Nvidia, California Team Up on AI Training Initiative, Labs

California wants to equip its workforce with AI skills by partnering with Nvidia on statewide training. The AI ​​chip giant is headquartered in Santa Clara and is currently the third most valuable company in the world.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a “first-of-its-kind” partnership that will focus on training students in AI, creating jobs, and using AI to solve real-world problems.

“In partnership with California, Nvidia will train 100,000 students, college faculty, developers, and data scientists,” Huang said, adding that the goal was to “prepare for tomorrow’s challenges” and “unlock prosperity.”

Related: How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Turned a Graphics Card Company into an AI Giant: ‘One of the Most Remarkable Businesses in History’

The partnership brings AI workshops, labs, curriculum, certifications, and technology from Nvidia to community colleges. Individuals have the opportunity to improve their careers through these efforts.

The state of California is benefiting from the AI ​​talent pipeline and will explore how to grow early stage AI startups through the effort.

“We are in the early stages of a new industrial revolution that will transform multi-billion dollar industries around the world,” said Huang.

^{Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang talks next to the robot. Credit: JOSH EDELSON / AFP}

AI has helped reduce repetitive tasks and streamline communication, company leaders say. A recent Microsoft study found that while employers are looking for people with AI skills, only 39% have provided AI training to existing employees. And the majority of AI used in the office is private, with 78% using AI tools at work “without guidance or approval from above.”

At the same time, it’s expensive to build AI: A single model can cost $100 million today and tens of billions of dollars in the next few years. AI may also increase energy efficiency, as seen in Google’s July environmental report.

Despite AI’s problems, it could have a positive impact on California through new partnerships. California is the nation’s most populous state, with more than 39 million residents. California’s unemployment rate hit 5.3% in February; as of June, there were 999,897 unemployed people in the state.

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