NIST Allocates $20 Million to Launch AI Centers for Manufacturing and Critical Infrastructure

USA: NIST Allocates $20 Million to Launch AI Centers for Manufacturing and Critical Infrastructure

The U.S. Commerce Department announced that its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will allocate $20 million to create two artificial‑intelligence centers aimed at boosting manufacturing productivity and securing critical infrastructure. The initiative, unveiled on December 22, 2025, targets the development of AI‑driven tools to enhance U.S. industry competitiveness and protect essential services.

Funding and Strategic Goals

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar said the investment “will help accelerate the application of AI in American manufacturing and help drive the American manufacturing renaissance.” The funding is intended to remove barriers to AI innovation and attract domestic and foreign investment.

Leadership Perspectives

Acting Under Secretary Craig Burkhardt added, “Our goal is to remove barriers to American AI innovation and accelerate the application of our AI technologies around the world.” He emphasized that the centers will focus on high‑value product efficiency and rapid commercialization of new technologies.

AI Economic Security Centers

The AI Economic Security Center for U.S. Manufacturing Productivity and the AI Economic Security Center to Secure U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberthreats will develop technology evaluations, standards, and AI agents designed to counter adversary use of AI and mitigate risks from insecure systems.

Alignment with National AI Strategy

The effort builds on the White House’s July 2025 America’s AI Action Plan, specifically Pillar I (Accelerate AI Innovation) and Pillar II (Build American AI Infrastructure), positioning NIST to coordinate research and deployment of critical technologies.

Public‑Private Partnerships

NIST will collaborate with the MITRE Corporation, leveraging its federally funded research and development center expertise. The partnership extends existing work by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), which conducts voluntary testing of frontier AI models for national security.

Future Initiatives

In the coming months, NIST plans to announce a $70 million award for an AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute under the Manufacturing USA program, aiming to strengthen supply‑chain resilience and further solidify U.S. leadership in AI‑enabled manufacturing.

This report is based on information from NIST, licensed under Public Domain (U.S. Government Work). Source: Official U.S. Government release.