backSummary
On December 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced a $20 million award to establish two new AI centers in partnership with the nonprofit MITRE Corporation, a non-profit organization supporting research and development initiatives related to national security. These centers are designed to accelerate AI deployment in U.S. manufacturing and strengthen cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. The initiative is a key step in implementing America’s AI Action Plan and reinforces U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and innovation through public–private collaboration, technical evaluations, and standards development.
Strategic Rationale and Initiative Overview
As part of its broader strategy to reinforce American technology leadership as defined in its Strategy for American Technology Leadership in the 21st Century, NIST is launching two AI Economic Security Centers:
- AI Center for U.S. Manufacturing Productivity
- AI Center to Secure U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberthreats
These centers will drive the adoption of AI-driven tools (or “agents”), advance technical evaluations for AI safety and security, and support the development of best practices. The initiative builds on NIST’s ongoing collaboration with MITRE and aligns with the July 2025 America’s AI Action Plan. The centers complement the existing Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), formerly the U.S. AI Safety Institute, which evaluates U.S. and adversary systems and supports best practices development.
Key Takeaways for In-House Counsel and Corporate Management
- Opportunities for Engagement: Organizations in manufacturing and critical infrastructure should anticipate increased opportunities around pilots, evaluations, and adoption of AI agents to improve productivity and cyber resilience. NIST recently led a public-private partnership through the AI Safety Institute Consortium workshop on Tool Use in Agent Systems. In its August 2025 'lessons learned' update, NIST reported that over 140 experts attended and proposed multiple approaches for developing a taxonomy of AI agent tool us.
- Strategic Positioning: Participation in NIST initiatives can help shape benchmarks, align with emerging best practices, and prepare for future procurement, regulatory, and assurance requirements related to AI.
- Upcoming Funding: Monitor NIST’s forthcoming AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute award of $70 million, which will be granted to selected applicants from the July 22, 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity. This initiative may offer pathways for consortia participation and cost-shared projects to strengthen supply chain resilience.
Next Steps
- Monitor NIST Announcements: Stay informed about NIST’s ongoing deliverables, including guidance on AI trustworthiness, secure development, and global standards engagement.
- Evaluate Internal Readiness: Assess your organization’s readiness to participate in pilots, contribute to standards development, and comply with evolving AI evaluation regimes.
- Consider Partnerships: Explore opportunities for public–private collaboration to leverage advances in AI, quantum information science, and biotechnology.
By collaborating with MITRE, NIST aims for the new AI centers to drive innovation and deliver transformative solutions in AI, quantum information science, and biotechnology, addressing key national challenges and priorities.