OpenAI launches $50M grant program to help fund academic research

OpenAI on Monday said it is supporting a new consortium called NextGenAI that would focus on supporting AI-assisted research at top universities.

NextGenAI, whose 15 founding academic partners include Harvard, the University of Oxford and MIT, will be funded with $50 million in research grants, compute funding, and API access from OpenAI, the company said. Students, educators, and researchers will be eligible to receive awards, which will be doled out over the coming months.

“This initiative is built not only to fuel the next generation of discoveries, but also to prepare the next generation to shape AI’s future,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post. “NextGenAI is designed to support the scientist searching for a cure, the scholar uncovering new insights, and the student mastering AI for the world ahead […] As we learn from this initiative, we’ll explore opportunities to expand its reach and impact.”

The consortium, which OpenAI is positioning as an expanded commitment to education, follows the launch of the company’s ChatGPT Edu product for universities last May, and comes at a precarious time for AI research grants in the U.S.

In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has reportedly fired a number of National Science Foundation employees who had been handpicked for their expertise in AI, threatening the agency’s ability to sustain key AI work.

NextGenAI could help advance critical work with AI. However, OpenAI isn’t exactly a neutral party in the AI space — the startup presumably hopes researchers, faculty and students grow accustomed to its AI offerings at the expense of tools from rivals, including open-source alternatives.