OpenAI is launching ChatGPT for Academic Researchers, a program offering free access to its frontier AI models for 100,000 researchers at selected academic institutions. This initiative aims to accelerate scientific discovery by providing powerful tools for tasks ranging from grant writing to hypothesis testing and complex data analysis.

The program begins this summer with 10,000 researchers, including those at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and École normale supérieure (ENS), with plans to expand to 100,000 researchers by 2027. Participants will gain access to advanced models like GPT‑5.6 Sol Pro, along with business-grade privacy protections. Data will not be used for model training by default.

This program is part of OpenAI's commitment of over $250 million through 2027 to support external scientific research. Researchers can leverage these tools for diverse applications, including genomic analysis, protein modeling, literature reviews, and coding. The initiative includes tailored training, support, and opportunities for collaboration and feedback.