The Department of Energy is creating a new class of science-specific, open-weight AI models through its recently launched Genesis Open Models Initiative, and is collecting information from organizations interested in partnering. Contributions are welcome across the development lifecycle, from foundational systems to domain-specific datasets and fine-tuning. The agency stated the models aim to provide researchers, national laboratories, industry partners, and the open science community with adaptable AI models, and that releasing open-weights seeks to galvanize the scientific and AI communities around shared infrastructure. The first model, Genesis-Science-1, is under development with U.S.-based open intelligence lab Arcee working alongside DOE scientists. Darío Gil, DOE undersecretary for science and Genesis Mission director, said the model is trained on the real work of the national laboratories. The initiative is the newest branch of the Genesis Mission, which includes goals to stand up supercomputers, launch a national platform, and double the productivity of the country’s research-and-development budget. The mission also includes Quantum Genesis, announced in June. DOE sees the project as lowering barriers to advanced AI capabilities for the public good. Interested organizations can apply by the end of this week for foundation-stage development, while groups assisting with post-training data and environments are encouraged to apply by Aug. 25, with additional deadlines expected every three months.