The Bezos Earth Fund AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge will award up to $100 million in grants. The goal is to see how modern AI might help address climate change and nature loss and inspire deeper collaboration between groups on the front line of environmental solutions and leading AI technology providers.
The Grand Challenges is seeking transformative ideas that will accelerate efforts to address climate change and nature loss through the use of modern AI focusing on sustainable proteins, power grid optimization, biodiversity conservation and other visional wildcard solutions.
The Grand Challenges competition is comprised of three phases. The first phase will award up to 30 seed grants of up to $50,000. Successful applicants will be eligible to submit to Phase 2 (implementation plans). Fifteen implementation grants of up to $2 million will be awarded. Phase 3 details have not yet been released.
Deadlines for Phase 1 Seed Grants
Notification of Intent to Submit with Cornell PRO Team
- Friday, July 12 at 5:00 p.m.
Cornell OSP deadline for full review (required)
- Tuesday, July 23 at 5:00 p.m.
Sponsor Deadline
- July 30, 2024 at 5:59 p.m.
Cornell Requirements Prior to Submission
Cornell requires certain conditions to be met for any researcher who applies to this opportunity. Any Cornell researcher who applies to this opportunity MUST:
- Develop their proposal with the support of the PRO Team in the Office of Sponsored Programs. This applies to all researchers in all colleges and schools, even those that are not normally supported by the PRO Team. Cornell researchers must register their intent to submit by close of business on Friday, July 12. Submit this form to start.
- Proposals must be ready for full review by the Cornell Office of Sponsored Programs by Tuesday July 23. This deadline is not flexible. Full proposal review is required.
Sponsor Requirements
- Proposals are submitted via an online form on the competition website. Researchers may not submit proposals without Cornell OSP review and approval (see above for required deadlines).
- Proposal submissions require Cornell to agree to the Grand Challenges Agreement which includes required terms regarding eligibility, intellectual property rights, and waivers of confidentiality and liability. This agreement must be signed by an AOR, Authorized Organizational Representative. For Cornell, this is a Grant and Contract Officer in the Office of Sponsored Programs. If the proposal includes any contributing entities (for example subaward institutions, collaborators, etc.), the agreement must also be signed by an AOR from those entities.
Note: Researchers are cautioned that information within proposals submitted to this sponsor will not be kept in confidence, according to the sponsor. The Bezos Earth Foundation claims a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free, sublicensable license to all material included in the proposal. This means that Bezos Earth Fund (BEF) may use any ideas, concepts, innovations, discoveries, designs, formulae, know-how, or developments provided as part of the proposal submission. Researchers should not include any such material that may be protected by copyright or other third-party rights or material that they do not wish to be shared or should not be shared (due to those other prior rights and protections) at BEF’s discretion.