Ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.
OpenAI Inc’s recent grantmaking is anchored by a large cluster of superalignment research awards, including $950,000 each to UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University in 2025. That pattern sits alongside funding for AI safety, ethics, and public-benefit applications, showing a portfolio that connects technical risk reduction with downstream uses in education, health, economics, and civic work. The foundation’s stated summary is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, and its grants reflect that aim through research support, targeted funding, and deployment-related assistance. The grant record also shows sustained support for institutions and organizations working on AI safety and resilience. Center for AI Safety Inc received two grants, one in 2024 and one in 2025, both labeled for research to ensure AI safety. Other large awards went to Harvard University for superalignment research and to New York University for ethics and journalism work. Across the recent list, OpenAI Inc backs universities, independent research groups, and mission-driven nonprofits rather than individuals, with a strong tilt toward projects intended for public sharing and broader use.
In AI safety and superalignment, OpenAI Inc gave $524,000 to Stanford University for a Superalignment Research Grant and $250,000 to EleutherAI for the same purpose. That same research thread also includes funding for Princeton University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania. The foundation also supports AI use in public-interest settings. It gave $500,000 to Turnio PBC for LLMs for Education/Health/Economics and $100,000 to Khan Academy Inc for Khanmigo for School Districts. In economic opportunity work, Operation Hope Inc received $500,000 for Research AI Economic Opportunity and Benefits Data Trust received $100,000 for an OpenAI Economic Opportunity Prize. For civic and policy-oriented work, OpenAI Inc funded New York University for Ethics & Journalism Grant and Harvard College for Democratic AI Inputs Grant. It also supported University of Michigan for Democratic AI Processes Grant and Inst for Meaning Alignment for Democratic Fine-tuning Grant.
Typical grant size is tightly clustered around six figures: p25 is $104,000, median is $110,000, and p75 is $250,000. The recent list also includes several larger research awards at $333,333, $420,000, $500,000, $524,000, $950,000, and $1,000,000. The pattern is mostly institutional and repeated by theme. University of Michigan appears more than once, and Center for AI Safety Inc received grants in both 2024 and 2025, indicating recurring support rather than one-off giving. OpenAI Inc is a regular funder, not a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Some programs accept unsolicited applications, including the Cybersecurity Grant Program, OpenAI Cybersecurity Grant, Researcher Access Program, Codex Open Source Fund, and Strategic Commitments.
$7.6M
$14.7M
$691K
$7.8M
Most grants fall between $104K and $250K, with a median of $110K.
25th Percentile
$104K
Median
$110K
75th Percentile
$250K
Sam Altman
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OpenAI Inc gives nationally, and every grant in the recent list went to a U.S. recipient. California appears frequently, with grants to Berkeley, Redwood City, San Francisco, Mountain View, and Los Angeles. Massachusetts also shows multiple recipients, including Cambridge and Boston, and the foundation’s top state by grant count is Massachusetts. Outside those states, grants reached New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, North Carolina, New Jersey, Missouri, and DC.
The recent grants go to universities, research centers, nonprofits, and mission-oriented companies. Examples in the data include UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, Center for AI Safety Inc, Operation Hope Inc, Khan Academy Inc, and Turnio PBC. The foundation does not fund individuals.
The stated focus areas are health and biomedical research, AI safety and resilience, cybersecurity, open source software, and research capacity and access. Recent grant labels also show superalignment research, ethics and journalism, democratic AI inputs and processes, and AI applications for education, health, and economics.
The grant-size distribution is centered on six-figure awards: p25 is $104,000, median is $110,000, and p75 is $250,000. Recent grants also include several larger awards, including $333,333, $500,000, $524,000, $950,000, and $1,000,000.
Yes. Center for AI Safety Inc appears with grants in both 2024 and 2025, and the University of Michigan appears more than once as well. That suggests the foundation uses recurring support in at least some program areas rather than giving only one-time awards.
Some programs accept unsolicited applications, including the Cybersecurity Grant Program, OpenAI Cybersecurity Grant, Researcher Access Program, Codex Open Source Fund, and Strategic Commitments. Other named programs in the data, including People-First AI Fund and the two major funding pillars, do not accept unsolicited applications.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Financiamiento actual y próximo de Openai al que tu organización sin fines de lucro podría postularse.
¿Quién puede postularse? Community-led hackathons that align with OpenAI's eligibility and support guidelines.
Fecha límite: Not specified
¿Quién puede postularse? Applications from academic, nonprofit, government-affiliated, small-to-midsized companies, and other qualified research teams working on projects with clear public benefit. Projects should be technically credible, focused, responsible, and intended for maximal public benefit and sharing.
Fecha límite: Rolling review; applicants are contacted if they qualify.
¿Quién puede postularse? Projects must be authorized defensive security work; offensive-security projects will not be considered. Proposals should be focused, technically credible, and intended for maximal public benefit and sharing.
Fecha límite: Reviewed as proposals come in.
¿Quién puede postularse? Open source projects applying through the form; the page does not specify additional eligibility limits beyond representing an open source project.
Fecha límite: Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
¿Quién puede postularse? Applications welcome from academic, nonprofit, government-affiliated, small-to-midsized companies, and other qualified research teams working on projects with clear public benefit. Projects should be focused, technically credible, intended for maximal public benefit and sharing, and prioritize biodefense-related defensive uses.
Fecha límite: Reviewed on a rolling basis
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Prime Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $1,000,000 | 2025 | AI Safety Fund |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | $950,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | $950,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Stanford University | Redwood City, CA | $524,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | $518,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Operation Hope Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $500,000 | 2025 | Research AI Economic Opportunity |
| Turnio PBC | Denver, CO | $500,000 | 2025 | LLMs for Education/Health/Economics |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | $420,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Center for AI Safety Inc | San Francisco, CA | $333,333 | 2025 | Research to ensure AI Safety |
| EleutherAI | Washington, DC | $250,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Toyota Technological Inst | Chicago, IL | $230,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | $200,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | $180,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $170,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $150,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Washington Univ St Louis | Missouri, MO | $133,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $102,000 | 2025 | Superalignment Research Grant |
| Khan Academy Inc | Mountain View, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | Khanmigo for School Districts |
| Benefits Data Trust | Philadelphia, PA | $100,000 | 2025 | OpenAI Economic Opportunity Prize |
| Digital Green Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | AI Small Scale Farming |
| Recidiviz Inc | Oakland, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OpenAI Foundation Day Grant |
| New York University | New York, NY | $395,000 | 2024 | Ethics & Journalism Grant |
| Center for AI Safety Inc | San Francisco, CA | $333,333 | 2024 | Research to ensure AI Safety |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $333,333 | 2024 | Research AI Morality |
| Operation Hope Inc | Atlanta, GA | $250,000 | 2024 | Research AI Economic Opportunity |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $110,000 | 2024 | Democratic AI Processes Grant |
| University of Illinois Fdn | St Urbana, IL | $110,000 | 2024 | Inclusive.AI Gifts |
| Harvard College | Boston, MA | $110,000 | 2024 | Democratic AI Inputs Grant |
| University of Washington | Seattle, WA | $108,000 | 2024 | Democratic AI Inputs Grant |
| Energize AI Inc | Cambridge, MA | $106,000 | 2024 | Democratic AI Inputs Grant |
| Inst for Meaning Alignment | Wayland, MA | $104,000 | 2024 | Democratic Fine-tuning Grant |
| AI to Benefit People | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2024 | Democratic AI Inputs Grant |
| Khan Academy Inc | Mountain View, CA | $100,000 | 2024 | Khanmigo for School Districts |
| Creative Commons Corporation | Mountain View, CA | $50,000 | 2024 | Research Support |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $333,333 | 2023 | Research Support |
| NYX Arts LLC | San Francisco, CA | $30,000 | 2023 | Community Engagement on AI Impact |
Meridian Prime Inc
$1,000,000AI Safety Fund
UC Berkeley
$950,000Superalignment Research Grant
Research AI Economic Opportunity
Turnio PBC
$500,000LLMs for Education/Health/Economics
EleutherAI
$250,000Superalignment Research Grant
Toyota Technological Inst
$230,000Superalignment Research Grant
University of Virginia
$200,000Superalignment Research Grant
University of Texas at Austin
$180,000Superalignment Research Grant
University of Michigan
$170,000Superalignment Research Grant
University of Michigan
$102,000Superalignment Research Grant
University of Michigan
$110,000Democratic AI Processes Grant
Energize AI Inc
$106,000Democratic AI Inputs Grant
Inst for Meaning Alignment
$104,000Democratic Fine-tuning Grant
NYX Arts LLC
$30,000Community Engagement on AI Impact
