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$20 Million Partnership with MITRE Aims to Boost American Factories and Protect Critical Systems from Cyber Threats
The United States just made a big move in the race for AI leadership. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has teamed up with MITRE Corporation to create two brand new AI research centers. The goal is simple but powerful: help American factories work smarter and keep the country’s critical infrastructure safe from hackers.
NIST is putting $20 million on the table to get these centers up and running. It’s part of a bigger plan to make sure the U.S. stays ahead in artificial intelligence while other countries are pushing hard to catch up. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar said this money will help speed up how quickly American manufacturers can use AI tools in their day to day operations.
The two centers have different jobs but work toward the same mission. One focuses on making U.S. manufacturing more productive. The other tackles a problem that keeps security experts up at night: protecting power grids, water systems, and other essential services from cyber attacks that use AI.
Here’s why this matters. Manufacturing is changing fast. Companies that figure out how to use AI well will make better products, waste less money, and move faster than their competitors. The AI Economic Security Center for U.S. Manufacturing Productivity will help businesses do exactly that by creating tools they can actually use, not just research papers that sit on shelves.
The second center has an equally important mission. It will work on real time threat detection, automated responses to attacks, and analyzing huge amounts of data to spot emerging risks before they become disasters. Think about what happens when a power grid goes down or water treatment systems get hacked. These aren’t just inconveniences but serious threats to public safety.
MITRE brings decades of experience running government research centers to this partnership. The organization will use its AI Lab, Federal AI Sandbox, and well known cybersecurity frameworks to push these projects forward quickly. Acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt said the work will help American companies make valuable products more efficiently while meeting demand both at home and overseas.
This announcement is just the beginning. NIST plans to roll out another major initiative soon called the AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute. That project will get up to $70 million in federal funding over five years, with private companies matching that amount. The institute will bring together experts in AI, manufacturing, and supply chains to make American industry tougher and more flexible when problems hit.
All of this connects to the White House’s America’s AI Action Plan from July 2025. The government wants to speed up AI innovation and build the infrastructure the country needs to lead in this technology. These new centers are a concrete step toward making that happen, turning big ideas into tools that businesses can use tomorrow, not someday in the distant future.
