Genesis Mission: Trump Administration Commits $5 Billion to AI in US Science

On July 23, 2026, the administration of Donald Trump announced the first grants under the Genesis Mission program, directing $5 billion to hundreds of science projects in which artificial intelligence is the main research tool. The White House calls the initiative comparable to the Manhattan Project in urgency and ambition.

What does Genesis Mission fund?

Genesis Mission funds hundreds of science projects in which artificial intelligence serves as the primary research tool; the first wave of grants, announced on July 23, 2026, totals $5 billion. According to The Verge, the money flows through federal agencies, including the US Department of Energy (DOE), and targets research in which AI accelerates discovery.

• $5 billion is the size of the first wave of grants
• Hundreds of science projects built on artificial intelligence
• The first grants were announced on July 23, 2026
• Priority areas: AI, robotics, nuclear energy
• The life sciences (medicine, biology) have been deprioritized

The White House compares the scale of the program to the Manhattan Project, in urgency and ambition. Behind the wording is a bet that AI will speed up scientific discovery as radically as the nuclear program of the 1940s transformed physics and the US defense industry.

"Comparable in urgency and ambition to the

Manhattan Project," reads the description of the initiative on the White House website.

Where priorities are shifting

American science priorities are shifting toward artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy, while the life sciences move to the back seat. Trump's science adviser Michael Kratsios said so at a congressional hearing on July 22, 2026, promoting a course he called a "new golden age" of American science.

Deprioritizing the life sciences means that biology, medicine and biomedical research will receive less attention and money under the new configuration of priorities. As The New York Times reports, this is the shift Kratsios described to lawmakers on July 22, 2026, as he pushed for funding of AI, robotics and nuclear energy.

"A new golden age of

American science," is how the president's science adviser Michael Kratsios described the new course at the congressional hearing on July 22, 2026.

Why is it controversial?

The controversy centers on two things: the bet on AI is being set by Michael Kratsios, a presidential science adviser with no scientific training, and the priority on AI and nuclear energy comes at the expense of the life sciences. The Verge describes what is happening as the "tech-broification" of American science, a turn in government priorities in favor of technology industries. The first $5 billion has already been allocated, which sets the direction for years to come. Critics warn that a sharp tilt toward AI and nuclear energy at the expense of biomedicine could weaken the fields where the US has historically led, from drug development to fundamental biology.

What this means

Genesis Mission cements AI as the central tool of US government science: the first-wave $5 billion shows that the Trump administration is investing in research where it sees technological leadership, in artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy, rather than in biomedicine.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Genesis Mission program?

Genesis Mission is a federal initiative of the Trump administration that distributes $5 billion among hundreds of science projects built on artificial intelligence. The first grants were announced on July 23, 2026; the White House compares its scale to the Manhattan Project.

Which areas of science will get priority?

Priority goes to artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy. According to science adviser Michael Kratsios, the life sciences, biology and medicine, are moving to the back seat.

Who sets Trump's science policy?

The course is set by Michael Kratsios, the president's science adviser and head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He has no scientific training, which critics point to.