Bezos Earth Fund awards $30M for AI climate projects
Bezos fund enlists Big Tech to put AI to work for the planet
Introduction
The Bezos Earth Fund is betting that newer, more efficient artificial intelligence can help tackle environmental crises. The philanthropy announced $30 million in grants for 15 university and nonprofit teams worldwide, aiming to apply AI to biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and climate risk—despite ongoing concerns over AI’s energy and water footprint.
Inside the AI Grand Challenge
The awards are part of the fund’s multiyear, $100 million AI Grand Challenge, launched in April 2024. That first phase provided $1.2 million in $50,000 planning grants to 24 groups to develop “AI‑ready” proposals. The 15 teams selected from that cohort will now receive $2 million each over two years to scale projects.
Big Tech partners and practical goals
Created with a $10 billion commitment from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Earth Fund has recruited major tech players to mentor and equip grantees: Nvidia, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft Research, the nonprofit Allen Institute for AI (AI2), GIS software maker Esri, and Amazon Web Services. The idea is to pair domain experts in conservation and climate science with cutting‑edge tools and technical support.
Amen Ra Mashariki, the fund’s director of AI and a former senior principal scientist at Nvidia, said the goal is to make AI a practical driver of environmental impact—measured in speed, scale, accuracy, precision, and efficiency—rather than an end in itself.
Project highlights across continents
- The New York Botanical Garden: Using computer vision to automate plant species identification.
- University of Leeds (England): Building an AI platform to convert food waste into microbial protein.
- University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg): Developing an AI‑powered weather forecasting toolkit tailored to Africa.
From hype to outcomes
“Technology only matters if it’s used to do something useful,” said Esri program manager Lauren Bennett, who noted that many applicants already rely on Esri’s software and are focused on real conservation outcomes, not AI hype.
— Lauren Bennett, Program Manager, Esri
Esri hosted technology‑transfer sessions, and product engineer Kevin Butler said the company helped teams explore how spatial analysis could sharpen their storytelling and analytics.
Philosophy in action: fisheries monitoring
That philosophy is reflected in examples like the Nature Conservancy’s fisheries monitoring. The organization has long used electronic systems to deter illegal or improper ocean catches, including protected species. With new support, it will deploy edge AI using Nvidia Jetson devices on vessels to identify and track catches as they come aboard, increasing coverage and efficiency while keeping processing close to where data is generated.
Mentorship, tools, and ongoing support
Participating tech companies are offering mentoring, free or discounted tools, and professional services. The Earth Fund’s AI unit will also advise grantees, alongside program directors in biodiversity and climate—positioning the fund as a partner as much as a financier.
Conclusion
As scrutiny grows over AI’s environmental footprint, the Earth Fund is pushing to harness modern, more efficient AI for measurable conservation and climate gains. The next two years will test whether this partnership model—pairing Big Tech resources with on‑the‑ground expertise—can deliver results at scale.
