Google DeepMind and Google Cloud will give up to 200 European scientific researchers direct access to their frontier AI models, along with $3 million in compute credits, the US technology giant said on Wednesday. The programme gives researchers hands-on access to scientific tools including AlphaFold 3, WeatherNext, AlphaGenome, AlphaEvolve and AlphaEarth Foundations. Google said the effort is designed to help scientists work through difficult problems faster, from predicting extreme weather to mapping molecular structures.
What researchers get Participants will be able to run their own experiments on models that are usually only available inside Google's own labs, plus a share of the $3 million in cloud compute to fund their work.
Why Europe, why now The announcement lands as governments and labs race to secure access to cutting-edge AI for public research. European policymakers have pushed for more local access to powerful models, and the grant-style credits lower one of the biggest barriers for academic teams: the cost of computing.
What to watch Google has not yet said how the 200 researchers will be selected or when the first projects will begin. Early results from AlphaFold-style programmes suggest the biggest gains could come in life sciences and climate modelling.
Sources: Reuters — Google DeepMind, Google Cloud to allow European researchers access to frontier models
What researchers get Participants will be able to run their own experiments on models that are usually only available inside Google's own labs, plus a share of the $3 million in cloud compute to fund their work.
Why Europe, why now The announcement lands as governments and labs race to secure access to cutting-edge AI for public research. European policymakers have pushed for more local access to powerful models, and the grant-style credits lower one of the biggest barriers for academic teams: the cost of computing.
What to watch Google has not yet said how the 200 researchers will be selected or when the first projects will begin. Early results from AlphaFold-style programmes suggest the biggest gains could come in life sciences and climate modelling.
Sources: Reuters — Google DeepMind, Google Cloud to allow European researchers access to frontier models
