In September 2024, the National Science Foundation announced a new $20 million NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (NSF-Simons CosmicAI) that will be co-directed by CIIR Alum Matthew Lease. According to UT-Austin, the Institute's "mission is to develop AI technologies for astronomical research to advance our understanding of the cosmos and accelerate the pace of new scientific discoveries." Dr. Lease is a Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. from Brown University while being co-advised by CIIR Director James Allan.