AI for Good Lab Open Call — Washington State

AI for Good Lab Open Call — Washington State

Offers Washington State nonprofits and researchers Azure credits to apply artificial intelligence to sustainability, health, and human rights.

The AI for Good Lab Open Call is a program run by the Microsoft AI for Good Lab that distributed $5 million in Azure service credits to 20 organizations in its inaugural 2025 cycle. The program is geographically restricted to Washington State: applicants must be based in or demonstrate that their project benefits Washington State residents. Eligible applicant types are broad — nonprofits, academic institutions, individual researchers, startups, and businesses — provided their mission aligns with the program's focus areas of sustainability, public health, and human rights (with education also referenced in some program materials). Awardees receive Azure cloud computing resources and enter a two-year scientific collaboration with Microsoft AI for Good Lab researchers.

The 2025 cycle opened January 22, 2025, with an application deadline of February 17, 2025, at 4:59 PM Pacific. Awardees across sustainability (9 organizations), public health (5), and education or public good (6) were announced in April 2025. The cycle was framed in part as a Microsoft 50th-anniversary initiative. No 2026 cycle had been announced as of May 2026, though the program landing page remained live.

Organizations interested in future cycles should monitor the official Microsoft Research academic programs page for announcement of a 2026 or subsequent open call. The program's selection process in 2025 evaluated alignment with stated focus areas and the applicant's ability to advance AI-powered solutions in collaboration with Microsoft scientists. The average award across the $5 million pool and 20 awardees implies an average of $250,000 in Azure credits per awardee, though individual award sizes were not separately disclosed.