(Feb 20): The Trump administration is planning a brand new Peace Corps initiative that may ship 1000’s of US science and math graduates abroad to boost international nations’ reliance on American technology and scale back world adoption of competing merchandise from China, in accordance to a US official.
Called the Tech Corps, the programme would deploy as many as 5,000 American volunteers and advisers over the subsequent 5 years to Peace Corps associate nations, the official mentioned. It will search to steer nations in direction of US synthetic intelligence (AI) {hardware} and software program and away from technology made in China, the principle US rival in AI.
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director Michael Kratsios plans to announce the enterprise on Friday on the India AI Impact Summit, the official mentioned. The programme is meant to give the six-decade-old Peace Corps a brand new sense of function in a tech-driven period, in accordance to the official, who spoke on situation of anonymity forward of the announcement.
“To further enable AI adoption in the developing world, the Trump administration is bringing America’s historic Peace Corps into the 21st century with the launch of the Tech Corps,” Kratsios plans to say, in accordance to an advance copy of his remarks. “This new initiative will embed volunteer technical talent with import partners to provide last-mile support in deploying powerful AI applications for enhanced public services.”
At the summit, Kratsios can also be anticipated to spotlight US plans for an AI Agent Standards Initiative that may facilitate growth of an industry-led, open, and safe AI agent in addition to a National Champion Initiative that may combine corporations in associate nations with American technology.
Winning the worldwide AI race ranks as a high precedence for President Donald Trump, who has sought to improve US exports of associated technology, together with superior processors from Nvidia Corp. The Peace Corps tech enterprise goals to beat China to the punch on AI by countering Beijing’s long-standing follow of providing to construct roads, energy crops and different infrastructure in South America, Africa and elements of Europe.
Founded in 1961 underneath then-president John F Kennedy on the peak of the Cold War, the Peace Corps has functioned as an instrument of goodwill diplomacy for the US. Last 12 months, greater than 3,000 volunteers served in 60-plus nations on tasks starting from agriculture to healthcare and the atmosphere, in accordance to the company. Adding the tech initiative would mark a major enlargement of its mandate.
Many particulars in regards to the tech programme remained unclear forward of the announcement, together with which nations would take part and the way it could have an effect on current Peace Corps operations. Funding for the Tech Corps would come with contributions from companies and charities, the official mentioned. For fiscal 12 months 2026, the company obtained US$410 million (RM1.6 billion) from Congress underneath spending laws signed by Trump earlier this month.
Recruitment and coaching of tech volunteers is about to start this 12 months, the official mentioned, with a aim of attracting 500 professionals for the primary cohort. The State Department and financing businesses just like the Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank will introduce new financing alternatives for enabling American AI adoption world wide, whereas host nation ministries will coordinate to ship volunteers to places searching for to undertake AI, the official mentioned.
Empowering the Peace Corps to perform Trump’s tech agenda would intensify competitors with China throughout the Global South, the place Chinese tech corporations are making inroads with lower-cost merchandise, together with large-language fashions from DeepSeek. Beijing’s strategy on AI borrows from its earlier Digital Silk Road initiative, through which Chinese corporations constructed telecommunications networks spanning numerous continents.
During Trump’s first time period, Kratsios traveled world wide attempting to persuade US allies to strip out Huawei Technologies Co gear. The administration is now attempting to soar begin a beforehand introduced effort, dubbed the American AI Exports Program, providing nations bundles of chips, servers, AI fashions, cloud providers and networking. Trump established the programme in a July govt order.
The Tech Corps goals to construct on that plan by offering volunteers to nations that lack nationwide AI methods or operational capability to undertake AI options. In addition to volunteers in abroad roles, the US additionally plans to faucet senior specialists for advisory roles to remotely oversee and mentor these working within the subject.