Data as of Jul 25, 2026 · Based on 279 AI responses from ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode · See how Parse measures this
Yes, there are several dedicated funding opportunities for AI safety and ethical AI research. Major providers include government bodies like the 
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Best for foundational academic research. The NSF offers recurring programs for trustworthy, ethical, and responsible AI, providing stable support for university-led research and fairness in AI systems.
Best for practical safety evaluations and systemic risk research. It provides targeted grants and bounty programs to develop novel safety testing and control methods for frontier AI models.
Best for large-scale research on frontier model risks. Supported by major industry players, it focuses on safety standards and responsible development, ideal for researchers tackling large-scale model security.
National Science FoundationSource | Citation share |
|---|---|
AI Safety Grants & Funding | AI Safety Directoryhttps://aisecurityandsafety.org/grants/ | 5.0% |
Advancing Ethical Artificial Intelligence Through the Power of Convergent Research - National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundationhttps://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/nrt/advancing-ethical-ai-through-convergent-research | 4.8% |
 AI Safety Fund - Frontier Model Forumhttps://www.frontiermodelforum.org/ai-safety-fund/ | 4.8% |
 Funding grants for new research into AI and mental health - OpenAIhttps://openai.com/index/ai-mental-health-research-grants/ | 4.0% |
 AI for Science & Safety Nodes - Foresight Institutehttps://foresight.org/grants/grants-ai-for-science-safety/ | 2.7% |
 How the National Science Foundation is taking on fairness in AI | Brookingshttps://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-the-national-science-foundation-is-taking-on-fairness-in-ai/ | 2.6% |
 The Spencer Foundationhttps://www.spencer.org/initiative-on-ai-and-education | 2.0% |
 Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligencehttps://www.neh.gov/AI | 1.9% |
AI Safety Fund initiates first round of research grants - Frontier Model Forumhttps://www.frontiermodelforum.org/updates/ai-safety-fund-initiates-first-round-of-research-grants/ | 1.6% |
 Our Grants - The Patrick J. McGovern Foundationhttps://www.mcgovern.org/grants/ | 1.6% |
Yes, there is a robust and growing ecosystem of grants specifically dedicated to AI safety, technical alignment, and ethical AI research . Funding comes from a mix of major philanthropic organizations, industry-backed consortia, and government bodies.
Major Philanthropic & Private Funders
Government and Academic Grant Programs
Tips for Finding and Applying
Yes. There is a fairly substantial funding ecosystem specifically for AI safety, alignment, trustworthy AI, AI governance, and AI ethics. The best option depends heavily on whether you're an academic, independent researcher, nonprofit, or student.
| Funder/program | Best fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Philanthropy | Technical AI safety, alignment, interpretability, governance | One of the largest funders in the field; supports academic, nonprofit, and independent researchers. Funding is often substantial and can be rolling. aisecurityandsafety.org |
| Schmidt Sciences — Science of Trustworthy AI | Technical safety, robustness, evaluation, interpretability | Currently lists an open opportunity, “Scaling AI Safety for a Multi-Agent World.” Its broader program explicitly focuses on understanding, predicting, and controlling risks from frontier AI. www.schmidtsciences.org |
| Future of Life Institute (FLI) | AI existential safety, AI governance | Historically one of the most AI-safety-specific funders. However, its major PhD/postdoc fellowships are currently closed, and FLI says it will not accept fellowship applications in fall 2026 while it reassesses the program. futureoflife.org |
| NSF | Academic research on safe/trustworthy AI | NSF has funded dedicated AI-safety programs. Its previous Safe Learning-Enabled Systems program supported projects up to $1.5M, although that particular solicitation is now archived. www.nsf.gov |
| AI Safety Fund / Frontier Model Forum | Independent frontier-AI safety research | Industry-backed funding for independent research, particularly evaluations, red-teaming, and alignment. aisecurityandsafety.org |
| Center for AI Safety (CAIS) | Technical AI safety/alignment | Research grants and other support for reducing catastrophic AI risks. aisecurityandsafety.org |
| Partnership on AI | Responsible/ethical AI | Better fit if your work is on fairness, accountability, transparency, safety, or societal impacts rather than existential-risk alignment. aisecurityandsafety.org |
| Wellcome / health-focused funders | AI safety in medicine/biomedicine | Worth investigating if the project concerns reliable, equitable, or safe AI in healthcare. aisecurityandsafety.org |
One important distinction: “AI safety” has become two somewhat different funding categories. Technical AI-safety funders often mean things like alignment, interpretability, scalable oversight, robustness, deceptive behavior, evaluations, and control. “Ethical/responsible AI” more often means fairness, discrimination, privacy, transparency, accountability, labor impacts, and governance. The appropriate funders can be quite different.
For example, the NSF's previous Safe Learning-Enabled Systems program explicitly focused on rigorous safety guarantees, robustness, uncertainty, and unexpected behavior—but specifically said that ethics, fairness, accountability, privacy, and trust were outside that program's scope.
The most promising places I'd investigate first are:
There are also dozens of smaller fellowships, research grants, compute grants, and prizes in the ecosystem; a current directory lists 80+ programs, including Open Philanthropy, FLI, Schmidt Sciences, CAIS, MATS, ARC, Microsoft, DeepMind, Anthropic, and others.
If you tell me (a) your career stage, (b) whether you're at a university/nonprofit/independent, and (c) what kind of AI-safety or ethical-AI research you're considering, I can narrow this to the 5–10 grants you could realistically apply for in 2026, including current deadlines and typical award sizes.
Yes, there is a rapidly growing landscape of grants, fellowships, and funding calls dedicated specifically to AI safety, alignment, and ethical AI research . These are funded by a mix of major philanthropic foundations, tech labs, government bodies, and specialized non-profits.
The primary active sources and programs for AI safety and ethics funding include:
If you are looking to apply, check specific requirements on platform hubs like the Directory of AI Security & Safety Fellowships or Effective Altruism Funds to match your specific focus (e.g., technical alignment vs. governance/policy).
Yes. There are several grant programs and funding sources specifically aimed at AI safety, AI alignment, trustworthy AI, responsible AI, and ethical AI research. The best fit depends on whether you are an academic researcher, nonprofit, startup, independent researcher, or policy researcher.
| Funder / program | Focus | Typical applicants |
|---|---|---|
| AI Security Institute grants | Advanced AI safety, alignment, evaluation, security, oversight, and risk research | Universities, researchers, institutions |
| AI Safety Research Fund | Dedicated AI safety research funding, including alignment and technical safety work | Researchers and projects |
| Open Philanthropy AI governance and safety funding | AI risk reduction, governance, technical safety, field-building | Researchers, nonprofits, institutions |
| The Alignment Project | Independent alignment research, especially technical approaches to making advanced AI systems safer | Independent researchers and research groups |
National Science Foundation programs support responsible AI research areas such as fairness, transparency, accountability, human-AI interaction, and AI governance. Programs include broader responsible technology and AI research initiatives rather than only “AI safety.”
Google’s AI for Privacy, Safety, and Security Research Award supports university and research-institution projects involving AI safety, privacy, security, policy, social science, and human-computer interaction.
Projects are often competitive when they address topics such as:
If you are an early-career researcher or independent researcher, also consider:
If you tell me your country, career stage (student/PhD/faculty/independent/nonprofit), and research topic, I can narrow this to grants you are actually eligible for.
Yes. There are several grants, fellowships, and funding programs specifically aimed at AI safety, AI alignment, responsible AI, AI governance, and ethical AI research. The best fit depends on whether you are an academic researcher, nonprofit, independent researcher, student, or startup.
| Funder / program | What it supports | Typical applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Open Philanthropy | Technical AI safety, alignment, governance, evaluations, interpretability, and related research | Academic researchers, nonprofits, independent researchers aisecurityandsafety.org |
| AI Safety Fund | Independent research on frontier AI safety, security, evaluations, and risk reduction | Researchers and organizations working on AI safety www.frontiermodelforum.org |
| OpenAI Safety programs | Independent safety and alignment research, including targeted grant and fellowship programs | Researchers, engineers, practitioners openai.comopenai.com |
| Anthropic Fellows Program | AI safety research projects with mentorship and support | Early-career researchers and engineers alignment.anthropic.com |
| Google DeepMind safety research calls | Research into AI safety topics such as multi-agent safety | Academic and independent researchers deepmind.googleopenai.com |
Programs in this space often support work on:
If you tell me your role (student, professor, nonprofit, startup, independent researcher), country, and research area (technical safety vs. ethics/governance), I can narrow this to the most relevant grants and deadlines.
Yes, there are substantial grant programs, fellowships, and funding rounds dedicated explicitly to technical AI safety, alignment, and ethical/responsible AI research . Funding comes from a mix of private philanthropic organizations, industry collaboratives, and government initiatives.
Active and prominent funding sources in the AI safety and ethics space include:
To look for newly opened cycles, specialized aggregate trackers like AISafety.com Funding or grant discovery platforms maintain up-to-date lists of active Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
Yes, there is a robust and rapidly expanding ecosystem of grants specifically dedicated to AI safety, alignment, and ethical AI research. Philanthropic foundations, major tech labs, and research networks regularly issue requests for proposals (RFPs) and fellowships.
Active and prominent grant programs in this space include:
Yes. There are a growing number of grants and fellowships specifically aimed at AI safety, AI alignment, AI governance, and ethical AI research. The right opportunities depend on whether you're an academic researcher, nonprofit, independent researcher, or student.
Here are some of the major funding sources:
| Funder | Focus | Typical applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Open Philanthropy | Technical AI safety, alignment, governance | Universities, nonprofits, independent researchers |
| Future of Life Institute | AI safety, governance, policy | Researchers and nonprofits |
| European Commission (Horizon Europe) | Trustworthy and responsible AI | European universities and research consortia |
| National Science Foundation (US) | Safe, trustworthy, human-centered AI | Academic researchers |
| Schmidt Sciences (AI2050) | Long-term beneficial AI | Early-career researchers |
| Hewlett Foundation | AI ethics, accountability, democratic governance | Universities and nonprofits |
Some notable opportunities include:
For individuals rather than established labs, fellowships are often a better entry point:
If your interests lean more toward ethical AI than frontier AI safety, there are additional funding sources focused on:
These are commonly supported by organizations such as the Hewlett Foundation, ACM FAccT research programs, IEEE initiatives, and government agencies like NSF and the European Commission.
One trend worth noting is that funding for independent AI safety research has expanded in the past year. For example, OpenAI launched a Safety Fellowship and has also committed funding to independent alignment research initiatives, alongside other research grant programs.
If you tell me:
I can narrow this down to the grant opportunities you're most likely to be competitive for.
IEEE
ieee.org
Yes, there are numerous grants and funding opportunities specifically targeting AI safety and ethical AI research, driven by both private philanthropy and government initiatives as of 2026.
Key funding sources include:
Would you like to narrow these down by academic researcher, non-profit/think tank , or for-profit startup to find the most relevant opportunities?
Yes. There are a growing number of grants and fellowships dedicated specifically to AI safety, AI alignment, AI governance, and ethical AI. They tend to fall into three categories:
| Focus | Typical funders | Common topics |
|---|---|---|
| Technical AI safety | Philanthropic organizations, AI labs | Alignment, interpretability, robustness, evaluations, control |
| AI ethics & governance | Foundations, governments | Fairness, accountability, policy, human rights, auditing |
| Responsible AI applications | Companies, nonprofits | Safe deployment in healthcare, education, public services |
Some of the most prominent opportunities include:
If you're earlier in your career, fellowships are often as valuable as grants:
For work emphasizing ethics rather than existential AI safety, good funding sources include:
Competitive proposals usually demonstrate:
You don't necessarily need to be a university professor. Some funders explicitly support:
Programs like the Long-Term Future Fund, AI Safety Camp, and several fellowship programs are designed to help researchers outside traditional academic pathways.
If you tell me:
I can suggest the funding opportunities that are likely to be the best fit.
