NIST and MITRE Launch $20 Million AI Research Centers to Protect U.S. Manufacturing and Critical Infrastructure

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a new partnership with The MITRE Corporation to establish two artificial intelligence–focused research centers under a $20 million initiative. The effort will explore advanced AI applications, with a strong emphasis on how emerging technologies could reshape cybersecurity for U.S. critical infrastructure.

According to NIST, one of the new centers will concentrate on advanced manufacturing, while the other — the AI Economic Security Center to Secure U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberthreats — will directly address the protection of essential services such as water, power, internet and other foundational systems against AI-driven cyber risks. The centers are expected to accelerate the creation and deployment of AI-enabled tools, including agentic AI technologies.

“The centers will develop the technology evaluations and advancements that are necessary to effectively protect U.S. dominance in AI innovation, address threats from adversaries’ use of AI, and reduce risks from reliance on insecure AI,” spokesperson Jennifer Huergo wrote in an agency release.

These initiatives are part of a broader federal strategy to establish AI research hubs at NIST, some of which were launched prior to the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the

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