Tech-backed nonprofit Raise Us launches with $500M pledge

A new nonprofit organization backed by major technology companies has launched with the goal of helping American workers adapt to the economic changes driven by artificial intelligence. The initiative, called Raise Us, was announced on Thursday, June 25, and is led by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who will serve as CEO and co-chair alongside former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

The organization says it has raised more than $500 million in multi-year commitments from philanthropic and industry sources, with an aim to reach $1 billion. Its anchor partners include Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, and the OpenAI Foundation, with dozens of other corporations and organizations also participating. Raise Us plans to design corporate incentives for retraining, develop support systems for job transitions, and create new training models tied to employer demand. Its initial government partnerships are with the states of Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland, and Utah, which will serve as testing grounds for pilot programs.

The launch comes amid significant public anxiety about AI's impact on employment. A recent poll of over 2,500 working-class voters found that 73% are worried AI...