Trump launches 'Genesis Mission', calls it a 'Manhattan Project'-like push for AI

The White House on Monday announced a major new national AI initiative called the “Genesis Mission,” launching a Manhattan Project style effort led by the Department of Energy to unify America’s top supercomputers, scientific datasets and automated laboratories into a single platform that officials say will accelerate discovery, strengthen national security and keep the United States ahead in the global artificial intelligence race.

The initiative marks one of the most sweeping federal science directives in recent years, signalling how central artificial intelligence has become to US geopolitical and technological strategy.

According to experts, Washington now sees AI as the key battleground that will shape leadership in defence, energy, advanced manufacturing and future industries.

Under the executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the Department of Energy will create an integrated national AI platform capable of dramatically speeding up scientific research.

The DOE, which oversees the country’s most powerful supercomputers and national laboratories, has been placed at the core of this effort.

The administration is directly comparing the Genesis Mission to the Manhattan Project.

That wartime programme brought together the nation’s top scientists, secret research sites and industrial resources under one unified mission.

Officials say a similar coordinated effort is required today to compete in AI-driven science, where countries including China are rapidly expanding their capabilities.

The mission will connect federal high-performance computing systems, secure cloud AI environments, robotic and automated laboratories and decades of government scientific data into one secure, AI-enabled research platform.

This system is intended to do more than analyse information.

It will run experiments, test scientific ideas, simulate materials and energy systems, design new technologies and automate entire research workflows across fields such as fusion energy, biotechnology, semiconductors, quantum science and critical materials.

The timelines set out in the executive order show how urgent the effort is.

The Energy Department has 60 days to identify at least 20 national science and technology challenges where AI could deliver major breakthroughs.

It must also produce, within 90 days, a full map of federal and partner computing, storage and networking resources that can support the platform.

And within 270 days, the administration expects a working demonstration showing that AI can deliver scientific results that traditional methods cannot.

To protect sensitive research, the order includes strict security requirements.

Only approved partners, including national labs, universities and selected private companies will gain access to the platform.

All participants must follow uniform cybersecurity, classification, privacy and export-control standards.

The broader aim is to compress decades of scientific discovery into a much shorter time frame and reinforce America’s technological leadership.

The statement by the White House says the Genesis Mission represents a significant reorganisation of the country’s research infrastructure around artificial intelligence and a clear sign of how seriously the United States is preparing for the global AI competition.