Zoom to Fund AI Education with $10 Million in Grants

Zoom Cares, the global social impact arm of collaboration platform Zoom, has announced a three-year, $10 million commitment to expand access to AI education and opportunity through both national and regional grants. Its first round of grant recipients include Code.org and data.org, organizations working to empower learners, workers, and nonprofits with the skills, confidence, and capacity to lead in the AI era, according to a news announcement.

Code.org is a nonprofit working to give every student the opportunity to learn about computer science and artificial intelligence as a core part of their K–12 education. It provides CS and AI education curriculum around the globe and organizes the annual Hour of AI campaign, a set of hands-on activities designed to help students and educators develop their AI skills.

"Zoom Cares' support is a powerful investment in our mission," said Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org, in a statement. "This funding will help us expand access to our free AI curriculum, empower more educators through professional learning, and ensure more students from underserved and underrepresented groups have the opportunity to thrive in the digital age."

Data.org is a field-building organization working to build data and AI-enabled solutions to solve some of the world's biggest problems.

"With the support from Zoom Cares, data.org will host its fifth global challenge, which allows us to identify and invest in innovative approaches that leverage data and AI to build economic opportunity in communities around the world," said Perry Hewitt, chief strategy officer at data.org. "Challenge awardees are exemplary social impact organizations advancing social impact. They benefit from access to capital, technical assistance, and a collaborative network of peers, while we learn more about what works and how, together, we can tackle the world's most pressing issues with the help of AI."

"AI should not be a privilege for a few. At Zoom, we believe it should be a tool for everyone to create, solve, and thrive," commented Kimberly Storin, chief marketing officer at Zoom. "Through this commitment, we're helping unlock that potential across classrooms, communities, and workplaces."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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