Nvidia suspended its AI ambassador training program in Oregon in spring 2026 before certifying a single instructor in the state.
The pause left $1.5 million in state education funds unspent. It also stalled a K-12 AI instruction plan that could have reached districts across Oregon, including the Tigard-Tualatin School District and its roughly 11,400 students.
The program stall was first reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle on Oct. 1, more than a year after the deal was announced.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signed a one-year agreement with Gov. Tina Kotek and Higher Education Coordinating Commission Executive Director Ben Cannon in April 2025. The state paired $10 million in spending with Nvidia's commitment to train college faculty as certified "AI ambassadors" who could teach advanced AI and machine learning. Under the agreement, the Oregon Department of Education would work with Nvidia and K-12 schools to introduce foundational AI concepts.
About $8.5 million went to universities, community colleges and one nonprofit in April 2026 through the Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology program. The remaining $1.5 million, earmarked for the ambassador program, has not been touched, according to commission spokesperson Endi Hartigan.
Faculty who applied received suspension notices instead of certifications. A Southern Oregon University professor who attended a program webinar and applied got an email in spring 2026 saying the program was suspended, according to university spokesperson Joe Mosley.
At Oregon Institute of Technology, applicants received a similar message saying the program was being restructured internally. OIT spokesperson Ashley VanEssen told the Capital Chronicle that faculty had not received any additional updates since then.
Nvidia confirmed the pause in a statement but did not explain why, saying only that the company is working through next steps with state partners.
The Oregon Department of Education, meanwhile, has no plans within the scope of the agreement, according to department spokesperson Liz Merah. The original deal specifically mentioned boosting AI instruction in K-12 classrooms.
At Tigard High School, teachers are already navigating AI without state-level support. Thor Kuhn, an IT teacher, warned in a May 2026 interview with The Paw, the school's student newspaper, that "AI is the next 'Digital Divide'; the next generation of students leaving high school will be formed of the haves and have-nots of access to AI."
Whether any TTSD teachers applied for the ambassador program is unclear. No statement from the district or the Tigard-Tualatin Education Association has surfaced regarding the pause.
Luke Harkins, a spokesperson for Kotek's office, said the governor remains supportive of the agreement's original goal of preparing Oregon's workforce. The TTSD school board meets Monday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m. at the TTSD Training Center, 9550 SW Murdock St. in Tigard.
