The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has launched 12 new funding opportunities worth more than $1.5 billion, signalling a push toward ambitious, long‑range research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and accelerates work in artificial intelligence (AI), advanced computation and automation.
What the funding targets
The new notices of funding opportunity are designed to support both basic and use‑inspired research, the NSF said. The emphasis is on projects that challenge existing scientific paradigms and draw on multiple fields to tackle national and global problems. The agency highlighted AI, advanced computation and automation as enabling areas that can transform how scientific research is done.
"NSF’s investments today ensure the United States continues to drive the scientific breakthroughs that underpin the industries of the future and will support a wider range of meritorious science by matching the size, speed and duration of an award to the character of the research it supports," said Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Changes to grant design and duration
As part of the package, the NSF is using a portfolio approach to match funding mechanisms, award durations and grant structures to the character of the research. Where scientifically justified, researchers may request funding for up to five years, giving teams the scope to pursue longer‑term, high‑risk and high‑reward projects rather than a succession of short, narrowly targeted awards.
The agency also framed these investments as underpinning innovation, economic competitiveness and national security. That language positions the funding not only as scientific support but as an element of a broader industrial and strategic agenda.
Connections to AI infrastructure work
The new funding lines follow earlier NSF moves to strengthen infrastructure for AI research. This month the agency unveiled a related programme that will spend $100 million to establish regional AI Infrastructure Hubs and to expand access to advanced computing resources for researchers, students and educators. These hubs are intended to broaden access to compute, data and tools needed for modern AI research.
- 12 funding opportunities announced
- $1.5 billion+ total funding available across opportunities
- $100 million previously announced for regional AI infrastructure hubs
- Priority areas: artificial intelligence, advanced computation, automation, interdisciplinary foundational research
What this means for researchers
For scientists and engineers, the combined signals from the NSF are clear: the agency wants larger, longer and often collaborative projects that bring together different disciplines and scale of resources. The option to request awards of up to five years, where warranted, reduces the pressure for short funding cycles and gives teams more time to build the infrastructure, data sets and collaborations that deep problems often require.
Emphasis on AI and compute also reflects the growing centrality of data‑intensive methods in many fields, from biology to materials science and climate research. By pairing funding for thematic research with investments in regional infrastructure, the NSF aims to ensure that not only elite institutions but also wider research communities can access the tools needed for modern scientific work.
Context and consequences
The scale and shape of these opportunities mirror a broader trend in international science policy: funders increasingly seek to support systems — both human and technical — that enable sustained, reproducible advances. For South African researchers and institutions with international collaborations, the new NSF portfolio may offer partnership opportunities, access to computing resources through hubs, and invitations to participate in large‑scale, interdisciplinary projects.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Number of opportunities | 12 |
| Announced funding | More than $1.5 billion |
| Related infrastructure fund | $100 million for regional AI hubs |
These announcements do not alter the fundamentals of good grant‑making: strong scientific questions, rigorous methods, and clear plans for data stewardship and reproducibility remain essential. The new funds, however, provide a clearer route for projects that need scale, interdisciplinary teams and modern computational capability. Researchers in South Africa and elsewhere who work with US collaborators should review the specific notices of funding opportunity to assess eligibility, partnership roles and the kinds of projects the NSF is prioritising.
As the funding calls move from notice to application, their real test will be whether they broaden participation across institutions, support reproducible and open science, and translate basic research into tangible benefits without narrowing the diversity of scientific inquiry.
