Top 10 Grants for AI Startups in North America in 2025
The AI startup landscape in North America continues to expand exponentially as funding opportunities are on the rise in 2025. Innovators and entrepreneurs looking to pivot their ideas into reality can greatly benefit from various grants available this year. Here is a detailed list of the Top 10 grants for AI startups in North America for 2025, including crucial information such as funding amounts, focus areas, eligibility criteria, and links to their respective programs.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.
👉 Write your article here
1. Google.org Accelerator - Generative AI Open Call
Funding Amount: $500,000 to over $2 million
Type: Grant, accelerator program
Focus: Leveraging generative AI for social impact, particularly in AI literacy, career readiness, applied science, and more.
Details: Open to nonprofits, civic entities, and social enterprises globally. It offers six months of structured support, including pro bono assistance from Google employees and access to Google Cloud credits. Applications for the second cohort were open from January 7 to February 10, 2025.
2. Microsoft Investments in AI Infrastructure
Funding Amount: Approximately $80 billion (with over half in the U.S.)
Type: Investment in infrastructure
Focus: Building AI-enabled data centers for training models and deploying applications.
Details: Microsoft aims to bolster AI innovation and readiness through massive investments planned for 2025, collaborating with firms like Blackrock and MGX to create substantial additional funding for infrastructure.
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.
We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.
👉 Submit your startup now!
3. Aligned Data Centers Funding for AI Infrastructure
Funding Amount: $12 billion
Type: Infrastructure funding
Focus: Developing data center capacity to meet AI computing power demand.
Details: Aligned Data Centers raised this funding to expand infrastructure across the Americas, significantly benefiting AI startups through enhanced computing capabilities.
4. Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence Program
Funding Amount: Up to $750,000
Type: Grant
Focus: Research on AI's intersection with the humanities.
Details: Although not strictly for startups, funding for humanities-related AI research can support startups working on ethical implications and societal impacts of AI.
5. Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute Seed Grants
Funding Amount: Not specified
Type: Seed grant
Focus: AI-informed research projects in data science.
Details: This grant targets research proposals led by faculty at Johns Hopkins, aiming to push boundaries of understanding through AI/ML tools, which can benefit related startups.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
6. Cooperative AI Foundation Research Grants
Funding Amount: Not specified
Type: Research Grants
Focus: Developing cooperative AI capabilities.
Details: These grants fund research projects designed to create AI agents that can work cooperatively, with priorities for early-career researchers as well.
7. Orchid Security Seed Funding
Funding Amount: $36 million
Type: Seed funding
Focus: Strengthening AI-powered identity security platforms.
Details: The funds will help Orchid Security expand its customer base and enhance its services using large language models, exemplifying significant seed funding in the AI sector.
8. Biden Administration Federal AI Budget
Funding Amount: Up to $3 billion
Type: Government Funding
Focus: Federal AI application development and integration.
Details: The funding supports partnerships between federal agencies and AI companies, fostering opportunities for startups that are innovating in AI technologies.
9. Tech Hubs Program Implementation Grants
Funding Amount: $22 million to $48 million for each hub
Type: Government grant
Focus: Scaling production of critical technologies, including AI.
Details: Part of a broader initiative by the Department of Commerce to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness, these grants create a supportive ecosystem for AI startups.
10. Ongoing AI Startup Grants
Funding Amount: Varies
Type: Ongoing grants
Focus: Innovation in artificial intelligence across multiple sectors.
Details: This program supports entrepreneurs who have developed creative applications for AI, aimed at advancing technology in this rapidly evolving field.
With these exciting options on the horizon, AI startups can find the right funding to drive their innovations and contribute to the changing landscape of technology in North America in 2025.
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.
FAQ
Q: What is the Google.org Accelerator - Generative AI Open Call?
A: This is an accelerator program offering funding ranging from $500,000 to over $2 million, aimed at leveraging generative AI for social impact. Learn more about the Google.org Accelerator.
Q: How much funding is Microsoft investing in AI infrastructure?
A: Microsoft has committed approximately $80 billion in investments for AI infrastructure, with a significant portion allocated to the United States. Discover more about Microsoft's investments.
Q: What is the focus of Aligned Data Centers' funding?
A: They raised $12 billion to expand data center capacity to meet increasing demand for AI computing power, indirectly benefiting AI startups. Learn more about Aligned Data Centers' funding.
Q: What type of funding does the Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence Program offer?
A: This grant provides up to $750,000 for research that explores the intersection of humanities and artificial intelligence. Find out more about the Humanities Research Centers program.
Q: What are the Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute Seed Grants?
A: These are seed grants for research projects led by faculty at Johns Hopkins, focusing on AI-informed discovery and data science innovations. Explore the Johns Hopkins data science grants.
Q: What does the Cooperative AI Foundation offer?
A: The Cooperative AI Foundation provides research grants for projects that focus on creating AI agents capable of effective cooperation. Learn more about the Cooperative AI Foundation.
Q: How much funding did Orchid Security recently receive?
A: Orchid Security secured $36 million in seed funding to enhance its AI-powered identity security platform. More about Orchid Security's funding can be found here.
Q: What budget was proposed by the Biden Administration for AI in 2025?
A: The Biden Administration has requested up to $3 billion for federal AI application development and integration. Learn about the Biden Administration’s AI budget proposal.
Q: What do the Tech Hubs Program Implementation Grants focus on?
A: These grants, ranging from $22 million to $48 million for selected hubs, aim to scale production of critical technologies, including AI, and create jobs. Discover more about the Tech Hubs Program.
Q: Are there ongoing AI startup grants in the U.S.?
A: Yes, there are ongoing grants aimed at supporting innovation in artificial intelligence for startups across various sectors. Learn more about ongoing AI startup grants.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
