OpenAI is doubling down on its commitment to democratise AI education by launching large-scale initiatives in the United States. The company has partnered with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to launch the National Academy for AI Instruction, a five-year initiative aimed at training four lakh K-12 teachers, nearly one in 10 across the country, to use and teach AI in classrooms effectively.
With a $10 million contribution over five years, including $8 million in funding and $2 million in engineering and computing support, OpenAI will help establish a flagship training hub in New York City and support the development of additional centres by 2030.
The initiative promises free workshops, hands-on training, and AI tools specifically built for educators, with a strong focus on equity and accessibility in underserved school districts.
“Educators make the difference, and they should lead this next shift with AI,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, recalling how a high school teacher sparked his own early curiosity in AI.
The academy is also backed by the United Federation of Teachers, Microsoft and Anthropic, and aims to ensure that teachers are at the forefront of setting commonsense guardrails and using AI to enhance, rather than replace, human teaching.
Meanwhile, in a parallel development, OpenAI announced the launch of OpenAI Academy India in collaboration with the IndiaAI Mission under the IT and electronics ministry. This marks the first international expansion of OpenAI’s educational platform, aiming to train one million teachers in generative AI skills.
The partnership will deliver AI training in English and Hindi (with more regional languages to follow), and extend to civil servants via the iGOT Karmayogi platform. Additional efforts include six-city workshops, hackathons across seven states, and $100,000 in API credits to 50 AI startups.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hailed the initiative as a step towards making AI knowledge accessible to every citizen. Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, called India “one of the most dynamic countries for AI development”.
Your reaction
Discussion
What's your take on this story?
No comments yet — be the first to share your view.