Bezos Earth Fund Awards $30 Million in AI Grants to Boost Climate and Nature Projects Worldwide

The Bezos Earth Fund has unveiled $30 million in new AI grants awarded to 15 pioneering global teams working on innovative projects to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental challenges. This investment comes as part of the Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, designed to harness artificial intelligence to accelerate impactful solutions for the planet.

The selected projects demonstrate the transformative power of AI, spanning five continents and addressing diverse issues such as AI-driven coral reef monitoring in the Pacific and advanced weather forecasting systems tailored for African farmers. By combining cutting-edge AI with on-the-ground environmental expertise, these initiatives seek to enhance conservation efforts and improve climate resilience.

Among the grantees are renowned organizations and academic institutions including The Nature Conservancy, Yale University, The Wildlife Conservation Society, Cornell University, and The New York Botanical Garden. These teams will receive grants of up to $2 million each to scale their real-world AI applications over the next two years.

Launched in 2024, the AI Grand Challenge supports breakthrough ideas to combat pressing environmental problems—from automating species identification and tracking endangered wildlife through AI-powered acoustic sensors to optimizing sustainable farming practices. The Fund emphasizes the urgency of deploying AI as a powerful tool to address climate change and biodiversity crises simultaneously.

Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, articulated the vision behind the program: “AI can be a powerful ally to help make the world a better place. These innovators are showing us new possibilities by reimagining how we grow food, protect wildlife, and power our planet to make a true impact.”

The Fund’s approach is unique in fostering collaboration between AI technologists and environmental scientists to ensure solutions are grounded in real-world contexts and actionable outcomes. The grants follow an initial seed funding phase started earlier this year, accelerating the most promising projects into implementation stages.

As climate change intensifies and ecological threats increase, the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI grants exemplify a forward-looking model of how technology and conservation can intersect to safeguard the planet's future.