Microsoft has introduced a $5 million AI for Good Open Call grant program in Washington State.
Takeaway Points
- Microsoft has introduced a $5 million AI for Good Open Call grant program in Washington State.
- Different organizations, including nonprofits, academic institutions, individual researchers, etc., based in or benefiting Washington State, are eligible to participate.
- Selected grantees will be notified by March 18, 2025.
- On Tuesday, Microsoft and OpenAI expanded their partnership to drive the next phase of AI.
Microsoft AI for Good Open Call.
Microsoft Corp., on Wednesday, with the goal of promoting innovative solutions in its home state of Washington, announced an AI for Good Open Call, a program that will award $5 million in grants and the opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft’s leading AI scientists. Organizations are invited to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to address pressing social and scientific challenges in Washington State.
Microsoft said that it created this program as a goodwill gift to Washington in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Juan Lavista Ferres, corporate vice president and chief data scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft, commented, “If you lead an organization that is tackling one of our state’s most pressing issues, from sustainable energy development to addressing housing affordability, we invite you to apply for a Microsoft AI for Good grant. As we look toward Microsoft’s 51st year, our AI for Good Lab will globally provide extensive opportunities for collaborative research projects leveraging Azure compute resources. This is a focused opportunity for our home state of Washington, and we’re confident it will harness innovative solutions to complex questions.”
Who can participate in the program?
Different organizations, including nonprofits, academic institutions, individual researchers, startups, and businesses based in or benefiting Washington State, are eligible to participate, and the projects must focus on addressing sustainability, public health, education, or human rights, the company said in a statement.
About the Program
According to the report, successful grant applicants will show talent for their concept and data to result in a unique and scalable solution to a major scientific or societal challenge and will have clean, accurate, and unbiased high-quality data.
Organizations based in Washington or benefiting residents of Washington are invited to submit their online applications by Feb. 17, 2025.
When will applicants be notified?
Selected grantees will be notified by March 18, 2025, the report stated.
Microsoft and OpenAI Expand Partnership to Drive the Next Phase of AI
Microsoft on Tuesday said that it’s happy to continue their partnership with OpenAI and to partner on Stargate. The two companies have been working together since 2019.
Microsoft said that “In addition to this, OpenAI recently made a new, large Azure commitment that will continue to support all OpenAI products as well as training. This new agreement also includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR). To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models. We thank OpenAI for their continued partnership and look forward to what’s to come.”
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
