AI Research for the Public Good
With Empire AI, New York State is first in the nation to establish a consortium of public and private research institutions advancing AI research for the public good at this scale.
About Us
Launched in April 2024 by Governor Kathy Hochul, Empire AI is a bold partnership of New York’s leading public and private universities coming together to establish a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center, housed at SUNY’s University at Buffalo.
Empire AI is already facilitating statewide innovation, research, and development of AI technologies. With Empire AI, New York is now the national model in responsible AI innovation, with its leading research institutions pioneering safe, equitable, and accessible AI research and development that is benefitting every corner of New York.
Consortium Members & Partners
Governance
Empire AI gives its members, including some of New York’s leading colleges and universities, access to high-performance computing power to use for responsible AI research and development.
New York’s academic institutions are focusing on the most interesting problems and challenges that AI is uniquely situated to address, including the challenges that AI itself presents.
Board of Directors
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Robert Harrison
Interim Executive Director
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Stacie Bloom
NYU
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Joshua Brumberg
CUNY
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Elizabeth Fine
Former Counsel, Governor Hochul
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Ian Fisk
Simon Foundation (Observer)
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Douglas Grose
NY CREATES
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Robert Hull
RPI
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Ram Ramasubramanian
SUNY
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Tom Secunda
Bloomberg
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Krystyn Van Vilet
Cornell
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Ben Verschueren
NYSTAR (Observer)
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Jeanette Wing
Columbia
FAQ
Empire AI has established New York as the national model for responsible AI technology. It is facilitating statewide innovation, groundbreaking research, and the development of AI technologies. By leveraging the state’s rich academic resources and research institutions, Empire AI is driving innovation in fields like medicine, education, energy, and climate change, all while giving New York’s researchers access to computing resources that are often prohibitively expensive and only available to big tech companies.
The Empire AI consortium includes seven founding institutions—Columbia University, Cornell University, CUNY, New York University, RPI, SUNY, and the Flatiron Institute.
Right now, access to the computing resources that power AI is prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain, and big tech companies are cornering the market. By providing access to high-performance computing resources, Empire AI empowers academic institutions to focus on AI’s unique capabilities to solve complex problems, including those presented by AI itself, fostering a statewide ecosystem of innovation. This is the first time this kind of computing power will be in the hands of public and research-focused institutions.
Empire AI will allow us to catalyze research using AI technology and foster new jobs in industries we haven’t yet imagined, creating a new sector of AI-powered businesses in New York. Now that New York is a national leader in AI, we can build a workforce prepared for the future with skills that our economy will rely on – advancing medicine, increasing economic growth, preventing crime, mitigating climate change, and enhancing cybersecurity.