The Simons Foundation announced a $15 million initiative in partnership with Anthropic and OpenAI to help mathematicians navigate the rise of artificial intelligence in their field. The funding will support workshops and projects aimed at evaluating AI-assisted results, learning new tools, and establishing standards for AI use in mathematics. The foundation will manage and distribute the funds through an open call for proposals, starting this year, according to simonsfoundation.org.
Under the partnership, the Simons Foundation will oversee the awards and resources, which include AI tools and computing support provided by Anthropic and OpenAI. These resources will extend beyond mathematics to basic science research. David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, emphasized the goal of fostering a collective understanding of mathematics driven by human curiosity amid AI’s rapid impact on research practices.
The initiative builds on the foundation’s history of supporting machine learning in science, including funding the Lean proof assistant, a tool that has transformed mathematicians’ workflows by enabling AI-assisted proofs. By encouraging community-driven projects and collaboration, the effort aims to help researchers adapt to AI’s growing role in mathematical discovery and verification, setting a precedent for integrating AI in scientific research.
The Simons Foundation’s open call for proposals will invite researchers to submit projects that align with the initiative’s goals. The foundation’s commitment to managing the $15 million fund and distributing AI tools from Anthropic and OpenAI marks a significant investment in the future of AI-assisted mathematics, as detailed on simonsfoundation.org.