Simons Foundation: Utilizing the Full Power of Empire AI

Award: either $500,000 or $1M, depending on how many awards distributed, out of $6M pot of funds.
Deadline: December 1, 2026
Interested? Please fill out the Sponsored Program Administration's Proposal Request Form to be assigned a research administrator.

Request for Proposal

Overview

Funder seeks to support cutting-edge mathematics and basic science research, drawing on the advanced computational power of the Empire AI.

A successful proposal will outline an ambitious two-year research program in one of the following fields, or at their intersections: computational astrophysics and physics, computational biology, mathematics, neuroscience and computational physical chemistry. Each proposal will necessarily rely on the development and utilization of foundational machine learning models, aimed at solving problems of fundamental importance in these disciplines. (Representative examples of fields that could use multinode clusters of GPUs of Empire AI, which is a requirement of the program. )

  • Computational biophysics 

  • neuroscience

  • ecology and evolution

  • plant biology

  • optimal transport

  • multiscale physics

  • fluid dynamics

  • numerical general relativity 

Important Information 

Funder plans to fund 6 to 12 proposals through a competitive open call to the Empire AI research community, with a total pot of funds of $6M. Funds awarded over a two year period.

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.