NAIRR Pilot Start-Up projects (web)
Citation
National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, led by the U.S. National Science Foundation. “NAIRR Pilot Start-Up Project Request.” Call page, date not stated (proposals accepted from May 16, 2025). https://nairrpilot.org/opportunities/startup-project. Read 2026-11-09.
Bottom line
- The Start-Up call gives small, three-month allocations on one NAIRR Pilot resource. It is an entry point for researchers who are new to the resources or who need to measure their needs.
- A request can ask for up to 2,000 GPU-hours, or an equal amount on other resources. After a Start-Up, researchers apply to the Research call for up to 12 months.
Background
The NAIRR Pilot is a joint effort that the National Science Foundation (NSF) leads with other federal agencies. This page is one of its calls for allocation requests. The call is open while resource providers have capacity, until the end of the pilot. The page gives the purpose, eligibility, resources, focus areas, expectations and review criteria.
Key claims
- “A Start-Up request is a smaller, lighter-weight request—and a review decision will be made within 2 weeks, making it an ideal entry point for researchers who are new to NAIRR Pilot resources” (Purpose)
- “NAIRR Pilot Start-Up projects are awarded for three (3) months.” (Purpose)
- “They are open to meritorious proposals by US-based researchers and educators from US-based institutions including academic institutions (including graduate students with a support letter from a faculty advisor), non-profits, federal agencies or federally funded R&D centers, state, local, or tribal agencies, startups and small businesses with federal grants.” (Eligibility)
- “You can ask for up to 2,000 GPU-hours on PSC Bridges-2 GPU, Purdue Anvil AI, SDSC Expanse AI, or TACC Vista” (Available Resources)
- “Because of the strong public component of the NAIRR Pilot, all project results must be open and publishable.” (Expectations of Projects)
- “If a PI believes that a project will result in commercializable intellectual property (IP), the PI should discuss directly with the assigned resource provider” (Expectations of Projects)
- “Proposals will be accepted starting May 16, 2025 through the end of the NAIRR Pilot program or until all available resources have been committed to projects.” (Proposal Evaluation)
Evidence and method
A program call page. It gives the size and length of an allocation, the resources a request can name, the eligibility rules and four review criteria. Resource providers assess the proposals and match them to resources. It gives no count of Start-Up awards and no total of GPU-hours awarded.
Limits
The page does not say how often the call closes for lack of capacity. It does not define “SI” in its focus areas. It does not give a cost for the allocation. It does not mention California.
⚠️ Contradiction: The Purpose section says “a review decision will be made within 2 weeks”. The Expectations of Projects section on the same page says “a determination made within 3 weeks of submission of a Start-Up request”.
The eligibility text matches the Research call (NAIRR Pilot resource allocations (web)). Research projects run for twelve months (NAIRR Pilot proposal instructions).