Seattle’s Allen Institute for AI Awarded $152 Million to Advance Scientific Research
The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), based in Seattle, is set to receive $152 million in grants through a public-private partnership. The project, called the Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science (OMAI), is backed by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Nvidia, targeting the development of advanced AI models to support scientific research across the United States.
This significant funding package includes $75 million from NSF and $77 million from Nvidia, a leading chip manufacturer. The collaboration responds to the increasing costs of developing powerful AI models, which have grown beyond the reach of university labs and federally funded researchers.
Bridging the Funding Gap for Academic AI Research
According to NSF, while AI technology progresses quickly, the expense of creating and experimenting with large AI models limits academic research opportunities. Despite universities historically driving many foundational AI breakthroughs, budget constraints have confined the scope of topics they can pursue.
With this grant, Ai2 aims to build tools that accelerate how researchers process and analyze scientific data. These tools will help with tasks like code generation, data visualization, and identifying patterns or connections in prior discoveries.
Creating Open-Source AI Models for Science
The institute plans to develop open-source, multimodal large language models trained specifically on scientific literature and data. This effort will provide researchers with accessible AI resources tailored for scientific discovery.
Additionally, the OMAI project will support research teams from various universities, including the University of Washington, fostering collaboration and expanding the reach of these AI tools.
- Funding Source: NSF ($75 million) and Nvidia ($77 million)
- Project Name: Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science (OMAI)
- Focus: Develop AI tools for scientific research acceleration
- Collaborators: Allen Institute for AI, University of Washington, and other university teams
This initiative reflects a growing recognition that accessible, domain-specific AI models and infrastructure are essential for advancing scientific discovery efficiently. By lowering the cost and complexity barriers, Ai2’s work will help broaden the range of research questions that academic scientists can address.
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