Amazon To Invest $800K Into AI Training For Teachers And Students

The initiative includes support for the White House Presidential AI Challenge, a national effort designed to encourage students, educators, and community teams to apply AI to real-world problems.

Amazon, the online retail giant, is expanding its efforts in order to give K-12 students and educators hands-on experience learning artificial intelligence (AI).

At the CES 2026 tech conference in Las Vegas, Ben Moskovich, senior manager of public policy at Amazon Web Services, said the company aims to train 4 million learners. The goal: prepare 10,000 educators with AI-ready curricula by 2028.

The initiative includes support for the White House Presidential AI Challenge, a national effort designed to encourage students, educators, and community teams to apply AI to real-world problems.

The Amazon program is backed by $800,000 in investment through a partnership with education nonprofit PlayLab, which will help deliver AI tools and training across 18 education partners in seven U.S. regions. That expanded support will reach nearly 500,000 students, according to a recent announcement.

Moskovich said at CES that Amazon and PlayLab recently held a two-day workshop in Washington, D.C., bringing together about 60 middle and high school students to build AI-powered mobile applications and brainstorm future project ideas for the Presidential AI Challenge. Many participating students had limited or no previous experience with AI prior to the event, Moskovich said.

The expanded AI education program is meant to integrate AI learning tools directly into classroom environments, giving educators the support and resources needed to incorporate artificial intelligence into traditional lesson plans. Schools participating in the program receive custom AI tools and access to professional development so teachers can help students design and test AI-based solutions to real-world challenges.

Education officials and technology advocates say equipping young learners with AI skills may help prepare students for future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and close gaps in access to emerging technologies across school districts.