OpenAI AI and Teen Development Research Grant Program 2026

OpenAI has opened a research grant programme focused on how teenagers use generative artificial intelligence and what that use means for their development. Applications opened on 8 September 2026 and close on 6 October 2026.

The programme is aimed at researchers who can produce evidence quickly. Individual awards run up to USD 1,000,000, and the programme expects a working draft of results within 12 months of funding.

Who can apply. The call is open to all nationalities. Applicants must be affiliated with a research institution or organisation, or bring substantial experience in child and adolescent development, well-being, human-computer interaction or the impact of artificial intelligence. Postdoctoral researchers and established professionals are the intended audience, and proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis rather than all at once after the close.

What the panel is looking for. Priority goes to work that explains how patterns of teenage use relate to developmental outcomes, how effects differ across ages, cultures, languages and socioeconomic contexts, and which design choices and safeguards make a measurable difference. Studies that combine technical and social perspectives fit the call well.

For researchers on the continent this is one of the few large technology grants with no nationality restriction and no requirement to relocate. The money funds the research itself rather than a placement, so a team based at a university here can apply on the same terms as anyone else.

Applications go through the official grant portal. Read the eligibility notes on the official page before starting, and allow time for institutional sign-off, which is usually the slowest part of a grant submission.