Schmidt Sciences and Others: Scaling AI Safety in Multi-Agent World
Joint funding opportunity through Schmidt Sciences, Google DeepMind, Advanced Research & Invention Agency (ARIA), the Cooperative AI Foundation, and Google.org
Award: up to $300,000 or up to $1M, depending on Tier.
Deadline: August 8, 2026
Overview
Funder seeks to support projects aimed at understanding and mitigating the new risks that arise when large numbers of AI agents interact with each other across shared digital systems. As AI shifts from isolated models to complex ecosystems of autonomous agents, the program funds foundational, systems‑level research to study emergent behaviors, collective risks, and coordination challenges, and to develop tools for monitoring, governing, and making these multi‑agent environments safe and trustworthy. Awards range from about $300K to $1M for 1–2 year projects, with a broader ~$10M funding pool supporting multiple teams worldwide.
Important Information
There are informational webinars:
Tuesday, June 30 12 pm ET. Register here
Thursday, July 23 10 am ET. Register here
Indirect costs, found in FAQ, may not exceed 10%
Process
This is a single step application process:
Fill out the Sponsored Programs Administration's Proposal Request Form to be assigned a research administrator.
The application will be managed by SPA, and you will work with your assigned research administrator.
All required information, in final form, needs to be submitted to SPA no later than five business days before submission deadline.