The Swiss AI Initiative allocated 8.5 million GPU hours in the 3rd Call for Large Projects to support the research and development of open-science artifacts in core areas of foundation model development, as well as target application areas of critical societal importance. The 4th Call for Large Projects is now open.
A short Declaration of Intent must be submitted by 24 August 2026 (17:00 CET). The submission deadline for the full proposal is on 14 September 2026 (17:00 CEST).
The call is open for all proposals that align with the goals of the Swiss AI initiative and require considerable computational resources. Proposals should outline a research agenda that matches several of the following criteria:
- advance core AI capabilities (scalability, efficiency, alignment, safety, multimodal integration or evaluation)
- advance research in AI fundamentals or impact applications of AI
- benefit the Swiss or European or global ecosystem and societal context
- foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and/or collaboration across more than one group
- ensure ethical AI use and regulatory compliance
- promote principles of open science (including open-source, open weights, open data)
- foster participation of various stakeholders, such as public administration, SMEs, Startups, NGOs.
For the 4th Call for Large Projects, proposals in the following topic domains are of specific interest:
- LLMs
- Multimodality
- AI Safety
- AI for Education
- AI for Science (including biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and others)
- AI for Health
- AI for Climate & Weather modeling
- AI for Robotics
- Strengthening the interface of AI and democratic processes, including for example media, law and justice, or the public administration
However, proposals in other areas will also be considered.
Who can apply?
The main applicants must have an affiliation with a Swiss public academic and/or Swiss public research institution and must be in a position to carry out independent research for the whole duration of the project, as a Full, Associate, Tenure-Track Professor or similar, or as a senior researcher, i.e., holding at least a PhD plus minimum two years of research experience. Cross-institutional collaborations are also encouraged.
More detailed information about the eligibility requirements can be found in the call application guidelines.
How to apply?
Applications need to be submitted via the online submission platform.
A short Declaration of Intent must be submitted by 24 August 2026 (17:00 CEST) and the deadline for the full proposal is 14 September 2026 (17:00 CEST).
More information:
The application guidelines and the toolkit can be found on the programme page.
Further information: please contact the Research Office: large-grants@swiss-ai.org.
Author: Kyriaki Goulouti
Source: Research Office