WASHINGTON | Former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have launched RAISE US, a national nonprofit aimed at helping workers, employers and states prepare for an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
The organization says it has secured more than $500 million toward a larger funding target and will work with governors, companies, labor voices, educators and philanthropic partners to test workforce models that can be expanded if they help workers keep or find good jobs. The launch gives Holcomb, who served two terms as Indiana governor, a national role in one of the central economic questions facing states: how to respond if AI changes hiring, training and job security faster than existing workforce systems can adapt.
A workforce push built around states and employers
RAISE US says its work will focus on practical pilots rather than broad statements about technology. The organization plans to help states and employers test retraining incentives, career-navigation tools, transition supports and other models tied to actual labor-market demand. Its stated goal is not only to train workers for new tasks, but to evaluate which programs produce durable employment outcomes.
Initial work is expected to involve states including Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah. The model reflects a state-level strategy: governors and local agencies often control workforce programs, community-college partnerships, economic-development incentives and unemployment systems, while employers control hiring needs and internal redeployment decisions. RAISE US is trying to connect those systems before AI disruption becomes more severe.
Why Holcomb matters to the story
Holcomb’s role gives the effort a direct Indiana connection even though the organization is national. During his time as governor, Indiana competed for advanced-manufacturing, logistics, life-sciences and technology investment while also navigating worker shortages and skills gaps. The AI transition raises a related but broader challenge: whether states can move workers into new roles quickly enough as employers adopt automation, generative AI tools and data-driven systems.
The group is also co-led by Raimondo, who as commerce secretary worked on industrial policy, technology competition and economic-development strategy. Together, the leadership structure gives RAISE US a bipartisan profile at a time when AI policy is being debated across business, education and government.
What is confirmed
RAISE US has publicly announced itself as a national, nonpartisan organization focused on helping the American workforce transition into an AI economy. The organization says it will partner with governors, employers, workers and training organizations; use private and philanthropic capital; and measure success by whether workers land and keep good jobs.
Public reporting and the organization’s launch materials identify major technology and business supporters, including AI and technology companies, employers and philanthropic organizations. The effort is being framed as a response to the possibility that AI may reshape both blue-collar and white-collar work, requiring faster retraining, better career guidance and policy experiments that can be scaled beyond one company or one state.
What remains unclear
The long-term effect of RAISE US will depend on execution. It is not yet clear which pilot programs will become permanent, how funding will be allocated across states, how workers will be selected for programs, or how the organization will measure whether a worker’s job was protected, improved or replaced by a better opportunity.
It is also too early to know whether employer-backed AI transition programs can reach workers before layoffs or restructuring occur. Many past workforce-development efforts have struggled when training did not match local hiring demand, when workers could not afford time away from paid work, or when credentials did not translate into better wages.
What to watch next
Readers should watch for the first state-level pilot details, employer participation agreements, public grant or philanthropic funding disclosures, and any early metrics on worker placement, wage retention, retraining completion and job durability. For Indiana readers, Holcomb’s involvement also raises a broader question: whether Indiana agencies, colleges, employers or workforce boards eventually become part of the initiative’s state-level work.
Additional Reporting By: RAISE US launch announcement via The Rockefeller Foundation; Associated Press; WTHR