The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a significant new Request for Application (RFA), DE-FOA-0003612, titled the Genesis Mission. This interdisciplinary initiative aims to leverage novel artificial intelligence (AI) models and frameworks to accelerate scientific discovery and R&D workflows across the Department’s mission space. With a total anticipated funding pool of $293.76 million allocated among thirty different Challenge Areas. Of particular interest to the quantum community are Challenge Areas 7 and 8, which focus on the convergence of AI and quantum information science (QIS) to overcome current computational and hardware limitations. The program is structured in two phases to transition from initial proof-of-concept to large-scale team efforts.
Here is a summary of the two Challenge Areas that are focused on quantum tech.
Challenge 7: Discovering Quantum Algorithms with AI
The DOE identifies the discovery of new quantum algorithms as a “highly counter-intuitive” task for human researchers due to the vast complexity of potential quantum operations. This challenge seeks to use AI to automate the design of algorithms that provide a provable quantum advantage.
Key Focus Areas for FY 2026:
- Application-aware Error Correction: Utilizing AI to find efficient error correction codes tailored to specific scientific applications, co-designing hardware and algorithms to mitigate errors that directly impact scientific results.
- Fault-Tolerant Tools: Developing reduced-complexity quantum algorithmic primitives and compilation tools using AI and formal verification.
- Hybrid Quantum-Classical Optimization: Employing agentic AI workflows for quantum chemistry and materials science, moving beyond simple parameter searches to learned representations for many-body simulations.
- Domain-Specific Advantage: Developing algorithms for nonlinear plasma physics and seeking quantum advantage in nuclear and hadronic systems, such as Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (Lattice QCD).
Challenge 8: Realizing Quantum Systems for Discovery
While Challenge 7 focuses on the “software,” Challenge 8 addresses the “hardware” fragility and scalability of quantum systems. The DOE aims to use AI to understand and control the delicate cause-and-effect relationships within quantum sensors, computers, and networks.
Key Focus Areas for FY 2026:
- AI-Enhanced Design: Frameworks to uncover causal relationships that influence performance, leading to refined fabrication processes for quantum devices.
- Scalable Control: Implementing AI-based methods for real-time calibration, noise mitigation, and error correction to provide practical control for a wide variety of users.
- Quantum Sensing & Imaging: Integrating AI into multi-qubit sensors to achieve extreme sensitivity in both laboratory and field environments.
- Networking and Decoherence: Leveraging AI to mitigate decoherence in qubits and ensure the scalability of multi-node quantum processors and network systems.
Program Structure and Teaming
The Genesis Mission emphasizes multi-institutional teaming.
- Phase I: 9-month projects ($500k–$750k) focusing on demonstrating “AI advantage”. Teams must include at least two categories: DOE/NNSA Laboratories, Industry, or Academia/Non-profits.
- Phase II: 3-year projects envisioned at 3 to 5 times the Phase I budget, requiring at least one National Lab and one Industry partner.
Key Dates:
- Informational Webinar: March 26, 2026.
- Phase I Application Deadline: April 28, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.
Additional information about this Genesis Mission announcement is available in a press release available here and a Notice of Request for Application available here.
March 18, 2026