Mississippi partners with tech giant Nvidia for AI education program
[June 21, 2025] By
MICHAEL GOLDBERG/Mississippi Today
The state of Mississippi and technology giant Nvidia have reached a deal
for the company to expand artificial intelligence training and research
at the state’s education institutions, an initiative to prepare students
for a global economy increasingly driven by AI, Gov. Tate Reeves
announced Wednesday.
The memorandum of understanding, a nonbinding agreement, between
Mississippi and the California-based company will introduce AI programs
across the state’s community colleges, universities and technical
institutions. The initiative will aim to train at least 10,000
Mississippians using a curriculum designed around AI skills, machine
learning and data science.
Mississippi now joins Utah, California and Oregon, which have signed on
to similar programs with Nvidia.
“This collaboration with Nvidia is monumental for Mississippi. By
expanding AI education, investing in workforce development and
encouraging innovation, we, along with Nvidia, are creating a pathway to
dynamic careers in AI and cybersecurity for Mississippians,” Reeves
said. “These are the in-demand jobs of the future — jobs that will
change the landscape of our economy for generations to come. AI is here
now, and it is here to stay.”
The agreement does not award any tax incentives to Nvidia, but Reeves
said the state would provide funding for the initiative. Still, he did
not foresee having to call a special legislative session in order to pay
for it. Reeves said officials and Nvidia were still determining the
exact dollar figure the project would require, but the state would spend
as much as it took to reach its goal of training at least 10,000
Mississippians.
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 Some of the funding may come from
$9.1 million in grants to state institutions of higher learning
through the Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program, which Reeves
announced last week.
Nvidia designs and supplies graphics processing units (GPUs), and
the Mississippi program will focus on teaching people to work with
GPUs. The company has seen growing demand for its semiconductors,
which are used to power AI applications.
Now the world’s most valuable chipmaker, Nvidia announced in April
that it will produce its AI supercomputers in the United States for
the first time.
Louis Stewart, head of strategic initiatives for Nvidia’s global
developer ecosystem, said the Mississippi program is part of a
larger effort to bolster the United States’ position as the global
leader in artificial intelligence.
“Together, we will enhance economic growth through an AI-skilled
workforce, advanced research, and industry engagement, positioning
Mississippi as a hub for AI-driven transformation to the benefit of
its communities.”
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