AI Education Nonprofit Receives $1.1 Million in Funding
Artificial intelligence education nonprofit Iridescent has received $625,000 in new funding, following a recent $500,000 investment. The group’s purpose is to work with underrepresented youth to help them “to become self-motivated learners inventors, and leaders.”
The latest $625,000 in grants comes by way of the Nvidia Foundation and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. The group also recently received $500,000 from Google.org.
According to the organization, the infusion will help expand “AI education programming to reach more students and parents, bring on more mentors, partner with more communities, and develop additional curriculum.”
To date, Iridescent has worked with some 130,000 individuals, including educators, students, parents and others.
According to Iridescent: “Too few people have access to AI education and therefore don’t see themselves as leaders and problem-solvers. Iridescent’s AI Family Challenge program is a twelve-week global learning program that brings together families, schools, communities and industry mentors so participants can learn, create and play with AI. In its inaugural year, 7,500 people from 13 countries participated in the program, and Iridescent will use the new grants to expand what the curriculum covers to address new topics like ethics and to partner with even more communities, families and students. Additionally, Iridescent will grow its mentoring program, where employees from companies like NVIDIA and Google work directly with participating families.”
”We are on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, as AI transforms our world. The only way to ensure that this is a force of good is to introduce AI to everyone who has the desire to learn,” said Tara Chklovski, founder and CEO of Iridescent, in a prepared statement. “The data shows that our programs help children become more confident, more engaged in school, and more likely to stick with STEM. Partnering with NVIDIA and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation will help us achieve our goal of inspiring more people to become lifelong learners.”
Further information can be found at iridescentlearning.org.