AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge

AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge — Phase I (Seed Concepts)

Supports AI teams tackling climate and nature problems, including biodiversity and grid efficiency, through Bezos-backed concept grants.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Phase I of the Bezos Earth Fund's AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge provided $50,000 seed grants to up to 30 organizations with promising AI concepts targeting climate and nature problems. The program was announced in May 2025 with a first application deadline of August 13, 2025; an expert panel reviewed all submissions and selected grantees, who then received the $50,000 award plus a direct invitation to compete in Phase II. The total Phase I pool was up to $1.5 million (30 organizations at $50,000 each). The Bezos Earth Fund has committed up to $100 million across the full two-phase program, which is part of the fund's broader mandate to deploy $10 billion by 2030 for climate and nature solutions.

Four focus areas shaped Phase I concept eligibility: sustainable proteins (AI-optimized meat alternatives), power grid optimization for renewable energy integration, biodiversity conservation including species identification and habitat restoration, and a wildcard category for other transformative climate and nature applications. Lead applicants were required to be U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organizations or global academic institutions; for-profit companies and individual applicants were ineligible. International collaboration with non-U.S. partners was permitted under a U.S.-based lead.

Phase I is now closed — all awards were made in mid-2025, and no new Phase I application window has been announced as of June 2026. Organizations that did not participate in Phase I cannot enter Phase II, as Phase II participation was restricted to Phase I awardees. The program's design — seed concept funding followed by competitive scale-up grants of up to $2 million — reflects the Bezos Earth Fund's preference for proof-based staged investment rather than open large-grant competitions.