Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society

What Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society does

MIDAS (Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society) is a university-wide research institute at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, founded in 2015 and renamed in 2024 to reflect its expanded focus on AI. Operating as a unit of the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research, the institute advances data science and AI across disciplines by providing research funding (the Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) grant program and the NSF-funded Center for Data-Driven Drug Development and Treatment Assessment), delivering research support services (AI Sandbox, AI Consultation, AI in Research Handbook, Clinical Trial Randomization Tool, Reproducibility Hub), and operating multiple training programs: four postdoctoral fellowships (Schmidt AI in Science, Michigan Data Science, Schmidt African Faculty, and Postdoctoral Affiliates), a Graduate Data Science Certificate, Summer Academies, the NIH-funded DAIR3 nationwide bootcamp, and the global AI for Science in Africa Virtual Course.

The institute serves a community of 750+ affiliated faculty from all U-M schools and colleges across the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses, 180 staff scientists coordinated through the Staff Collective for Data Science spanning 70 campus units, and 1,000+ graduate and undergraduate students participating in the Student Organizations Council and the Faculty-Student Research Connection. To date, MIDAS has seeded 113 PODS teams with more than $13 million in funding, generating $239 million+ in follow-on external funding and enabling 195 externally funded research projects. Governance is anchored by a Management Committee and External Advisory Board, with H.V. Jagadish serving as Director (currently on leave) and Jing Liu as Executive Director.

MIDAS's revenue model is built on university allocations and a portfolio of restricted grants: NSF funding for the Center for DATA and the NSF/MSR/Microsoft/Detroit Collaborative Design project, NIH funding for DAIR3, Schmidt Sciences funding for the AI in Science postdoctoral programs, and corporate partnership contributions, most notably Microsoft's $600,000 commitments in each of 2024 and 2025 for PODS projects on AI policy and societal impact. Go-to-market is community-led rather than sales-driven, distributed through annual events (Data Science & AI Summit, AI in Research Symposium, AI & Mental Health Symposium), biweekly newsletters, the AI Digest, and the Faculty Research Connections and AI Sandbox programs.

Name

Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society

Legal name

Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society

Website

https://midas.umich.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MIDAS is a University of Michigan research institute that advances data science and AI across disciplines by providing research funding, postdoctoral training, AI consulting, and education programs to 750+ affiliated faculty, 1,000+ students, and 50+ public and private sector partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Institute

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Support Services (611710), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support (EDAMAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Integration, API & Middleware Consulting (BPAHAEAJ)

Keywords

• Data science research
• AI research institute
• Postdoctoral fellowship programs
• Research grant funding
• Faculty research support

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. NSF Research Funding: National Science Foundation funding through programs including the Center for Data-Driven Drug Development and Treatment Assessment (DATA), an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, and RDSV/EAGER grants for collaborative research projects.
2. Corporate Partnership Grants: Microsoft provided $600,000 in 2024 and $600,000 in 2025 to support Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) projects focusing on AI policy, regulatory compliance, and societal impact research.
3. Schmidt Sciences Fellowship Funding: Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science programs funded by Schmidt Sciences, including postdoctoral fellowships and African Faculty Fellowships supporting AI-enabled research development.
4. NIH Training Program Funding: National Institutes of Health funding supporting the DAIR3 program (Data and AI Intensive Research with Rigor and Reproducibility) for biomedical researchers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

MIDAS is a university-wide research institute that advances data science and AI research across disciplines. It provides research funding through PODS grants and the NSF-funded Center for DATA, supports faculty with AI Consultation and AI Sandbox resources, runs four postdoctoral fellowship programs and a Graduate Data Science Certificate, and develops tools including the Clinical Trial Randomization Tool and the Reproducibility Hub.

Product overview

MIDAS (Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society) is a university-wide research institute offering a comprehensive portfolio of research support, training programs, and collaborative initiatives. The core offerings include: AI Sandbox and AI Consultation services providing hands-on learning and faculty support; the Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) grants and Center for DATA (Data-Driven Drug Development) funding research; four postdoctoral programs (Schmidt AI in Science, Michigan Data Science, African Faculty Fellowship, and Postdoctoral Affiliates); Graduate Data Science Certificate and Summer Academies for training; and AI for Science in Africa virtual course for global reach. Supporting infrastructure includes the Clinical Trial Randomization Tool, Reproducibility Hub, and Faculty-Student Research Connection. The institute also hosts the Annual Data Science & AI Summit, AI in Research Symposium, and ongoing lecture series. These offerings work together to advance data science and AI across disciplines for scientific and societal impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 113 PODS teams funded with $13M+, generating $239M+ in follow-on external funding
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Microsoft has provided $600,000 in 2024 and $600,000 in 2025 to support MIDAS Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) projects focused on enhancing AI policy, developing technical solutions for regulatory compliance, and evaluating AI's societal impact. Funded projects include AI systems to combat non-consensual intimate media, human-AI frameworks for responsible AI research, and fairness methods for educational predictive models.
• Michigan State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner institution in the AI & Mental Health initiative, collaborating with MIDAS and campus units on mental health research using AI methodologies.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022NSF funds the Center for Data-Driven Drug Development and Treatment Assessment (DATA) under award number 2209546 as an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center. NSF also provided RDSV/EAGER grants supporting the Collaborative Design of Data and AI Systems project with Microsoft and City of Detroit.
• City of DetroitmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIDAS collaborates with the City of Detroit's data team through the NSF-funded Collaborative Design of Data and AI Systems project, bringing together U-M researchers, Microsoft, and Detroit officials to co-design research and development directions for data and AI systems.
• Academic Data Science AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIDAS is a founding member of the Academic Data Science Alliance, a national organization for data science centers, institutes, and programs, providing leadership in advancing data science and AI across academia.
• Midwest Big Data Innovation HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIDAS is a leading member of the NSF-funded Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, contributing to regional data science collaboration and innovation initiatives.
• Jackson State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the DAIR3 training program on Data- and AI-Intensive Research with Rigor and Reproducibility, contributing to minority-serving institutions' data science and AI research capacity building.
• University of Texas San AntoniomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the DAIR3 training program, hosting bootcamp sessions and collaborating on national training efforts for research rigor and reproducibility in data science.
• College of William and MaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDAIR3 program team and instructor institution contributing faculty expertise to the nationwide training program on research rigor and reproducibility.
• AmazonminorOthersIndustry collaborator participating in MIDAS research and training events, talent recruitment, and workforce development initiatives.
• Google CloudminorOthersIndustry collaborator providing cloud resources and partnership for data science and AI research initiatives.
• Ford Motor CompanyminorOthersIndustry collaborator in MIDAS research and talent recruitment initiatives for data science and AI workforce development.
• General MotorsminorOthersIndustry collaborator in MIDAS research and talent recruitment initiatives for data science and AI workforce development.
• BASFminorOthersIndustry collaborator in MIDAS research and workforce development initiatives in data science and AI.
• Domino'sminorOthersIndustry collaborator in MIDAS research and workforce development initiatives for data science and AI.
• Procter & GambleminorOthersIndustry collaborator in MIDAS research and workforce development initiatives for data science and AI.
• African Studies Center (U-M)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides extensive support and guidance for the Schmidt African Faculty Fellowship program, managing fellowship operations and facilitating African institutional partnerships.
• African Center for Aquatic Research and EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization under the African Faculty Fellowship program supporting African researchers in AI-enabled science.
• Masakhane Research FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican research institution partner supporting AI in Science initiatives and capacity building on the African continent.
• Science for Africa FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting African scientific research and AI capacity building initiatives.
• African Academy of ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan-African scientific organization partner in African Faculty Fellowship program supporting AI research development.
• Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (U-M)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerU-M Engineering collaborator in Schmidt AI in Science program, contributing AI methodology expertise to postdoctoral training.
• Michigan Center for Applied and Interdisciplinary MathematicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerU-M research center collaborating on AI in Science postdoctoral training initiatives.
• Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery & EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerU-M computational research institute collaborating on AI in Science postdoctoral training initiatives.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS): University-based data science research institute advancing data-intensive discovery across disciplines. Directly comparable to MIDAS in faculty affiliate model, training programs, and reproducibility-focused research support.
• NYU Center for Data Science: University-based data science center offering MS/PhD programs, postdoctoral training, and cross-disciplinary research. Comparable to MIDAS in the breadth of its degree, training, and faculty affiliate offerings.
• Allen Institute for AI (AI2): Non-profit AI research institute producing open-source AI research, tools, and models. Comparable to MIDAS in its mission-driven, non-profit approach to advancing AI research with training and societal impact focus.
• Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI): University-based AI research institute with affiliated faculty, industry partnerships, training programs, and a focus on AI in society. Closely comparable to MIDAS in mission, structure, and operational model, though larger and better funded.
• Harvard Data Science Initiative: University-wide data science initiative at Harvard supporting faculty research, training, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Closely mirrors MIDAS's structure of affiliated faculty, seed funding, and industry partnerships.
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing: University-wide computing and AI research and education hub at MIT. Comparable to MIDAS as an academic AI institute with industry partnerships, postdoctoral training, and AI-society research initiatives.
• Vector Institute (University of Toronto): AI research institute affiliated with a major university, focused on AI research, training, and industry partnerships. Comparable to MIDAS in its academic-anchored AI research and talent development model.
• Columbia University Data Science Institute: University-wide data science institute offering MS programs, training, and research support across disciplines. Comparable to MIDAS in its educational training programs and cross-disciplinary data science research mission.

Emerging players

• Open Data Science Conference (ODSC): Training and conference organization focused on data science and AI education. Comparable to MIDAS in its event-driven training and community-building model, though commercially organized rather than university-anchored.
• Princeton Center for Statistics and Machine Learning: University-based research center supporting statistics and ML research and training across disciplines. Comparable to MIDAS in its university-hosted model for advancing AI/ML research and training, but smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/um_midas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQJNvq6i65HPmYTw9pdfb6A/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michigan-institute-for-data-science-midas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society