NSF 26-508: TechAccess: AI-Ready America

The National Science Foundation has issued program solicitation NSF 26-508 for TechAccess: AI-Ready America. The national-scale initiative seeks to accelerate artificial intelligence readiness and adoption by strengthening coordination, filling gaps and scaling effective approaches so that local and state priorities shape an AI-driven economy. The program consists of three components. State and territory coordination hubs, one in every state, the District of Columbia or territory, will connect partners and support planning and deployment. A national coordination lead will facilitate collaboration among the hubs and coordinate priority economic sectors. AI-Ready Catalyst Award Competitions will pilot and scale innovative approaches through separate funding calls. This solicitation focuses on the coordination hubs. Letters of intent for the first round are due June 16, 2026, with full proposals due July 16, 2026. Up to 56 hub awards are planned across three rounds, each providing one million dollars per year for three years with possible extension. The solicitation limits institutions to one proposal per coordination hub award. It introduces additional review criteria and imposes special award conditions, including required work with the national coordination lead selected through a separate instrument. Anticipated total program funding ranges from 168 million dollars to 224 million dollars.