The Bezos Earth Fund announced a significant new commitment today, awarding $30 million in grants to fifteen global teams as part of its AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge. Each team will receive up to $2 million to scale up real-world artificial intelligence solutions designed to combat biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity. This investment marks the second phase of the challenge, which was launched in 2024 with a total commitment of up to $100 million to find breakthrough applications of AI to protect the planet. The selected projects span five continents, illustrating a global, multi-faceted approach to leveraging technology for environmental good.
The innovative solutions chosen are remarkably diverse, ranging from deep-sea mapping to optimizing clean energy grids. For instance, teams from Cornell University and the Wildlife Conservation Society will use AI to deploy edge AI—a form of computer vision—to detect poaching, monitor biodiversity via sound, and map climate-resilient coral reefs, respectively. Addressing global food systems, a team is developing a “Rumen Digital Twin” to model and reduce methane emissions from livestock, while another is focusing on applying neural networks to speed up cultivated meat production. Other critical projects include Yale University’s work on an AI-enabled model to predict the carbon removal potential of ocean interventions, and a University of Witwatersrand initiative to create FineCast, an AI-powered weather forecasting toolkit for Africa designed to aid climate-resilient agriculture.
These Phase II awardees were selected after a competitive global innovation sprint, building on the success of an initial phase that funded early-stage concepts. Dr. Andrew Steer, CEO of the Earth Fund, emphasized the transformative potential, stating, “AI can be a powerful ally to help make the world a better place. These projects show how AI, when developed responsibly and guided by science, can strengthen environmental action, support communities, and ensure its overall impact on the planet is net positive.” The winning teams—which include prominent institutions like The Nature Conservancy, Yale University, and The New York Botanical Garden—will now implement their solutions over the next several years, transforming ideas from concept into tangible, scalable environmental impact. This funding is expected to accelerate a new wave of environmental leadership, proving that directed technological innovation can help people and nature thrive in harmony.
