OpenAI expands education AI cohort

OpenAI said on May 20 that it is widening its Education for Countries program, a government-focused effort to put AI tools, teacher training and research into national education systems. The company used an update published during the Education World Forum in London to add Singapore to the initiative and to describe early work underway with an initial cohort of eight countries and one university consortium. OpenAI said the program was launched at Davos in January as part of its broader OpenAI for Countries push. The company said the work is aimed at learning outcomes, teacher enablement and workforce preparation. ### Which countries are already in the first group? OpenAI said the first cohort includes Estonia, Greece, Italy’s Conference of University Rectors, known as CRUI, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. In its January launch post, the company said it would work with governments and university consortia to bring AI into education systems, reduce administrative burden and prepare students for the workforce. (openai.com) Singapore was named on May 20 as the newest participant. OpenAI said at the Education World Forum that the next phase of the program would expand adoption in schools through localized tools, teacher training and research partnerships. ### What does OpenAI say the program actually includes? OpenAI said the program is built around three elements: AI tools for learning, research on learning outcomes, and training and certifications for teachers and students. (openai.com) The January description named ChatGPT Edu, GPT-5.2, study mode and canvas among the tools that can be customized for local education priorities. The May 20 update said deployments begin as research partnerships using OpenAI’s Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite, alongside access to ChatGPT, Codex and the company’s API platform. (openai.com) OpenAI said governments and educators are meant to use those partnerships to study effects on learners, adapt the technology and build evidence on what works. ### What evidence has OpenAI offered from classrooms so far? (openai.com) Estonia is OpenAI’s clearest example of a national rollout. OpenAI said ChatGPT Edu has been deployed nationwide across Estonian public universities and secondary schools, reaching more than 30,000 students, educators and researchers in its first year, according to the January program launch. In its May 20 update, OpenAI gave a narrower current figure for school deployment, saying ChatGPT Edu now reaches more than 20,000 students and 4,600 teachers through work led by Estonia’s Ministry of Education and the AI Leap Foundation. (openai.com) OpenAI said it is also working with AI Leap, the University of Tartu and Stanford on a study of more than 20,000 students in real classroom settings in Estonia. The company said it plans to publish the findings. ### Are the classroom use cases broad, or still tightly defined? Bangkok Post reported on May 19 that teachers in Thailand are using Microsoft’s Immersive Reader and related AI features to help students read more easily and stay focused. (openai.com) The examples described there centered on text access and bounded support rather than open-ended AI tutoring, according to the report summary returned in search results. (openai.com) Microsoft said in a June 9, 2025 statement that Thailand’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education launched the TH AI Academy project with Microsoft Thailand, targeting more than 600,000 high school students in its initial phase and planning AI chatbots and agents to help educators customize lesson plans. That national program is separate from OpenAI’s initiative, but it shows the kind of government-led, classroom-specific deployments now being cited in education AI reporting. (bangkokpost.com) ### Why is OpenAI framing this as a government program? OpenAI said on March 5 that education systems are central to closing what it calls a global “capability overhang,” or the gap between what AI tools can do and how people actually use them. The company said college-age users are among the strongest mainstream ChatGPT users, but still operate roughly 90% to 99% below what it defines as power-user engagement across capabilities. (news.microsoft.com) OpenAI said the next milestone is more public evidence from existing deployments and further expansion of the cohort. The company’s May 20 update said Singapore is joining now, while Estonia research with AI Leap, Stanford and the University of Tartu is ongoing and will be released publicly. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2)