Tech giants are stepping up efforts to bring AI into classrooms and communities, pledging more than $5 billion in funding, access to their latest AI models, free tools and training programs aimed at preparing students, workers and educators for an AI-driven future.
Microsoft, Google and OpenAI have announced major education initiatives, partnering with labor unions and schools nationwide to ensure a broader swath of the population can keep pace with rapid technological change. Many of these programs are for U.S. students, but some are available globally.
Here’s a roundup:
1. Microsoft pledges $4 billion in AI education.
Microsoft is planning to give away more than $4 billion in cash and technology services over the next five years to K-12 schools, community and technical colleges and nonprofits.
The company also created Microsoft Elevate, a global skilling program, and think tank AI Economy Institute to prepare society for a world in which AI would be commonplace. The Microsoft Elevate Academy will train people around the world in AI. The goal is to help 20 million people globally earn credentials in AI skills from foundational knowledge to advanced technical skills.
Microsoft also is partnering with labor unions like the AFL-CIO as well as the American Federation of Teachers to train union members and educators in AI. A new National Academy for AI Instruction and a summer skills series in building trades are on offer as well.
2. Google to invest $1 billion to support AI in education.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post that the company will make its most advanced AI tools to students for free.
Students aged 18 and up in the U.S., Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Brazil can sign up by Oct. 6 for a free Google AI Pro plan. They’ll get expanded access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most advanced AI model, as well as tools such as Deep Research, NotebookLM, Veo 3 for image generation and Jules for coding. They also get 2 TB of storage. Students will also get to use the guided learning feature in Gemini.
More countries will be added in the next few weeks.
Google will invest $1 billion in American education over three years, including AI literacy programs, research funding and cloud computing resources. The new Google AI for Education Accelerator, which aims to offer free AI training and Google career certificates to every U.S. college student.
More than 100 public universities including the University of Michigan, The Ohio State University, the University of Virginia and the university systems in Texas, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania have already signed up. Google is inviting all accredited, nonprofit U.S. colleges and universities to apply.
The investment adds to Google’s offer to make the free Gemini for Education available to students and teachers globally at no additional cost. Gemini for Education is a version of the Gemini app built for students and teachers. They can use Google’s latest AI models, enjoy enterprise-grade data protection as well as Workspace, Google’s premium productivity software for companies – all for free.
The company said more than 80% of the top 100 U.S. universities already use Google Workspace for Education, which includes AI built specially for schools.
3. OpenAI funds education program with $10 million.
OpenAI and the American Federation of Teachers founded the National Academy for AI Instruction, a five-year program to teach 400,000 K-12 educators – about 10% of all U.S. teachers – to use AI and shape how AI is used and taught in classrooms across the country.
OpenAI is giving $10 million to the academy, which includes $2 million in in-kind resources such as engineering support, computing access and technical guidance. The program will feature workshops, online courses and hands-on training sessions.
The academy’s headquarters will be in New York City, with more locations to be launched by 2030. Other supporters of the free program are Microsoft, Anthropic and the United Federation of Teachers.
