NSF STRIDE Ventures

STRIDE Ventures: AI Efficiency Challenge

Funds practical AI and machine learning software translation toward efficient deployment and societal use.

The STRIDE Ventures AI Efficiency Challenge is the second competition under the STRIDE Ventures initiative, launched in May 2026 by NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) and operated by Start2 Group under an NSF cooperative agreement. The challenge seeks translation-ready, primarily software-based solutions that deliver measurable efficiency improvements across AI and machine learning systems and data centers — including reduced training and inference costs, relief from data center capacity constraints, accelerated time-to-market for new models, and agentic orchestration improvements. Applications are due July 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time and must be submitted through stride-ventures.com, not through NSF's research.gov portal.

Two funding tiers are available: up to $3.5 million per large project and up to $1.75 million per small project, paid across up to three milestone-driven stages over a maximum of 24 months. The published total pool is up to $21 million. Two team categories are eligible: Solution Teams, which must include at least one Problem Owner (a company or organization capable of deploying the solution at scale within one year of funding), and Benchmarking Teams, which develop industry-standard AI and ML efficiency measurement frameworks rather than deployed products. Lead applicants must have a U.S. headquarters; international collaborators beyond the lead are permitted. For-profit companies, non-profits, universities, and research organizations are all eligible.

The evaluation process runs through three stages: expert panel pre-selection by STRIDE program staff, jury evaluation by industry, government, and academic experts, and final NSF approval. The milestone-driven payment structure means teams must demonstrate progress against defined deployment targets to unlock each funding stage rather than receiving funds upfront. Applicants should review the STRIDE AI Efficiency Challenge solicitation document available at stride-ventures.com for detailed eligibility requirements, page limits, and scoring criteria before applying.