OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic to train 400,000 U.S. public school teachers on AI: the National Academy launches in New York with free training and a $23 million investment

A partnership between big tech and American unions brings $23 million into schools for artificial intelligence training.

The public educational sector in the United States is undergoing a radical shift following the announcement, dated July 8, 2025, of an unprecedented collaboration between the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), United Federation of Teachers, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI. This is a concrete alliance with a total budget of $23 million, aimed at building the first National Academy for AI Instruction.

This structure, partly physical and partly digital, will offer free artificial intelligence training to as many as 400,000 K-12 teachers, with the goal of positively impacting the education of over seven million students within five years.

The initiative includes a hybrid model of in-person and online courses, with a central hub set to open in Manhattan in the fall of 2025.

At the center of the project will be a physical hub in Manhattan, flanked by online courses and hybrid sessions to reach the entire nation. The training will be continuous and comprehensive: teachers will not just receive standardized materials, but will actively participate in co-designing the programs, directly experimenting in the classroom with tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude. The approach aims to empower teachers to become conscious promoters of digital transformation, with personalized pathways and particular attention to school communities facing economic and social hardship.

Technology companies commit financial resources and practical support, while unions guarantee representation and co-design of the training content.

The budget for the National Academy for AI Instruction provides $12.5 million from Microsoft, $10 million from OpenAI, and additional resources from Anthropic. This joint effort covers both infrastructure and content, ensuring up-to-date tools, ongoing professional development, and free access for teachers affiliated with the participating unions. The teachers' unions, key players in the agreement, will have a direct role in overseeing the quality of materials, evaluating results, and adapting the training to the real needs of those who work in classrooms every day.

The expected impact is measured in concrete numbers and monitorable results, with a program aiming to reach 400,000 teachers and 7 million students by 2030.

The ambition is to train, in five years, at least 10% of the U.S. teaching workforce, with a cascading effect throughout the entire school system. The roadmap foresees activities kicking off in the fall of 2025 with an initial operational hub in New York, followed by progressive expansion to other districts, and ongoing monitoring through both quantitative and qualitative data: number of courses attended, participant feedback, analysis of the impact on teaching quality, and the digital skills actually acquired by students.

The direct involvement of tech giants in public schools raises questions about data governance and public-private dynamics, but the unions’ presence as guarantors serves as a balancing element.

Despite the solidity of the investment and the clarity of its objectives, the initiative is not without questions. First and foremost is the issue of the role played by major technology companies in defining educational tools and managing the data generated by millions of students and teachers. However, the active participation of unions, representing nearly two million teachers, should help ensure transparency, fairness, and a focus on the real needs of the school world, limiting commercial influence and guaranteeing an ethical approach to AI integration.

The reaction from school communities is one of strong interest and high expectations, but there are also doubts about the timeline and the system’s capacity to adapt.

Many teachers and administrators welcome the chance to access free tools and training, at a time when artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly present in the everyday life of schools. At the same time, the five-year duration of the program and the complexity of coordinating between different stakeholders raise some concerns about the actual speed and reach of implementation. Nonetheless, observers emphasize that the project marks a turning point and lays the groundwork for a new era of collaboration between the education sector and the technology industry.

The U.S. project could become a model for other countries, but the direct involvement of unions and the scale of investment remain elements that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

To date, no European or Asian country has launched similar initiatives with such a high level of synergy between public, private, and union representation. The success of the National Academy for AI Instruction will be closely watched internationally, potentially influencing education and technology policies around the world. If the collaboration produces tangible results, it could pave the way for similar models elsewhere, albeit with the necessary adaptations to different educational systems.

The direct involvement of teachers in designing the training is one of the main innovations of this program.

Unlike traditional top-down models, this initiative puts teachers at the center, involving them in defining the training content and selecting the tools most useful for daily teaching. The feedback collected during courses and pilot labs will not only evaluate the effectiveness of activities but also serve to continually correct and improve the offering. In this way, the training is not passively received but is built together with those who live the school every day, valuing the skills and experiences already present in the classrooms.

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