AI for Economic Opportunity

Overview

The AI for Economic Opportunity Demonstration and Scaling Fund is the third annual round of a groundbreaking philanthropic initiative to harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to improve economic mobility for millions.

In just two years, the Fund has reviewed more than 650 applications and awarded 27 grants to organizations using AI to unlock benefits, deliver personalized career guidance, modernize workforce systems, improve benefits access, and expand access to education and employment. [See highlights of recent progress from past grantees here]

In this round, we’re inviting bold proposals that show how AI can meaningfully transform the systems that shape economic opportunity. Examples include reimagining service delivery, unlocking new forms of personalized education and training, improving efficiency at scale, or creating entirely new ways to connect people with income, skills, benefits, and opportunity. We welcome both transformative approaches and incremental applications, so long as they hold the potential to drive lasting, meaningful change.

Selected grantees will receive $250,000 in catalytic funding to prototype solutions and demonstrate progress, six months of cohort-based technical support from OpenAI engineers and other experts, API credits, and access to a network of leading practitioners and funders advancing AI for economic mobility. All awardees will also be eligible for a potential larger infusion of scaling grant capital through a number of philanthropic partners (more to be announced soon).

We're seeking projects that improve economic opportunity for people with low incomes—whether by streamlining access to services and benefits, enhancing labor market matching, deploying personalized career guidance, implementing adaptive learning systems, improving public program efficiency, or overcoming language and accessibility barriers.

We're especially interested in helping people who face the biggest barriers to economic mobility: those from low-income households, people without college degrees, and workers in low-wage jobs.

We're eager to see transformative applications we haven't yet envisioned—but here are some high-potential areas we're particularly focused on:

• Unlock and Harness Data for Impact
• Expand Agent Interoperability and Integration
• Make Services More Effective and Affordable
• Empower Navigation Across Opportunity Pathways
• Advance Skills Validation and Mobility
• Personalize Learning and Support Persistence
• Strengthen Actionable Labor Market Intelligence
• Build Employer Infrastructure for Skills-Based Hiring & Mobility
• Create Breakthrough Innovation Opportunities

We encourage applicants to think creatively about partnerships that can strengthen their proposal. This is not mandatory, but these kinds of partnerships might include:

• Technology Collaborations: If your organization lacks internal AI expertise, consider partnering with AI-focused technology companies, consultants or startups.
• Nonprofit-For-Profit Alliances: Nonprofits may benefit from partnering with mission-aligned for-profits, particularly for product development and scaling.
• Academic Partnerships: Universities and research institutions may provide rigorous evaluation frameworks, early technological innovation, data analysis, or AI expertise.
• Local Governments and Public Agencies: Collaborating with government bodies can help scale services and ensure your technology solutions are aligned with public needs.
• Funders and Investors: Explore co-investment opportunities with other funders to expand your project’s impact beyond our grant.

Limit of three submissions per applying organization. For large universities or institutions with a wide range of schools or departments we will consider more applications (i.e. treat each department or school independently) [MLFC faculty/staff: If planning to apply, reach out to Ashley O’Brion at ASUF in advance]. The intent of this limitation is not to limit the total number of inbound applications, but merely to encourage prioritization from applicants.

Deadlines: The first round of “concept note” applications are due on Oct 31, 2025, 5pm PST.

Once these are screened, we will invite a full application from a select group on or before November 14, 2025. Full applications for finalists will be due on December 12, 2025.

Funding: The fund has two phases: 

1. Demonstration Phase (Feb - August 2026): GitLab Foundation will grant at least $4 million in $250,000 grants to up to 16 demonstration projects. These project teams will also participate in a 6 months cohort based capacity development process and receive technical, financial and advisory support by OpenAI and other partners. These Demonstration grants are designed to support the critical early stages of development and proof-of-concept for promising AI applications that drive economic opportunity outcomes.
2. Scaling Phase (September 2026 and beyond): In the fund’s second phase, partner philanthropies will provide funding to scale the highest potential projects. More details to come. Scaling grants will focus on implementation of proven or well-tested technologies, scaling services that have demonstrated the potential to significantly increase outcomes and reach.

Register for one of our upcoming ask me anything (AMA) sessions:
**October 10 - 10am PT / 1pm ET**
**October 14 - 10am PT / 1pm ET**