National Science Foundation
NSF is the primary US federal agency supporting fundamental science and engineering research at universities and institutions across the country. With an annual AI budget exceeding $700 million, NSF funds research in trustworthy AI, AI safety, security, robustness, and explainability through programs such as the National AI Research Institutes, the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), and targeted safe AI technology grants. NSF's mandate covers the full scientific enterprise — from mathematical foundations of AI to ethical and societal implications — making it one of the largest funders of foundational AI safety research in the world.
Funding Details
- Annual Budget
- $8,826,000,000
- Monthly Burn Rate
- $735,500,000
- Current Runway
- -
- Funding Goal
- -
- Funding Raised to Date
- -
- Fiscal Sponsor
- -
Theory of Change
NSF operates on the theory that funding foundational and applied research at universities and research institutions — especially in areas like trustworthy AI, AI safety, robustness, interpretability, and formal verification — builds the scientific knowledge base needed for safe AI systems. By also investing in research infrastructure (NAIRR) and workforce development (fellowships, scholarships, training), NSF aims to produce a generation of AI researchers equipped to build safer systems. The causal chain is: rigorous publicly-funded research → better understanding of AI risks and mitigations → adoption by industry and government → reduced harm from deployed AI systems.
Grants Received
from Open Philanthropy
Projects
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People
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Details
- Last Updated
- Apr 2, 2026, 9:57 PM UTC
- Created
- Mar 20, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC