NVIDIA is participating in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) State and Regional Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Hubs program, an effort launching today to expand access to the advanced computing, data, software and expertise needed for AI-enabled research and education.

Consistent with the aims of the Genesis Mission, the program will support state and multistate groups of colleges and universities working together to strengthen America’s AI ecosystem. In partnership with private industry, philanthropic organizations and state and local governments, the program will expand the AI infrastructure, software, educational resources and technical support needed by faculty, students and researchers across the country. 

These regional hubs will help institutions share AI computing resources, accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, and prepare students to participate in the AI economy.

Expanding Access to AI Infrastructure

The State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs program will bring shared resources closer to the institutions and communities they serve. 

State or regional consortia can pool expertise, focus on specific local priorities, achieve economies of scale and create pathways for institutions that might otherwise remain outside the frontier of AI-enabled research and education. Flexible approaches — including on-premises infrastructure, cloud computing or a combination — will allow consortia to design resources around their regional needs and economic priorities. 

The hubs will resemble the public-private partnership between NVIDIA, NVIDIA cofounder Chris Malachowsky and the University of Florida (UF) in 2020 to turn UF into the country’s first true AI university and provide AI compute access to all Florida public universities. That initiative now serves as a national model. Since launching its university-wide initiative in 2020, UF has grown to more than 300 AI-focused faculty and embedded AI education and research across all 16 colleges. And since 2017, UF faculty and units have received more than $511 million in AI research awards.

NVIDIA has also expanded academic compute access in other ways, including as a leading contributor to the NSF-led National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program on which today’s announcement is built. 

Through NAIRR, NVIDIA partnered with university research teams across the country to turn computing resources into usable scientific capacity — giving researchers the infrastructure, tools and expertise needed to move from idea to experiment to discovery. The resources also facilitated meaningful educational opportunities that gave students critical real-world skills for the AI economy. 

Preparing the AI Workforce

AI infrastructure alone is not enough. A successful national AI strategy must include efforts to build a workforce that can use advanced computing, data resources and AI tools in real scientific and industry settings.

That means pairing infrastructure with clear learning pathways. Universities, community colleges and regional partners can build degree programs, short-form certificates and stackable credentials that help learners move from foundational AI literacy into applied skills. Those pathways will help students, faculty, working adults and technical professionals use AI, including open source models and technologies, in fields like physical AI and automation, healthcare, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, quantum computing and cybersecurity. 

NVIDIA can support this work by providing training resources, educator enablement, applied learning content, technical guidance, partner platforms and access to tools that help institutions move from awareness to hands-on capability. As NVIDIA’s education and training offerings evolve, the goal remains the same: help institutions build repeatable, openly available programs that prepare learners to use AI systems, accelerated computing and data workflows responsibly and effectively.

This is how regional hubs become more than infrastructure projects. Students gain practical experience. Faculty expand their ability to teach and apply AI across disciplines. Working professionals can earn new skills without leaving the workforce. And institutions can connect training to local employer needs, research priorities and the economic opportunities that matter most to their communities.

Connecting Research, Workforce and Regional Growth

For policymakers and leaders, the hubs offer an opportunity to connect regional research and educational infrastructure with regional priorities and broader workforce and economic-development strategies.

Institutions can cultivate talent for local needs, support research connected to regional industries and build stronger relationships among universities, community colleges, employers and government. These connections will help translate AI leadership into scientific progress, new businesses and high-quality jobs.

No single organization can build this capacity alone. Sustained collaboration among government, higher education, philanthropic organizations and private industry is essential to ensure that advanced AI resources are broadly available and effectively used.

Private-sector contributions can complement public investment with technology, implementation expertise and workforce development programs. Public institutions, in turn, can help direct those capabilities toward scientific, educational and economic priorities that advance regional needs and national interest.