OpenAI launches ChatGPT Futures: 26 inaugural students receive $10k in funding, spanning more than 20 universities

On May 6, OpenAI announced the first “ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026,” selecting 26 college students who used ChatGPT to complete specific innovative projects. In its official announcement, OpenAI said the selected participants come from more than 20 universities and institutions, spanning MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Yale, Waterloo, Vanderbilt, the University of Toronto, UIUC, and others. Each person will receive a $10k grant and gain access to OpenAI’s cutting-edge model.

The first group of 26: the first generation to use ChatGPT throughout the entire college journey from enrollment to graduation

OpenAI’s definition of the “Class of 2026” is particularly specific: these students entered in the fall of 2022, coinciding with the generation that just happened to encounter the ChatGPT public testing launch, with four years of undergraduate life growing alongside ChatGPT. OpenAI describes them as “the first cohort of students who followed ChatGPT from start to finish.”

The 26 selected participants come from more than 20 universities and institutions, covering top schools in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada: MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Yale, Waterloo, Vanderbilt, the University of Toronto, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and more.

$10k grant per person and access to cutting-edge models

This program provides specific support for the selected entrants:

A $10k cash grant to continue development of students’ existing projects

Access to OpenAI’s cutting-edge model (not specifically disclosed which tier, such as GPT-5.5 or ChatGPT Pro)

OpenAI’s announcement does not explain whether the program is held every year; the first cohort is already described as an “inaugural class.”

The scope of student projects includes: space, disaster search and rescue, endangered languages, and health care.

OpenAI’s announcement lists the selected participants’ project directions:

Space object mapping

Disaster survivor detection

Endangered language preservation

Health care improvements

Broader access to educational resources

Anti-scam and fraud prevention

Waste reduction

In the announcement, OpenAI emphasizes that the common feature of these projects is “using AI to address specific human needs.” The program’s outward impact this time is to link ChatGPT with the “next-generation creator infrastructure,” adding narrative support for promoting OpenAI’s existing education market (including products such as ChatGPT for Students).

Specific events to watch next: whether the works of the 26 selected entrants will be officially showcased in OpenAI’s subsequent activities, whether the program will continue in an extended format such as “Class of 2027” and “Class of 2028,” and the grant disbursement and project outcome verification milestones.

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