Verizon (NYSE:VZ) said it is investing $70 million in a nationwide initiative aimed at providing artificial intelligence training to job seekers, small businesses and educators in the United States.
The telecommunications company is working with non-profit organisations including Goodwill Industries and aims to provide AI training to hundreds of thousands of people.
The initiative will use training resources from technology companies including IBM, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI.
Verizon Seeks Broader Corporate Participation
Verizon Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said the programme is intended to help workers develop skills as AI adoption changes workforce requirements.
“AI will change the face of the workforce,” Schulman said in an interview. “You have to do this in order to protect the democracy.”
Schulman also called on other large companies to contribute funding towards programmes designed to help workers develop skills for AI-related roles.
“It’s in the self-interest of all business leaders to step up,” Schulman said. “If every Fortune 100 (company) put $50 million or $70 million into this, we have a multibillion-dollar fund.”
Initiative Expands Previous $20 Million Commitment
The $70 million initiative incorporates an earlier $20 million commitment announced by Verizon last year.
That funding was intended to provide AI skills training to departing employees following the company’s announcement that it would eliminate 13,000 jobs.
Verizon said the latest initiative adds $50 million to that previous commitment, bringing the total planned investment to $70 million.
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