The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with Intel and Capital One, has announced a $100 million investment to fund five National AI Research Institutes and a national coordination hub. The new awards aim to accelerate innovation, foster an AI-ready workforce, and strengthen American competitiveness in the global AI race.
The investment aligns with the White House AI Action Plan and supports Executive Order 14277, which promotes AI education and literacy across all communities.
“Artificial intelligence is key to strengthening our workforce and boosting U.S. competitiveness,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of NSF director. “We are turning cutting-edge ideas and research into real-world solutions.”
The newly funded institutes include:
- NSF AI-Materials Institute (Cornell University): Accelerates discovery of advanced materials for energy, sustainability, and quantum tech. It integrates large language models with experimental data and scientific literature through a new AI Materials Science Ecosystem.
- NSF Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning (University of Texas at Austin): Builds on foundational research powering generative models like Stable Diffusion. The next phase expands into protein engineering, clinical imaging, and more reliable AI systems.
- NSF Institute for Student AI-Teaming (University of Colorado Boulder): Enhances STEM education through AI partners that support collaborative learning. The institute will now focus on building an AI-literate workforce through new curricula.
- NSF Molecule Maker Lab Institute (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign): Develops AI tools to accelerate molecular discovery for medicine and clean energy. The next phase emphasizes AI agents for drug and material design.
- NSF AI Research Institute on Interaction for AI Assistants (Brown University): Focuses on developing safer, more personalized next-gen AI assistants.
- NSF AI Institutes Virtual Organization (UC Davis): Serves as a national hub to connect researchers, policymakers, and the public, fostering cross-sector collaboration and public engagement.
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