• Meta has announced the launch of the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants.
• The initiative aims to support innovative use cases of open-source AI to address critical global challenges.
• Meta is making up to $500 000 in funding available to organisations worldwide via the Impact Grants.

Last month Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, unpacked his thoughts when it comes to generative AI and the role that open-source will play for the pervasive technology.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Meta has announced  the launch of the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants, which are designed to support innovative use cases of open-source AI to address critical global challenges.

The Llama 3.1 Impact Grants will provide up to $2 million in funding to organisations worldwide, Meta confirmed, with the program inviting proposals from organisations with ideas for using Llama 3.1 to address social challenges in their communities.

“Applications in areas such as economic development, science and innovation, public service and more will be given special consideration. Selected recipients will receive up to $500 000 and winners will be announced early next year,” Meta explained in a release shared with Hypertext.

“We’re inspired by the diverse projects we’ve seen developers undertake around the world to positively impact their communities by building with Llama. We believe AI has more potential than any other modern technology to increase human productivity, creativity, and quality of life—and to accelerate economic growth while unlocking progress in medical and scientific research,” noted Kojo Boakye, Meta VP of Public Policy for Africa, the Middle East, and Turkiye.

To support prospective applicants, Meta also confirmed that it will host a series of regional events, including virtual events, in-person hackathons, workshops, and training sessions, with Sub-Saharan Africa mentioned as one of the regions.

The yet-to-be detailed events will provide technical guidance and mentorship in terms of the development of impactful applications of Llama 3.1 within local contexts. Organisations participating in these events will be eligible for additional specialised awards of up to $100 000 too.

“Today, several tech companies are developing leading closed models. But open source is quickly closing the gap. Last year, Llama 2 was only comparable to an older generation of models behind the frontier. This year, Llama 3 is competitive with the most advanced models and leading in some areas,” shared Zuckerberg in a blog post a couple of weeks ago.

“As the community grows and more companies develop new services, we can collectively make Llama the industry standard and bring the benefits of AI to everyone. Meta is committed to open source AI,” he concluded.

Applications are open from today and close on 22nd November 2024. The criteria by which proposals will be assessed, can be found here.

To submit your proposal before the closing date, as well as find out more about the Impact Grants, head here.