Deadline: April 17, 2026
Applications are open for the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science 2026. The Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science is a $30M global open-call designed to empower researchers and organizations with the funding, tools, and technical expertise they need to accelerate scientific breakthroughs. Beyond funding, organizations may participate in a Google.org Accelerator and receive six months of dedicated pro bono technical support from Google experts and access to Google Cloud credits to help bring these projects to life.
They are particularly interested in proposals leveraging AI and advanced technology to achieve scientific breakthroughs and accelerate progress in the following ways:
- AI for Health & Life Sciences: Improve our understanding of human life—from genomics to brain mapping—to ultimately improve human health and wellbeing.
- AI for Climate Resilience & Environmental Science: Build a deeper understanding of our planet’s living systems—spanning biodiversity, agriculture, oceans, and more—to help build a more resilient and sustainable Earth and atmosphere.
Funding
- Selected organizations will receive funding from Google.org (between $500K and $3M USD) and have the option to participate in a Google.org Accelerator, which supports organizations as they work to solve some of the world’s most pressing scientific challenges by leveraging generative AI and agentic capabilities. This multi-month program accelerates high-impact solutions through dedicated pro bono technical support from Google experts.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants include:
- Nonprofit organizations
- Social enterprises
- Academic institutions
- Research institutions
Criteria
Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria: Scientific Ambition & Impact, Innovative & Responsible Use of AI, Feasibility, and Scalability & Sustainability.
- Scientific Ambition & Impact: Projects must pursue high-impact research in the following areas: AI for Health & Life Sciences, AI for Climate Resilience & Environmental Science. Proposals should be evidence-based and define clear, quantifiable success metrics.
- Innovative & Responsible Use of AI: AI should be a core component of the solution, developed in alignment with Google Responsible AI Principles and shared via open-source licensing to benefit the public, or the solution should specifically enable future AI use cases (e.g. a foundational open dataset).
- Feasibility: Applicants must provide a realistic execution plan, timeline, and budget. Teams must possess the necessary technical and domain expertise to successfully execute the proposed research.
- Scalability & Sustainability: Projects should demonstrate potential for scaled impact and/or relevance beyond their immediate scope. Applicants are encouraged to articulate how their outputs will be discovered, adopted, and maintained across scientific domains and geographies.
Application
For more information, visit Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science.
