Swiss AI Initiative – 4th Call for Large Projects
Event details
| Date | 14.09.2026 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
The Swiss AI Initiative allocated 8.5 million GPU hours in the 3rd Call for Large Projects to support the research and development of open-science artifacts in core areas of foundation model development, as well as target application areas of critical societal importance. The 4th Call for Large Projects is now open with a submission deadline of 14 September 2026 (17:00 CEST).
The call is open for all proposals that align with the goals of the Swiss AI initiative and require considerable computational resources. Proposals should outline a research agenda that matches several of the following criteria:
- advance core AI capabilities (scalability, efficiency, alignment, safety, multimodal integration or evaluation)
- advance research in AI fundamentals or impact applications of AI
- benefit the Swiss or European or global ecosystem and societal context
- foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and/or collaboration across more than one group
- ensure ethical AI use and regulatory compliance
- promote principles of open science (including open-source, open weights, open data)
- foster participation of various stakeholders, such as public administration, SMEs, Startups, NGOs.
For the 4th Call for Large Projects, proposals in the following topic domains are of specific interest:
- LLMs
- Multimodality
- AI Safety
- AI for Education
- AI for Science (including biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and others)
- AI for Health
- AI for Climate & Weather modeling
- AI for Robotics
- Strengthening the interface of AI and democratic processes, including for example media, law and justice, or the public administration
Who can apply:
The main applicants must have an affiliation with a Swiss public academic and/or Swiss public research institution and must be in a position to carry out independent research for the whole duration of the project, as a Full, Associate, Tenure-Track Professor or similar, or as a senior researcher, i.e., holding at least a PhD plus minimum two years of research experience. Cross-institutional collaborations are also encouraged.
More detailed information about the eligibility requirements can be found in the call application guidelines.
Funding and duration:
The core purpose of this initiative is the allocation of GPUh. The requested compute amount can exceed 500K compute hours. The project duration is one year.
How to apply:
The call Application Guidelines and templates can be found on the programme webpage.
Applications need to be submitted via the online submission platform.
Deadline:
A short Declaration of Intent must be submitted by 24 August 2026 (17:00 CEST) and the deadline for the full proposal is 14 September 2026 (17:00 CEST).
For further information, please contact the Research Office: [email protected].
Practical information
- General public
- Free