This week, President Trump signed an executive order that's being compared to the Manhattan Project in its scope and ambition. Called The Genesis Mission, the order establishes a national effort to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery through unprecedented public-private collaboration, with significant implications for companies investing in artificial intelligence research and development.
For businesses already navigating the complex landscape of R&D tax credits, this executive order signals both opportunity and validation: The federal government is recognizing AI innovation as essential to American competitiveness, while creating new pathways for companies to leverage their research investments.
What the Genesis Mission Actually Does
At its core, the Genesis Mission creates an integrated AI platform to harness federal scientific datasets and train foundation models that can accelerate scientific breakthroughs. The initiative brings together national laboratories, universities, and private sector partners to tackle challenges in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear energy, quantum computing, and semiconductors.
The Department of Energy will establish the "American Science and Security Platform," which is a unified infrastructure providing high-performance computing resources, AI modeling frameworks, and access to federal datasets. Within the next 90 days, the Secretary of Energy must identify computing resources available to support the program, including resources available through industry partners.
This isn't just about government laboratories working in isolation. The executive order explicitly directs the establishment of mechanisms for collaboration with external partners possessing advanced AI, data, or computing capabilities, opening doors for businesses of all sizes to participate in federally-supported AI research.
The Public-Private Partnership Opportunity
The Genesis Mission represents a fundamental shift in how the federal government approaches AI development. Rather than creating barriers between public research and private innovation, the executive order encourages integration.
The Secretary of Energy is directed to develop standardized partnership frameworks, including cooperative research agreements and data-sharing arrangements, while establishing clear policies for intellectual property ownership and commercialization. For companies already investing heavily in AI research, this could mean access to computing resources, datasets, and collaborative opportunities that were previously unavailable.
The emphasis on public-private partnerships also reinforces what many innovative companies already know: AI development is expensive, technically challenging, and requires sustained investment. Which is exactly where federal support mechanisms—including R&D tax credits—become essential.
AI Development Already Qualifies for R&D Tax Credits
While the Genesis Mission creates new collaborative infrastructure, companies don't need to wait for federal partnerships to receive support for their AI investments. The federal R&D tax credit already provides substantial benefits for AI-related research and development activities.
AI development frequently meets the IRS's four-part test for qualifying research activities. Whether you're training new models, fine-tuning existing ones, building integration systems, creating data pipelines, or designing AI-powered tools for specific applications, these activities can generate significant R&D tax credit benefits.
The credit applies to qualified research expenses including employee wages for engineers and researchers, contractor costs, cloud computing resources directly tied to experimentation, and supplies used in development. For many AI-focused companies, these credits can offset 6-10% of qualified spending, while qualifying startupscan apply up to $500,000 can against payroll taxes annually.
Documentation Matters More Than Ever
The Genesis Mission's emphasis on creating comprehensive systems of record for AI research aligns with an important trend in R&D tax credit compliance: The IRS increasingly expects contemporaneous documentation of research activities.
In recent guidance and court cases, the IRS has made clear that it expects detailed, real-time documentation rather than reconstructed narratives created months after research concludes. For AI companies, this means tracking technical challenges, experimental approaches, and iterative development processes as they happen (ie. not just during tax season).
This shift toward rigorous documentation requirements actually strengthens the case for combining technology platforms with expert human oversight when claiming R&D credits. Automated systems can capture qualifying activities in real-time, while experienced R&D tax specialists ensure that documentation meets IRS standards and maximizes eligible claims.
The Bigger Picture: Federal Support for AI Innovation
The Genesis Mission executive order represents more than just a new federal initiative—it's a signal about national priorities, not unlike the statement made in Canada with their recently tabled Budget 2025. By explicitly comparing this effort to the Manhattan Project and positioning AI research as essential to national security and economic competitiveness, the administration is validating what innovative companies have been saying for years: AI development is fundamental research that deserves support.
For businesses investing in AI, this creates a favorable policy environment. The combination of new federal collaborative infrastructure through the Genesis Mission and existing financial support through R&D tax credits provides multiple pathways to offset the substantial costs of AI research and development.
What This Means for Your Business
If your company is developing AI capabilities—whether you're training models, building AI-powered applications, creating integration systems, or experimenting with novel approaches to machine learning—you're likely conducting qualifying research activities that generate R&D tax credit benefits.
While the new platform and partnership opportunities will take time to develop (the executive order sets a 270-day timeline for initial operating capability), existing R&D tax credit programs provide immediate value for companies conducting qualifying research.
The key is ensuring you're capturing that value. Many AI companies miss significant credit opportunities because they:
- Underestimate which activities qualify
- Lack contemporaneous documentation of technical challenges
- Don't track qualified research expenses systematically
- Attempt to reconstruct research activities months after completion
As the IRS increases scrutiny on R&D credit claims and demands more rigorous documentation, having the right combination of technology and expertise becomes essential; not just for maximizing credits, but for defending them during potential audits.
Looking Ahead
The Genesis Mission represents an ambitious vision for accelerating American AI research through unprecedented collaboration between federal resources and private innovation. For companies already investing in AI development, it validates the strategic importance of their work while creating potential new partnership opportunities.
At the same time, existing R&D tax credit programs continue to provide immediate financial benefits for qualifying research activities. The challenge is ensuring you're capturing the full value of your innovation investments while meeting increasingly stringent documentation requirements.
As federal support for AI research continues to evolve—both through new initiatives like the Genesis Mission and through established programs like R&D tax credits—the companies that will benefit most are those that treat innovation funding as strategically as they treat the innovation itself: with the right combination of technology, expertise, and systematic processes.
Want to learn more about how your AI research activities might qualify for R&D tax credits? Boast combines AI-driven platform technology with in-house R&D tax expertise to help companies maximize their innovation funding while maintaining audit-ready documentation.
