Universities and partners will tailor AI-driven weather models for national meteorological agencies and translate forecasts into actionable guidance through trusted channels and platforms, including Digital Green’s FarmerChat.

The initiative aims to scale from successful pilots to large-scale, sustainable delivery to boost climate resilience and raise farm incomes among smallholder farmers.

The OpenAI Foundation investment totals 60 million dollars and spans partners such as the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, Precision Development, Digital Green, and CIMMYT, targeting reach to 100 million smallholder farmers over three years.

Smallholder farmers account for about a third of global food production but often lack timely, localized information for planting, harvesting, and disease management, which AI-powered forecasts seek to supply.

Leading thinker Paul Winters, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Sustainable Development, directs AIM for Scale, which has previous support from the UAE Presidential Court’s International Affairs Office and the Gates Foundation.

AIM for Scale, based at the University of Notre Dame, received a 10 million dollar grant from the OpenAI Foundation to expand AI-powered weather services to millions of farmers in South and Southeast Asia and East Africa.

CIMMYT will receive a sub-grant to bolster AI-enabled crop disease forecasting, leveraging AI and NASA Earth observation data to spot potential outbreaks earlier.

The effort is aimed at moving AI-driven weather insights from pilots to sustainable national-scale delivery through collaboration with governments, multilateral banks, academia, and implementing partners.

Digital Green will embed forecasts into FarmerChat and use farmer feedback to refine forecasting and advisory services.