Accelerating Foundation Models Research (AFMR)

Accelerating Foundation Models Research (AFMR)

Funds academic researchers globally through Azure compute and model API credits for AI alignment, safety, and scientific discovery.

The Accelerating Foundation Models Research (AFMR) program was a Microsoft Research initiative that provided in-kind Azure cloud credits and foundation model API access to academic researchers globally who were studying AI alignment, human-AI interaction, and scientific discovery via large-scale AI models. During its active cycles, the program attracted approximately 400 proposals from 170 universities across 33 countries. Individual project awards were up to $20,000 in Azure credits. Research areas included aligning AI with human values and goals, safety and transparency, the intersection of technology and society, and AI-driven scientific discovery in healthcare, education, materials science, and robotics.

AFMR was exclusively for academic researchers; for-profit companies, nonprofits, and individuals outside universities were not eligible. Past special tracks included AFMR Minority Serving Institutions, AFMR Cognition and Societal Benefits, AFMR Model Advancement, AFMR Domain Applications, and AFMR Scientific Discovery and Innovation. Engagement methods included calls for proposals, workshops, and conferences organized by Microsoft Research.

As of May 2026, Microsoft Research announced it is transitioning AFMR to a successor initiative called the Agentic AI Research and Innovation (AARI) program, described as 'a natural evolution of the foundation AFMR laid.' No open calls are listed under AFMR as of that date. Researchers interested in similar support should monitor the Microsoft Research academic programs page for the AARI launch and application timeline, as no AARI landing page or open call was publicly available at the time of last update.