The agreement lays the foundation for long-term collaboration in AI research and education, with a focus on open, large-scale foundation models and their societal impact. It will enable joint research projects, researcher exchanges, and new approaches to human–AI collaboration across disciplines.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, the Swiss National AI Institute (SNAI), jointly led by ETH Zurich and EPFL, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (Stanford HAI).
The agreement establishes a framework for long-term collaboration in AI research and education, with a shared focus on large-scale foundation models and their societal impact. The effort brings together three leading institutions at the forefront of AI foundations, applications, and governance. It aims to strengthen academia’s role in shaping the global AI agenda through open, rigorous, and socially grounded research.
“This alliance strengthens academia’s ability to shape the future of foundation models – open, trustworthy, inclusive, and with societal impact at the core,” says Prof. Annette Oxenius, Vice President for Research at ETH Zurich.
A transatlantic collaboration for interdisciplinary AI research
“This collaboration unites leading researchers across continents to advance human-centered AI,” says Professor James Landay, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. “By combining our complementary expertise, we can accelerate work on foundation models that advance science while serving society.”
Under the MoU, SNAI and Stanford HAI will explore joint initiatives across research, education, and innovation. These include the development of open-source, open-data multimodal foundation models designed to support research across disciplines while promoting transparency, reliability, and broad access.
“By joining forces with Stanford HAI, we are uniting leading ecosystems to advance human-centered AI that truly benefits society”, says Menna El-Assady, Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich and faculty member of the ETH AI Center. “Our focus on intelligence augmentation ensures that we design foundation models that empower people, keeping human values and agency at the core of technical progress.”
Another key pillar of the collaboration is the development of benchmarks and evaluation frameworks for the design and deployment of foundation models — an essential step toward comparability, accountability, and responsible use of AI systems.
Advancing cultural diversity and academic leadership in AI
At a time when foundation models are rapidly reshaping science, industry, and society, this effort signals a clear commitment to open science and responsible AI development. By linking Switzerland’s national AI initiative with Stanford’s globally recognized hub for human-centered AI, the collaboration accelerates research on foundation models that reflect societal values and cultural diversity. It also reinforces academic leadership in a field increasingly shaped by large technology companies.
“We are excited about this collaboration which lays the groundwork for a transatlantic research ecosystem that is open, inclusive, and capable of shaping the future of AI beyond commercial interests.” says Stéphanie Lacour, Vice-President for support to Strategic Initiatives at EPFL
Researchers affiliated with ETH Zurich, EPFL, and Stanford will directly benefit from the collaboration through joint workshops, researcher exchanges, shared compute initiatives, and participation in international AI networks—creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary, high-impact AI research.
Authors: Mélissa Anchisi, Helga Rietz-Pankoke