates enrolled at recognized universities in India with at least 12 months remaining in their PhD, working in AI-related fields such as computer vision, NLP, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. It awards a ₹12,00,000 stipend disbursed upfront, one year of Adobe Express Premium, Creative Cloud, and Firefly access, and optional mentorship from Adobe researchers; the 2026 recipients have been selected and applications are currently closed.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

Anthropic's Claude Science program offered up to 50 biology and life-sciences projects as much as $30,000 in Claude credits, plus up to $2,000 in Modal compute for select projects. The inaugural application deadline was July 15, 2026, and submissions are now under review.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

DARPA and NSF developed AI Forge to fund and manage university-led research in AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. Its initial university-capabilities request for information closed June 22, 2026 after receiving nearly 130 responses. No public funding call has opened since that RFI.

Status

Paused

How to apply

In rounds

The Horizon Institute for Public Service opened the AI Rapid Response Fellowship on 2026-07-01, a funded fellowship placing AI security experts into US executive branch roles at $170K-$250K+. Applications close July 22, 2026.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

AI x Animals Pooled Fund is a targeted, experimental pooled fund supporting projects that help animal advocates respond to AI. The 2026 request for proposals had more than $300,000 available, expected to support 5-20 projects, and prioritized advocate tools, field-building, and actionable research.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs posted the Artificial Intelligence for American Competitiveness and Economic Security (AI-ACES) in South Asia opportunity (#DFOP0018586) on grants.gov, with a deadline of August 2, 2026.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

Animal Microgrants was a 2026 funding-circle call for individuals and very small organizations working on farm-animal advocacy. Typical grants were £500-£2,500, with exceptional requests up to £5,000; applicants were expected to hear back by the end of March.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

ARIA committed £100 million to recruit up to ten organizations for its second Activation Partners cohort. Applications are closed and ARIA says it will announce the selected partners later in 2026.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

Who Let The Docs Out runs the Automation & Humanity Documentary Fund for independent nonfiction films examining AI safety, alignment, autonomous systems, and their social effects. Its 2026 research grants offer $8,000 for feature projects and $4,000 for short films, alongside monthly virtual sessions.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds

AWS's 2026 AI & ML Scholars program offered free foundational AI training globally, followed by fully funded Udacity Nanodegrees for the top 4,500 Challenge participants. Applications closed on June 24, 2026.

Status

Ended

How to apply

In rounds