About Us

Building the future of rural AI leadership.

Mission

To transform rural communities from passive recipients to active leaders in the AI economy through education, infrastructure, and innovation.

Open-Source Curricula

That work in rural contexts

Shared Infrastructure

Making AI development affordable

Training Programs

Creating local expertise

Business Incubators

Keeping innovation local

We operate at the intersection of higher education, economic development, and technology policy—positioning rural America not as a problem to be solved, but as an untapped asset offering asymmetric advantages to any organization willing to partner in good faith.

Our success is measured in: farms that become more productive, clinics that serve patients better, students who build AI careers without leaving home, and rural voices with real influence where AI's future is being decided.

Vision

A future where rural America leads the AI economy, not follows it.

900+

Rural institutions serving as regional AI knowledge hubs—where communities don't just use AI, they create it, own it, and profit from it.

2030

Rural North America recognized globally as the proving ground for ethical, community-controlled AI that works in the real world, not just in labs.

This isn't about catching up. It's about establishing a new model where AI development is anchored in community relationships, tested against real-world complexity, and designed with the consent and participation of the people it affects.

The choice is stark: either rural communities shape AI, or AI shapes rural communities. We choose leadership.

Our Story

The Center for Rural AI emerged from a simple observation: the most transformative technology of our generation is being built without rural input, rural data, and minimal rural benefit.

2024

Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado launched one of the nation's first AI institutes at a rural public institution. The rural-urban AI gap wasn't primarily technical—it was structural.

2025

The Center for Rural AI was established as an independent 501(c)(3) to build rural AI capacity and sovereignty at scale. We identified a $115 billion rural AI gap—massive unrealized value for rural communities and missed opportunities for AI companies seeking diverse data and real-world complexity.

2026

From our Four Corners base, we're building a national movement. Institutional partnerships launching in early 2026. Our flagship "AI in the Mountains" summit will bring key decision-makers to rural Colorado.

What Makes Us Different

Hub-and-spoke model serving hundreds of institutions while maintaining local control

Focus on sovereignty ensuring economic value stays in rural communities

Higher ed as gravity centers leveraging institutions as local and regional hubs

Why This Matters Now: The next five years will determine whether rural America participates in the AI economy or is further marginalized by it. The patterns established now will persist for decades.

Rural America doesn't need saving. It needs investment, infrastructure, and respect as an equal partner in building the AI future.