Accelerating Applied AI in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts AI Models Innovation Challenge is a grant program designed to inspire the development of domain-specific AI models capable of catalyzing scientific discoveries, accelerating commercialization of AI applications or generating substantial public benefits. The Challenge funds projects that develop, fine-tune or adapt AI models to unlock breakthroughs in priority industry sectors with potential for significant downstream applications within the next three years.
The Massachusetts AI Models Innovation Challenge is a flagship initiative under MassTech’s new Massachusetts AI Hub, announced by Governor Healey on December 19, 2024. The AI Hub serves as the central entity for coordinating and managing key assets required for AI innovation and ecosystem growth including data resources, high-performance compute power, interdisciplinary research, talent development and more. This Innovation Challenge aligns with the AI Hub’s mission to foster ethical, impactful and forward-looking AI advancements in Massachusetts.
Building on the recommendations of the Healey-Driscoll administration's Strategic AI Task Force, the AI Hub leverages insights from Massachusetts’ thriving innovation ecosystem to prioritize projects that drive transformative impacts across the state’s key industry sectors, including health care, life sciences, financial services, robotics, advanced manufacturing, climate tech and education. The MA AI Models Innovation Challenge will further inform the work of the AI Hub towards the discovery of priority applied AI use cases and the resources needed to bring AI advancements to life.
AI Ecosystem Benefits
Deployment-ready AI Models in strategic sectors
Real-world deployment across high-impact domains.
Open-source tools and public datasets
Enrichment of AI Research through release of models, annotated datasets and associated tools under open-source licenses.
Early commercialization and startup acceleration pathways
Multiple projects involve commercialization strategies, including partnerships with Massachusetts-based startups and the development of market-facing tools, laying the foundation for new company formation and product launches.
Integration with new AI infrastructure
Pilot usage of shared compute capacity and data infrastructure provided through MGHPCC and the forthcoming Massachusetts Data Commons, helping to operationalize these initiatives.
Round 2 Applications - Deadline Friday, March 6
The primary applicant/investigator must be affiliated with college, university, nonprofit research institution or other nonprofit entity legally organized in Massachusetts.
Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with other academic institutions, research organizations, and private companies, including startups, SMEs, or large corporations.
All applications must demonstrate genuine collaboration with key industry participants, and private companies may serve as key partners or subcontractors under the nonprofit lead.
Applicants must not be debarred by either the state or federal government.
Respondents may request funding of up to $1,000,000.
All funds provided by MassTech Collaborative must be classified as capital expenditure under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Examples include the purchase of equipment and the development of new technology platforms or systems.
Salaries are eligible only for staff directly engaged in managing capital projects, to the extent capitalizable under GAAP; salaries for operations and non-personnel operating costs are not eligible for capital expenditures.
Applicants must provide a 25% match of the requested funding, which may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.
Funds are expected to be expensed over 12–24 months for activities such as dataset curation, AI model training, performance demonstration and compliance documentation.
All awardees are required to contribute at least one publicly shareable artifact (e.g., datasets, trained models or documentation) to the MA AI Hub Data Commons to strengthen the state ecosystem.
Projects must address challenges in priority sectors including health care, life sciences, financial services, robotics, advanced manufacturing, climate tech and education.
The challenge provides translational funding to bridge the gap between early research and real-world deployment, supporting concrete outputs like prototype systems and open-source tools.
NOFO Released: January 28, 2026
Questions Due: February 6, 2026, by 5:00 PM EST
Answers Posted: February 18, 2026
Applications Due: March 6, 2026, by 5:00 PM EST (amended 2/18/26)
Applications must be submitted electronically to proposals@masstech.org with the NOFO number (2026-JAII-05) in the subject line.
- Application Cover Sheet (Attachment A)
- Project Narrative: A description of the project and qualifications, limited to 10 pages. This narrative must cover the Use-Case, Proposed Solution, Data Strategy, Testing & Validation, Partnerships, Impact, Project Plan and Budget Narrative.
- Budget Template (Attachment C): Must show total costs and 25% match
- Authorized Signature and Acceptance Form (Attachment B)
- Questions: Inquiries must be emailed to proposals@masstech.org with the subject line "Questions – No.2026-JAII-05" by the deadline.
Awards
