Simons Foundation, Anthropic and OpenAI to commit $15 million to mathematicians working with AI

On October 15, the Simons Foundation announced a program in which the foundation, Anthropic and OpenAI will jointly commit $15 million in funding and resources to support the mathematical community in the AI era. The foundation will administer the funding and award grants, including through an open call; the companies will provide researchers with AI tools and computing resources.

According to the Simons Foundation announcement, the program will support seminars and initiatives where researchers can assess recent AI-generated results, learn to use new tools, share experience and establish common standards for their use. The $15 million represents a combined contribution of money and resources; the announcement does not break down the contributions by participant.

Focus on evaluating results and community collaboration

The program directs support toward collaborative work on AI results: evaluating them, discussing methods and developing approaches to using the technology. This will give participants the opportunity to examine the results and discuss how to incorporate them into mathematical research.

The initiative also covers basic sciences beyond mathematics: the foundation said Anthropic and OpenAI will provide tools and computing resources to Simons Foundation-supported researchers in these fields as well. The October 15 announcement did not specify the terms or timeline for the open call, or how the funds will be allocated.

Why the foundation’s role matters

The Simons Foundation will administer grants and support a program shaped by the needs of the scientific community. In a statement, foundation president David Spergel emphasized that the mathematical community should lead discussions about evaluating, adopting and using these tools.

The announcement followed OpenAI’s October 6 publication about mathematical results from an internal model. In an October 15 update, the company said it was contributing $5 million to the foundation’s initiative. The foundation will use the funds for seminars, conferences and special programs; OpenAI will also provide models and computing resources to Simons Foundation-supported researchers.

For mathematicians, the program combines grant support with access to tools and resources, as well as forums for collectively evaluating AI results. The next practical step for prospective applicants is to watch for the open call’s terms: the October 15 announcement did not yet provide application dates or procedures.