Cornell Tech, the Manhattan-based technology campus of Cornell University, has announced grants totaling $26 million from multiple grantmakers to launch an effort to boost the number of women and underrepresented minorities graduating with degrees in computing.

While artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the fastest-growing areas of employment in the tech industry, women only account for roughly 18 percent of AI researchers, data scientists, and AI engineers. By expanding access to resources through leading universities, the program aims to reach 10 percent of female computing graduates across the United States by 2025, providing them with the skills, experience, and mentoring needed to position them more competitively for AI careers.

Break Through Tech is a free, 18-month program that will be offered to college undergraduates in the New York, Boston, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas and hosted at Cornell Tech, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Developed with input and expertise from leaders in the tech industry and academia, the program is expected to expand to six markets—including a virtual option—by 2025. Funding from Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, Ken Griffin, Citadel and Citadel Securities, the Hopper-Dean Foundation, and New Venture Fund will enable Break Through Tech to provide skills training, portfolio development, and career mentoring to bridge the talent gap for underrepresented groups in data science, machine learning, and AI careers.

“We are incredibly proud of our Break Through Tech initiative and its crucial impact in closing the inexcusable gender and diversity gap in tech today,” said Cornell Tech dean Greg Morrisett. “Tackling the artificial intelligence sector in tech is crucial for creating equitable products, economies, and policy, and we’re excited to support the massive contribution Break Through Tech AI will have on both academia and industry.”

(Photo credit: Break Through Tech)