OpenAI, Anthropic back Raimondo-led group to retrain workers for AI era

RAISE US launched June 25, 2026, with backing from OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon and Microsoft. The nonpartisan group is led by Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, with more than two dozen companies and philanthropies behind it. It starts with state partnerships in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

RAISE US will work with governors, employers, workers and training organizations to design and pilot corporate incentives for retraining and redeploying workers, along with new ways to support people through job transitions. The group plans to develop training models tied to changing employer demand, and it will judge success by whether workers land and keep good jobs. Raimondo will serve as chief executive.

Anthropic’s 2026 research found limited evidence that AI has affected employment to date. Its June policy framework said that if AI produces unprecedented unemployment, the policy debate could shift from temporary transition aid to sustaining income replacement for a large share of the workforce. Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index found most organizations are not adapting quickly enough and that work processes, not just tools, need to be redesigned for human-AI collaboration.

OpenAI Foundation said on March 24, 2026, that it expected to invest at least $1 billion over the next year across life sciences and curing diseases, jobs and economic impact, AI resilience and community programs. Amazon said it is partnering with RAISE US to help American workers build skills for AI-era jobs and to extend its workforce training reach.