A $50 million initiative from The Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI Foundation is opening a global funding call for AI solutions for public services. Launched on October 14, 2026, Cities Deliver will support nonprofit and civil society organizations working with city governments, with grants intended to reach up to 100 million city residents worldwide.
Key takeaways
- Cities Deliver offers grants of $500,000 to $2 million.
- Applicants need a committed city government partner and a frontier AI component.
- The funding covers health, economic mobility, environmental resilience and civic engagement.
- Applications close on November 29, 2026.
According to the launch release published by PR Newswire, the program seeks projects that can measurably improve public-service access and quality. Applicants can choose the AI models and products that suit their work; there is no requirement or preference to use OpenAI technology.
Funding AI solutions for public services
Through an international open call, Cities Deliver will offer $500,000 to $2 million for each grant. The application window runs from October 14 through November 29, 2026, and those who pass the first round of review will be asked to move forward to the subsequent selection phase.
Every project must have an eligible organization leading it, a city government committed to collaboration and a charitable purpose. Solutions must include a meaningful frontier AI component, using recent models for complex tasks, and can combine those capabilities with existing municipal systems.
The four funding areas cover distinct services. Public health includes frontline care, disease surveillance, prevention, disability services, food access and nutrition. Economic mobility includes benefits enrollment, career guidance, skills-based hiring and training aligned with employers.
Environmental resilience covers forecasting, withstanding and recovering from environmental shocks, including emergency services, energy infrastructure and land management. Civic engagement includes two-way service channels, participatory decisions, digital access, courts and permitting. Voting and election projects are excluded.
Earlier city projects set the starting point
Cities Deliver builds on work in Cali, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro supported by The Rockefeller Foundation. That work followed a 2023 gathering organized with OpenAI, bringing together more than 40 civic leaders from six continents and academic, philanthropic and nonprofit partners.
Participants identified a need for talent, tools and resources to use AI responsibly. Afterward, the foundation directed funding toward initiatives based in Cali, Colombia; Cape Town, South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Among the anticipated follow-on grants are plans to scale up Rio’s AI-driven flood-warning system, broaden Dengue.AI’s capacity for predicting outbreaks, and grow Cape Town’s platform for engaging residents. The Cape Town expansion would extend the platform’s reach within the city and beyond.
Funding, shared learning and technical networks
The initiative combines philanthropic grants with shared learning and access to city leaders and technical partners to support AI solutions for public services. The release identifies high implementation costs and uncertainty about data protection as barriers to municipal AI adoption.
It cites UN estimates for 2025 that put 45% of the world’s 8.2 billion people in cities. RF Catalytic Capital, an affiliate of The Rockefeller Foundation, manages Cities Deliver.
Foundations and mayors describe the work
Foundation leaders describe the initiative as an expansion of existing city partnerships. Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, said it opens work developed in Cali, Cape Town, Rio and elsewhere to institutions globally. Anna Makanju, Head of Civil Society & Philanthropy at OpenAI Foundation, emphasized pairing AI capabilities with local expertise.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis described resident-engagement tools supporting voice and text in residents’ own languages. Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said the Dengue AI solution helps anticipate outbreaks up to three weeks in advance, strengthening prevention efforts benefiting more than 2.2 million citizens.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere credited the partnership with Columbia University and The Rockefeller Foundation for advancing flood-risk management. He described an AI-powered WhatsApp alert system protecting vulnerable populations in Acari and Jardim Maravilha.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.