OpenAI goes open book, commits $50 million to form AI research consortium with 15 universities

OpenAI is investing $50 million to establish a new AI research consortium with 15 major universities, including the University of Michigan. The “NextGenAI” initiative aims to accelerate breakthroughs by providing resources, grants, and advanced AI models to academic researchers and students. This collaboration represents a significant push to harness collective academic expertise to drive AI innovation while ensuring developments benefit society broadly, potentially accelerating research that any single institution couldn’t accomplish alone.

The big picture: OpenAI has launched “NextGenAI,” committing $50 million to create a first-of-its-kind research consortium with 15 prestigious universities and institutions.

• The initiative will provide research grants, computing resources, and access to OpenAI’s advanced AI models for students, educators, and researchers.
• The company aims to “catalyze progress at a rate faster than any one institution would alone” while focusing on AI applications that “broadly benefit society.”

Key partners: The University of Michigan joins 14 other founding members in this collaborative effort.

• Other partners include California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, MIT, Duke University, the University of Oxford, Howard University, and the California State University system.
• Non-university partners include Boston Children’s Hospital and the Boston Public Library.

What they’re saying: University of Michigan officials highlighted the strategic importance of this partnership.

• “Working with OpenAI provides a special opportunity to collaborate with researchers producing some of the most influential AI developments today and gain access to leading edge models and tools,” said Michael Wellman, UM professor and principal investigator for the partnership.
• Wellman added that the relationship “showcases the breadth of AI-relevant research at the University of Michigan” and “contributes to our effort to build a campuswide AI research community.”

How it works: The partnership grants UM faculty and students access to significant AI resources.

• University researchers can explore AI applications across disciplines using OpenAI’s advanced models.
• The company will provide resources for UM to purchase high-performance computing from providers of its choice.
• Faculty members will receive research grants to advance AI-related research and scholarship.

Behind the partnership: OpenAI, founded in 2015, is co-chaired by CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

• The San Francisco-based company is best known for creating ChatGPT, which has significantly advanced conversational AI capabilities.
• OpenAI describes NextGenAI as designed to “support the scientist searching for a cure, the scholar uncovering new insights, and the student mastering AI for the world ahead.”