Rockefeller and OpenAI Foundations Open $50 Million City AI Grant Program

The Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI Foundation have opened a $50 million grant program for organizations developing artificial intelligence projects with city governments, with funding aimed at services that could reach up to 100 million people worldwide.

Called Cities Deliver, the 24-month program covers public health, economic mobility, environmental resilience and civic engagement. Applicants need a city government partner, though governments cannot apply as lead applicants.

Grants range from $500,000 to $2 million. Seed grants support concepts ready for an initial city pilot, while scale grants target projects that have already been piloted and show early results. Half of each award will be paid at the start, with the balance released after a documented midterm milestone.

Eligible lead applicants include nonprofits, university labs, fiscally sponsored organizations and public benefit corporations. Projects must serve a charitable purpose and make frontier AI capabilities central to the proposed solution. Applicants may choose their AI provider, and projects involving voting or elections are excluded.

The first-round application deadline is Nov. 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET (Nov. 30 at 4:59 a.m. UTC). Applicants who advance may be interviewed in January 2027 and invited to submit a second-round proposal by March 1. Selections are expected in April 2027.

The program also offers grantees peer learning, some technical support and access to networks of city leaders, funders and technical partners. RF Catalytic Capital, an affiliate of the Rockefeller Foundation, will manage the program.