2025
a year of impact
In 2025, we faced significant headwinds in the multitude of attacks on human and civil rights, the dismantling of systems and structures of the federal government, widening economic inequality, and uncertainty–all while simultaneously witnessing the rapid acceleration of AI and emerging technologies, the massive scale of investments in AI companies and infrastructure, and the deepening of the consolidation of tech’s power and influence. The massive scale of needs within our communities required a sharpening of our strategy to maintain commitment to our mission of creating a more equitable technology ecosystem that benefits all of society, while also being responsive to urgent and rapidly changing needs of the communities we serve.
We deepened our collaboration with philanthropic partners, ensuring that we could multiply our impact in the resources being deployed to critical initiatives, and we provided resources to support critical AI/tech scholarship when both federal and private funding was decimated and scholars were under attack. We also deepened our partnerships in Oakland, supporting education and innovation initiatives with the City, school district, university partners, and community groups–to create a vision for Oakland as a hub for responsible innovation. And given the importance and impact of AI on all aspects of society, we contributed to shaping the field of responsible AI through the publication of our Responsible AI Principles, grantmaking to organizations developing responsible AI solutions, and aligning our investments with RAI criteria.
Our work this year reinforced a core belief that guides everything we do: when communities historically excluded from the tech ecosystem have the opportunity to participate, lead, and own, we build a future that is more innovative, more just, and more reflective of our collective potential. In 2026, we look forward to continuing to advance our mission to create a more equitable technology ecosystem that addresses longstanding racial inequality, creates economic opportunity, tackles critical societal issues, and reflects the power and perspectives of Black, Latine, and Native communities.
We deepened our collaboration with philanthropic partners, ensuring that we could multiply our impact in the resources being deployed to critical initiatives, and we provided resources to support critical AI/tech scholarship when both federal and private funding was decimated and scholars were under attack. We also deepened our partnerships in Oakland, supporting education and innovation initiatives with the City, school district, university partners, and community groups–to create a vision for Oakland as a hub for responsible innovation. And given the importance and impact of AI on all aspects of society, we contributed to shaping the field of responsible AI through the publication of our Responsible AI Principles, grantmaking to organizations developing responsible AI solutions, and aligning our investments with RAI criteria.
Our work this year reinforced a core belief that guides everything we do: when communities historically excluded from the tech ecosystem have the opportunity to participate, lead, and own, we build a future that is more innovative, more just, and more reflective of our collective potential. In 2026, we look forward to continuing to advance our mission to create a more equitable technology ecosystem that addresses longstanding racial inequality, creates economic opportunity, tackles critical societal issues, and reflects the power and perspectives of Black, Latine, and Native communities.
By the Numbers
$6.67M
in grants distributed to expand CS/AI education, support research, promote responsible AI, and advance equitable
tech policy
$1.95M
invested in mission-aligned start-ups and venture firms
$2.55M
committed to support efforts to build a Responsible AI Innovation ecosystem in Oakland through developing education pipelines, launching and growing startup accelerators, and driving investments.
2025 Report Releases
(Swipe to see all reports)
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Responsible AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will shape education, labor and the workforce, the economy, civil and human rights, and the environment for decades; and how we design, develop, and deploy AI today will determine who benefits tomorrow. To build a future in which AI benefits society, we developed Responsible AI Principles to guide our investments in AI for racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Data Centers
As generative AI expands at unprecedented speed, Big Tech is rapidly building data centers in California that demand massive computing power, water, and energy resources. Our new report, “The Unequal Burden of Data Centers: An Examination of the Environmental and Public Health Impacts on Communities in California,” explores a troubling trend about who is impacted in the race for global AI dominance.
Advancing Equitable Tech Policy in California
Several of the largest and most profitable tech companies in the world are headquartered in California, yet not all Californians have benefited from the state’s technology economy. This document provides an overview of the current legislative landscape in CA aligned to our focus areas across four themes: CS/AI Education, Worker Protections, Algorithmic Accountability, and Equitable Infrastructure.
K-12 CS Teachers Landscape Report
We partnered with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the Alliance for Interdisciplinary Innovation in Computing Education (AiiCE) to share national insights from nearly 3,000 K–12 CS teachers across the United States in the 2025 Computer Science Teacher Landscape Report. This report examines whether educators are prepared to teach a reimagined vision of CS grounded in creativity, ethics, data, emerging technologies, inclusivity, and human-centered design.
AI Index Report 2025: Education Chapter
In collaboration with CSTA, PIT-UN, and the Stanford HAI, we contributed to one chapter of the AI Index Report 2025—one of the most comprehensive global reports on the state of AI—and spotlighted data that deepens understanding of AI and computing education. This chapter examines the global state of AI and computing education, access disparities, and guidelines shaping the integration of AI education.
Kapor Foundation Highlights
Advancing Responsible, Ethical, and Equitable AI
Our philanthropic and investment strategies stem from the belief that AI can be a powerful force for good, but it must be harnessed effectively to ensure that it benefits society. To ensure AI can be harnessed as a powerful force for good, it will require principled values to guide investment/grantmaking strategies, and cross-sector collaboration. This year, we published the Responsible AI Principles, deployed grants to advance awareness of and promote guardrails towards responsible AI, and became a founding partner of HumanityAI, a $500M/5 year initiative to ensure AI is directed towards a more equitable future.
Galvanizing Aligned Funders to Pool Resources
As challenges to racial and economic justice deepen and pools of public and private capital become more restricted, we recognize the importance of collective action to drive greater impact. To multiply our individual impact, we joined funders in launching HumanityAI to scale prosocial AI initiatives; aligned on a vision for the future of CS, AI, and data science education through the CSforALL Alliance; co-funded efforts to advance equitable AI in California; and co-funded rapid response research to early career scholars.
Revitalizing Oakland as an Innovation Hub
As home to our headquarters, we have been deeply invested in a thriving Oakland community for over a decade. With the historic election this year of Mayor Barbara Lee as the city’s first Black female mayor, we have deepened our collaboration with partners across the ecosystem to revitalize Oakland as a hub for responsible innovation. We supported these efforts by launching the Oakland Innovation coalition, supporting grant partners across education to innovation, co-funding two leadership positions in the city (Chief Innovation Officer and Director, Data and Tech), and launching the first Oakland Tech Week.
Supporting Local and State Policy Action
In the face of Big Tech’s growing power and efforts to oppose regulation, we have doubled-down on our efforts to drive action at both the state and local levels. This is a pivotal moment that will require galvanizing philanthropic, grassroots, and movement organizations to work in concert to advocate for equitable tech policies. This year, we supported grassroots and movement organizations to build AI capacity, partnered with philanthropy on initiatives to challenge unchecked power of Big Tech, and authored and funded research to inform policy recommendations.
Responding to Urgent Community Needs
As vulnerable communities faced rapidly evolving challenges and crises brought on by an onslaught of federal actions, we recognized the need to provide timely support to reduce harm and protect progress towards equity. This year, we deployed responsive grants to meet urgent needs, including efforts to protect civil rights, continue critical research scholarship, and support the basic needs of our local communities.
Grantee Spotlights
(Swipe to see all Grantees)
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) serves as the nation's foremost guardian of liberty, dedicated to defending and preserving the individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Through a responsive grant to the ACLU’s Project on Speech, Privacy, and Technology (SPT), the support will go towards funding strategic litigation, advocacy, and organizing needed to defend the right to privacy in the new digital age.
California Council on Science & Technology
The California Council on Science & Technology Legislative Staff AI Policy Academy is an educational initiative designed to support foundational understanding and policy fluency around artificial intelligence among California’s legislative staff. Through a cohort model, the AI Academy will increase AI policy leadership development of legislative staff at a critical time.
Global Institute for the Learning Society
Global Institute for the Learning Society (GILS) combines human and machine learning for AI that truly benefits society through innovative alternatives aimed at AI safety evaluation and debiasing, led by Donald Martin. GILS is pioneering a new approach to building sustainable AI ecosystems through societal contextual data approaches centering humanity–by co-creating with local communities.
HiiiWAV
HiiiWAV is an Oakland-based creative technology incubator empowering entrepreneurs to build AI-driven, tech-enabled businesses. Through programs such as AFRO AI, HiiiWAV blends startup incubation, technical mentorship, and emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence and immersive media—to support sustainable creative ventures. HiiiWAV was also a key contributor to the inaugural Oakland Tech Week, a citywide celebration featuring panels, workshops, grassroots events, and matchmaking opportunities that connect startups with investors, policymakers, and partners committed to building inclusive tech ecosystems.
Schott Foundation for Public Education
The Schott Foundation for Public Education supports racial and education justice movements by increasing AI literacy and capacity as a pathway to accelerate advocacy efforts leading to the adoption of equitable and responsible tech and AI policies in communities across the country.
Tech Equity Collaborative
Tech Equity Collaborative (TEC) is a leading advocacy organization that aims to ensure that the tech industry builds economic prosperity for everyone and is held accountable for the economic harm it creates. TEC continues to play a pivotal role in advancing equitable tech and AI policy in California with focused efforts on developing research, agenda-setting, coalition-building, management, and communication across stakeholder groups.
Fellow Highlights
Despite facing an onslaught of challenges like waning funding and attacks to freedom of press, newsrooms continue to play a critical role in providing timely, accurate, and responsive reporting that informs the public and holds those with power accountable. At the same time, tech and AI innovations continue to rapidly reshape life as we know it, with a dire need for greater transparency in who benefits and who is harmed. In response, we launched the inaugural Kapor Research Fellowship that supported a cohort of investigative journalists to produce critical research-informed stories at the intersection of tech and society.
Fellows Featured Highlights
California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it?
October 2025
Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagiarism
July 2025
Venture Cash Flows In, but Can Detroit’s Longtime Residents Ride the Wave?
July 2025
The Homework Machine: AI creates gray areas for students and teachers
August 2025
Gen Z Detroiters Cautiously Look Home for Opportunity in Tech
August 2025
The Year Ahead
Despite the many external challenges, we remain grateful for the leadership, passion, and collaboration with our mission-aligned partners—grantees, investors, entrepreneurs, educators, and scholars—and are inspired by both their impact and resolve to address the challenges that lie ahead. As we look to 2026, we will continue to adapt to the changing political, social, and economic climate, but remain committed to impacting more lives, creating systemic change, and creating a more equitable technology sector, economy, and society.