A Third-Wave Philanthropy Unlocked By AI Could Supercharge Federal R&D

LeadershipCareersA Third-Wave Philanthropy Unlocked By AI Could Supercharge Federal R&DByShalin Jyotishi,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover workforce, science and industrial policy, and labor topics.Follow AuthorMay 20, 2026, 03:17pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Billions in philanthropic giving unlocked by the AI boom could mean more government-philanthropy partnerships for scientific research and STEM education.U.S. National Science FoundationDollars toward Federal R&D and STEM Education funding could soon go much further thanks to government partnerships with philanthropies born of the rise of AI. In The Third Wave of American Philanthropy, writer Nan Ransohoff laid out how hundreds of billions of dollars in new philanthropic capital, derived from the AI boom, could potentially become available for investment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States, recently committed to increasing its annual payout to $9 billion. Ransohoff describes how just three funding sources from the OpenAI Foundation, the Anthropic founders, and Anthropic employees could translate into an estimated $37 billion of intended annual spending increases in the philanthropy sector. This third wave of philanthropic giving could create significant opportunities for maximizing the mileage of federal investments in scientific research and technological progress, and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is a good test case.The Trump administration recently dismissed all 22 members of the National Science Board from their positions, but before they were let go, the members of the presidentially appointed governing body of the NSF were steadily working to advance a set of reforms to modernize and improve the functionality of the $9 billion grant-making agency. Dubbed “next gen NSF...