NIST and MITRE Launch Dual AI Centers to Transform American Manufacturing and Infrastructure Security

News Summary

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology has announced a major expansion of its artificial intelligence initiatives through a $20 million investment to establish two new AI research centers in partnership with MITRE Corporation. The announcement was made on December 22, 2025 (Eastern Time), marking a significant step in implementing the White House's America's AI Action Plan.

Two-Pronged AI Security Strategy

The initiative creates two distinct centers: the AI Economic Security Center for U.S. Manufacturing Productivity and the AI Economic Security Center to Secure U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberthreats. Both centers will be operated by MITRE in collaboration with NIST experts, industry partners, and academic institutions.

The manufacturing-focused center aims to revolutionize American industrial production through AI-driven enhancements. It will focus on transforming U.S. manufacturing through AI-driven enhancements in efficiency, quality control, predictive maintenance, supply chain resilience, and innovation. The goal is to enable American manufacturers to produce high-value products more competitively in both domestic and international markets.

The critical infrastructure center addresses one of the nation's most pressing security challenges. This center will develop AI solutions for real-time threat detection, automated incident response, predictive failure analysis, and defense against AI-powered adversarial attacks. It will focus on protecting essential systems including power grids, transportation networks, water supplies, and communications infrastructure.

Strategic Implementation and Leadership

Acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt emphasized the initiative's significance, stating the expanded agreement with MITRE will focus on enhancing the ability of U.S. companies to make high-value products more efficiently while catalyzing discovery and commercialization of new technologies.

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar highlighted the economic implications, noting this investment will help accelerate AI application in American manufacturing and drive a manufacturing renaissance. He emphasized how AI can increase manufacturer competitiveness and attract investment to America.

MITRE President and CEO Mark Peters stated that their partnership with NIST will produce transformational research to accelerate U.S. development and adoption of reliable, secure, and trustworthy AI to ensure America's technological and marketplace dominance.

Technology Focus and Capabilities

The centers will prioritize the development and deployment of agentic AI systems—autonomous software capable of planning and executing complex tasks. The centers will develop the technology evaluations and advancements that are necessary to effectively protect U.S. dominance in AI innovation, address threats from adversaries' use of AI, and reduce risks from reliance on insecure AI.

MITRE will leverage its state-of-the-art AI Lab, Federal AI Sandbox, and publicly available tools including ATLAS, CALDERA, and ATT&CK frameworks to accelerate innovation. The organization's experience operating the National Cybersecurity Federally Funded Research and Development Center for NIST provides a strong foundation for these new initiatives.

Alignment with National Strategy

The initiative aligns with the White House's July 2025 America's AI Action Plan, specifically implementing recommendations from Pillar I: Accelerate AI Innovation and Pillar II: Build American AI Infrastructure. This represents critical first steps in NIST's programmatic plan to coordinate innovation-based research efforts for accelerating development and deployment of critical technologies in national priority areas.

The centers expand NIST's portfolio of AI-focused programs, building on public-private partnerships leveraged by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, which leads evaluations of U.S. and adversary systems and contributes to developing best practices.

Additional Manufacturing Resilience Investment

NIST plans to announce an additional significant investment in the coming months. Through the Manufacturing USA program, NIST will award up to $70 million over five years, with at least matching nonfederal funding, to establish an AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute. This institute will bring together expertise in AI, manufacturing, and supply chain networks to promote manufacturing resilience, representing a total potential investment of at least $140 million when combined with nonfederal contributions.

Industry Perspective and Implementation Challenges

While the federal investment has been welcomed, industry experts emphasize the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement. Cybersecurity professionals note that successful implementation requires ensuring that critical infrastructure operators—those who actually run power grids, water systems, and essential services—have a meaningful seat at the table in translating research insights into workable solutions.

According to MITRE's managing director of the national cybersecurity division Brian Abe, the organization is bringing its full capabilities to bear on the centers' mission, with the goal of making an exponential impact on U.S. manufacturing and critical infrastructure cybersecurity within three years.

Expected Impact and Timeline

NIST expects these AI centers to enable breakthroughs in applied science and advanced technology, delivering disruptive innovative solutions to tackle the nation's most pressing challenges. The initiative is designed to accelerate the transition of AI technologies from research environments into deployable, real-world systems while reducing reliance on insecure or adversarial AI tools.

The combined efforts of both centers, along with the planned Manufacturing USA institute, will enhance NIST's core research, standards, and technology mission to tackle barriers preventing U.S. innovation and leadership in artificial intelligence. This represents a comprehensive federal strategy to maintain American technological dominance in the face of intensifying global AI competition.

Broader Technology Leadership Strategy

This announcement is part of NIST's Strategy for American Technology Leadership in the 21st Century, which aims to accelerate progress in critical and emerging technologies including AI, quantum information science and technology, and biotechnology. The agency plans to use adaptive and flexible partnerships to develop, pilot, and implement new advances to establish U.S. leadership in these strategic technology areas.

The initiative demonstrates a coordinated federal approach to ensuring that American innovation in AI translates into economic competitiveness, national security advantages, and improved quality of life for citizens while establishing safeguards against emerging technological threats.