Nvidia suspended its AI ambassador program in Oregon this spring before certifying a single instructor in the state. The pause leaves $1.5 million in state funds unspent, the Portland Tribune reported Thursday, Oct. 1.

The statewide freeze means Oregon K-12 districts, including Beaverton, will not receive the AI curriculum support the agreement envisioned. The Oregon Department of Education has no plans to introduce AI concepts in schools under the current deal with Nvidia, according to department spokesperson Liz Merah.

In April 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signed a one-year agreement with Gov. Tina Kotek and Higher Education Coordinating Commission Executive Director Ben Cannon. The deal accompanied $10 million in state spending to expand AI education across Oregon schools and colleges. A key goal was training college faculty as certified Nvidia ambassadors who could then teach AI and machine learning.

That hasn't happened.

Nvidia paused the program this spring. An email to applicants said the company was restructuring internally, according to Oregon Institute of Technology spokesperson Ashley VanEssen. A faculty member at Southern Oregon University received a separate email saying the program was suspended "until further notice," according to university spokesperson Joe Mosley.

"To my knowledge, our faculty have not received any additional updates since then," VanEssen told the Oregon Capital Chronicle, which first reported the story.

Of the $10 million tied to the deal, about $8.5 million has been awarded to universities, community colleges and one nonprofit through a semiconductor workforce program. The $1.5 million earmarked for the ambassador program remains unspent, according to Higher Education Coordinating Commission spokesperson Endi Hartigan.

A Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement that the program is not accepting new candidates while the company works through next steps with state partners. The spokesperson declined to explain the pause.

Luke Harkins, a spokesperson for Kotek's office, said the governor remains supportive of the agreement's original intent.

What it means for Beaverton

The Beaverton School District, Oregon's third-largest, has not commented publicly on the Nvidia program pause. The district's own 2026-27 technology plans make no mention of AI curriculum tied to the state agreement, focusing instead on screen-time policies and what it calls a "human-centered foundation for learning," according to a district announcement.

Superintendent Tony Smith, who started July 1, told KATU on July 13 that AI would be an important topic for the district. He called it "a tool that should supplement and never supplant." Those comments were made before the Nvidia pause became public and were not about the state agreement.

No timeline has been announced for when the ambassador program might resume or when the $1.5 million might be redirected.