The White House has directed more than $5 billion toward AI-based scientific research, pairing 278 new projects with a broader plan to reshape federal science funding. Key Points: More than 1
The White House has directed more than $5 billion toward AI-based scientific research, pairing 278 new projects with a broader plan to reshape federal science funding.
- More than 15 agencies committed funding, datasets and facilities to 278 Genesis Mission projects chosen from over 5,000 applications.
- A separate White House report proposes directing more federal support toward individual researchers, AI infrastructure and mission-based science.
Federal agencies committed the money to the Genesis Mission, an Energy Department-led program created by a November 2025 executive order to apply artificial intelligence across major research fields.
The government selected 278 projects from more than 5,000 applications, while over 15 agencies offered funding, datasets, facilities and research awards. The response was the largest for any Energy Department program, according to Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil.
The largest single award provides $60 million for Prometheus, a three-year nuclear energy project designed to use AI in reactor design, licensing, manufacturing and operations.
Its team also secured more than $200 million in industry cost sharing and $30 million in private capital. Other awards cover biomedical research, grid reliability, national security, quantum computing and microelectronics manufacturing.
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The announcement coincided with a report from White House science adviser Michael Kratsios that calls for federal research policy to place more weight on individual scientists and AI-ready systems.
Agencies controlling at least $3 billion in research funding must submit implementation plans within 90 days. The administration aims to influence roughly $200 billion in yearly federal research spending.
Kratsios cited the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award as a model because it gives selected researchers as much as $700,000 annually for five years without requiring a detailed experimental plan.
The report also identifies commercial fusion power and a return to the lunar surface by 2028 as national missions, while urging investment in autonomous laboratories, scientific datasets and verification systems.
The policy arrives as competition with China places more pressure on U.S. research productivity.
Stanford’s 2026 AI Index found the performance gap between leading American and Chinese models had narrowed to 2.7%, even as U.S. private AI investment reached $285.9 billion in 2025, more than 23 times China’s total.
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