Google.org backs 17 AI science teams with $36M in grants

Google.org said it is giving $36 million to 17 organizations working on AI-driven science, from fusion modeling to a pharmacogenomics platform for African patients, in the first cohort of its Impact Challenge: AI for Science. The company said it received applications from 30 countries across climate, health, and foundational research.

The named recipients split across the two tracks. On the climate side, MIT is working on automated materials discovery, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and the University of Texas at Austin on fusion, and the University of Cambridge on sodium-ion batteries. On the health side, the Allen Institute is targeting genes implicated in neurodegeneration, the University of Cape Town is building an African pharmacogenomics platform, and the University of Toronto is working on peptide drug design.

"We're standing at a profound inflection point in scientific discovery," Maggie Johnson, Global Head and VP of Google.org, said in the post. "AI is ushering in a new era of scientific research, from unraveling the complexities of human disease to forecasting environmental shifts." Recipients can opt into a "six-month Google.org Accelerator, where they will receive engineering support, technical mentorship, and Google infrastructure." The post does not break down how the $36 million is divided among the 17 teams.