- Program backs research in AI models, agents and world models
- Selected projects can receive up to 300,000 yuan in funding
The Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI) and Ant Group on May 23 launched a new research fund focused on artificial general intelligence (AGI), as China steps up efforts to deepen collaboration between academia and industry in advanced AI development.
The 2026 CAAI-Ant Research Fund was unveiled during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Global Artificial Intelligence Technology Conference in Hangzhou, held on May 23-24.
The program is designed to connect industrial use cases with academic research and support frontier AI projects led by scholars from China and overseas, organizers said.
This year’s fund focuses on three main areas: foundation AI models, agentic AI systems and token-efficiency optimization and world models. A total of 26 research topics have been opened for applications.
Selected projects can receive as much as 300,000 yuan ($44,242) each for one-year collaboration cycles, with strong-performing projects eligible for continued funding.
Ant did not disclose the overall budget for the 2026 program. If all 26 projects receive maximum funding, the total allocation would amount to about 7.8 million yuan.
Applications opened on May 23 and will remain open through June 30, 2026, via the CAAI website or Ant’s dedicated link.
Dai Qionghai, chairman of CAAI and dean of the School of Information Science and Technology at Tsinghua University, said at the conference that AI is entering “a critical stage moving from rapid evolution toward systemic breakthroughs.”
“CAAI will continue promoting collaborative innovation between industry and academia to deepen the integration of AI technology and industrial development,” Dai said.
