# OpenAI announces winners of $1M AI impact research grant program, funding 14 projects

> On August 17, OpenAI named 14 winners of a grant program aimed at studying how AI is reshaping the economy and society. Each selected project receives $1 million in funding plus up to $1 million more in OpenAI model credits, money meant to support research on policy, economic transitions, and responsible deployment. The framing is telling. Rather than another capability release, this is OpenAI funding outside researchers to examine the disruption its own products help create, from labor market shifts to how institutions should adapt. Critics may see a company shaping the research agenda around its interests, while supporters will argue that serious study of AI's societal effects is badly needed and underfunded. Either way, it reflects a broader move by the big labs to invest in the social science of AI, not just the engineering. The projects' findings, if published openly, could feed directly into the policy debates now unfolding over jobs, education, and economic safety nets.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Semafor · Published Tuesday, August 25, 2026_

## Wortins' read

On August 17, OpenAI named 14 winners of a grant program aimed at studying how AI is reshaping the economy and society. Each selected project receives $1 million in funding plus up to $1 million more in OpenAI model credits, money meant to support research on policy, economic transitions, and responsible deployment. The framing is telling. Rather than another capability release, this is OpenAI funding outside researchers to examine the disruption its own products help create, from labor market shifts to how institutions should adapt. Critics may see a company shaping the research agenda around its interests, while supporters will argue that serious study of AI's societal effects is badly needed and underfunded. Either way, it reflects a broader move by the big labs to invest in the social science of AI, not just the engineering. The projects' findings, if published openly, could feed directly into the policy debates now unfolding over jobs, education, and economic safety nets.

## Source

[Read the full story at Semafor](https://www.semafor.com/article/08/17/2026/openai-funds-new-think-tank-projects)

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