Currently 11 active paid ai and ai safety grants, fellowships and residencies. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Every entry is funded, no exposure-only calls. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
Subscribe: RSS feed · Calendar (.ics)
Open global RFP from Schmidt Sciences for technical research that improves the ability to understand, predict, and control risks from frontier AI systems while enabling their trustworthy deployment. Three connected research aims: (1) Characterise and forecast misalignment in frontier AI systems; (2) Develop generalisable measurements and interventions, including evaluations with construct/predictive validity and interventions that control what AI systems learn (not just what they say); (3) Oversee AI systems with superhuman capabilities and address multi-agent risks. Strong proposals (especially Tier 2) take a clear stand on a small number of core questions and pursue them deeply rather than addressing many agenda items superficially. Schmidt Sciences is most interested in ambitious Tier 2 proposals that could materially shift what the field believes is possible; for Tier 2 preference is given to multi-PI/multi-lab collaborations and to projects that are demonstrably the lead investigator's primary focus. Beyond grant funding, the programme provides software engineering support via the Virtual Institute for Scientific Software, API credits with frontier model providers, and access to community convenings/workshops. Eligibility includes individual researchers, research teams, universities, national laboratories, institutes, and non-profit research organisations; cross-geographic collaboration encouraged. Common reasons for non-competitive proposals: lack of core focus, vague methods, no validity argument for proposed tools/benchmarks, no clear statement of what would be learned on success or failure. Deadline 17 May 2026 at 11:59pm AoE; notification of decision Summer 2026. Free to apply.
Fully-funded nine-week research program for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students working on AI safety and alignment. Focus areas with AI Objectives Institute: AI political economy, gradual disempowerment, multi-agent institutional design. Programme covers interpretability, multi-agent safety, formal verification, civilisational resilience and more. Weekly 1-on-1 mentorship, 24/7 access to Harvard Yard offices. Particularly encouraged for students and researchers at Harvard, MIT and the wider Boston area, but open more broadly.
Open call for an artist residency reimagining AI at the EU Policy Lab. The 15,000 EUR contracted budget covers expert fees, allowance, accommodation and travel during on-site work.
Top-tier track of the 2026 AWS Imagine Grant for US nonprofits with strong data practices, in the planning phase of incorporating frontier AI (generative AI, agentic AI, autonomous systems) as a core workload. Up to $200K cash + $100K AWS credits, plus hands-on project implementation support from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, training, and ongoing access. Two-round selection: Round One (open call) closes 5 June 2026; Round Two opens 10 August (invitation-only) and closes 14 September 2026; results mid-November; public announcement 1 December 2026. Eligibility: registered 501(c) nonprofits headquartered in the US. Educational institutions are explicitly excluded. NOTE: this is a nonprofit-only programme and is not open to individual artists, researchers, or for-profit studios.
Award track for US nonprofits running highly innovative cloud projects that leverage advanced services such as AI/ML, HPC, or IoT. Up to $150K cash + $100K AWS credits, plus AWS technical specialist guidance and training access. Round One closes 5 June 2026; Round Two by invitation, with full proposals 10 August to 14 September 2026. Eligibility: registered 501(c) nonprofits in the US. Educational institutions are excluded. NOTE: this is a nonprofit-only programme and is not open to individual artists, researchers, or for-profit studios.
Canadian track of the 2026 AWS Imagine Grant for nonprofits leveraging advanced cloud services (AI/ML, HPC, IoT). Up to $75K USD cash + $25K USD AWS credits, plus AWS marketing support and technical specialist access. Two-round selection: Round One closes 5 June 2026; Round One notification and Round Two invitations on 3 July 2026. Eligibility: nonprofits in Canada with a CRA-registered charitable organisation number (a 9-digit Business Number, often followed by RR0001 or similar). NOTE: this is a charities-only programme and is not open to individual artists, researchers, or for-profit studios.
UK & Ireland Pathfinder track of the 2026 AWS Imagine Grant. For registered nonprofit charities with strong data practices, in the planning phase of incorporating frontier AI (generative AI, agentic AI, autonomous systems) as a core workload during the grant term. Up to $100K cash + $50K AWS credits, plus AWS technical and training support. Round One closes 12 June 2026; notifications 14 July; Round Two open 10 August to 2 October 2026. Eligibility: registered nonprofit charities based in the UK or Ireland. NOTE: this is a charities-only programme and is not open to individual artists, researchers, or for-profit studios.
Rolling grant programme funding individuals at any career stage who want to pursue careers that could help reduce global catastrophic risks or otherwise improve the long-term future. Especially interested in candidates working on risks from future advances in AI and global catastrophic biological risks. Funds graduate study (master's/PhD/MPP/law school), unpaid internships, postdocs, professional certifications, online courses, independent study/upskilling, career-transition and exploration periods, and academic sabbaticals. Concrete examples Coefficient Giving lists: a senior ML engineer doing six months of independent study to investigate AI risk mitigation careers; a physics PhD doing self-guided ML interpretability work to transition into technical AI safety; a management consultant exploring how to apply their skill set to GCR; a tenured ML/CS professor taking a one-year sabbatical to contribute to AI safety or governance. Open globally; no institutional affiliation required. Looks for candidates whose funding would 'make a difference' (otherwise unable to find sufficient funding, or existing funding has restrictions). Encourages applications from women and people of color. Now subsumes the former Biosecurity Scholarship. Applications are open until further notice and assessed on a rolling basis. Free to apply.
Funded mentorship program for engineers and researchers to investigate Anthropic's highest-priority AI safety questions: scalable oversight, adversarial robustness and AI control, model organisms, mechanistic interpretability, AI security, and model welfare. Anthropic mentors pitch project ideas; fellows shape and execute them, aiming for public outputs (papers). Over 80% of the first cohort produced papers (on agentic misalignment, subliminal learning, ASL3 jailbreak rapid response, open-source circuits, etc.); over 40% subsequently joined Anthropic full-time. Looking for: strong Python, ability to make concrete progress on ambiguous problems, motivation to reduce catastrophic AI risks. PhD/prior ML experience NOT required; previous fellows came from physics, maths, CS, cybersecurity and other quantitative backgrounds. Two cohorts open: May 2026 and July 2026. The May cohort start is imminent so apply quickly; the July cohort is the more practical near-term option. Apply via the canonical Anthropic Alignment Science page.
Supports journalists producing long-form investigative reports and tech-policy researchers conducting research, analysis or evaluation that informs policy related to the Kapor Foundation's three priority areas, with an emphasis on responsible AI and tech ethics. Priority areas: CS/AI Education, Innovation, Governance. Aims to dismantle systemic inequities in the tech sector by funding researchers and investigative journalists exploring barriers and driving actionable solutions. Applications accepted on a rolling basis; first awards to be announced by 30 June 2026.
Lightweight rolling grant for individual journalists worldwide (writers, photographers, radio, film; freelance or staff) examining how AI systems are designed, sold and deployed in communities. Faster turnaround than the Pulitzer AI Accountability Fellowship: decisions in 1 to 2 weeks.