Black in AI

What Black in AI does

Black in AI (BAI) is a global, membership-based nonprofit organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, that works to broaden representation of people of African descent in the development, deployment, and governance of artificial intelligence. Its core operations consist of a free professional membership (6,500+ members across 119 countries, composed of 62% AI professionals, 25% doctoral students, and 13% allies), an annual flagship workshop co-located at NeurIPS since 2017 (8 editions through 2024, paused for 2025), and a portfolio of education and career programs: the Emerging Leaders in AI (ELAI) Grad Prep Program (launched 2018, re-imagined 2023), the Research Travel Grant Program (paused for 2025, cumulative 600+ grantees from 40+ countries and $2M+ distributed over 8 years), the BlackAIR Summer Research Program (launched with Stanford in 2021), and the Postdoc Bridge Program. It also runs three strategic initiatives in Civil Society & Policy, Research & Advocacy, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the last of which tracks 145+ founders who have collectively raised $428M and created 1,500+ jobs.

BAI does not develop proprietary AI/ML technology; its operational stack is built on third-party community and event tools (Webflow, Microsoft CMT, Airtable, Eventbrite, Google Forms, PayPal) and its 'intellectual property' consists of domain-specific research instruments such as the first-of-its-kind 'Equity in Graduate Program Application' white paper and the co-authored cross-affinity 'Community Pulse Survey' (with LatinX in AI, Queer in AI, WiML, and {Dis}Ability in AI) published on arXiv. Its revenue is generated entirely through a nonprofit mix: philanthropic grants from major foundations (Alfred P. Sloan, Rockefeller, Patrick J. McGovern, MacArthur, Ford, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GSK), a tiered Corporate Sponsorship Program (Ruby / Diamond / Platinum / Gold / Silver) that funds workshop programming, and individual donations via PayPal. Pricing is freemium for individual members; sponsorship tier dollar amounts are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led, event-driven (NeurIPS/ICLR/CVPR/ICML/NAACL co-locations), and partnership-mediated (affinity groups, universities, philanthropic funders, federal policy engagement). The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and Advisory Board that were substantially refreshed in June 2025 with high-profile appointees from the White House OSTP, Rockefeller Foundation, Google DeepMind, and Mastercard.

Name

Black in AI

Legal name

Black in AI

Website

https://blackinai.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Black in AI is a global nonprofit founded in 2017 that builds and convenes the largest community of Black AI practitioners (6,500+ members across 119 countries), running an annual NeurIPS workshop, education and career programs (ELAI Grad Prep, BlackAIR, Postdoc Bridge), and AI policy advocacy with philanthropic and corporate funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Diversity Community Organization

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

AI & Machine Learning (Foundations & Applied) (EDAMACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bias, Fairness & Non-Discrimination Testing (HDAAAMAC)

Keywords

• AI diversity community
• Research travel grants
• Graduate school preparation
• AI policy advocacy
• Annual AI workshop

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic grants: Unrestricted and restricted grants from major foundations: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and GSK. BAI relies on this philanthropic capital to fund its mission and programs.
2. Corporate Sponsorship Program: Tiered corporate sponsorship program (Ruby, Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver). Supports researcher access to career opportunities and annual workshops. 2024 Gold sponsors include DESRES, Google DeepMind, Apple; Silver includes a major social-impact foundation. Tier pricing is not publicly disclosed.
3. Individual donations: Individual contributions accepted in any amount via PayPal donate button. Listed as a separate 'donate today' mechanism on the Support Our Mission page.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Black in AI operates a global, membership-based nonprofit that convenes Black AI practitioners, supports them through cohort-style educational programs and travel grants, and advocates for greater representation in AI research, graduate education, entrepreneurship, and policy. Its core offerings include free professional membership, the annual Black in AI Workshop co-located with NeurIPS, the Emerging Leaders in AI (ELAI) Grad Prep Program, the BlackAIR Summer Research Program, the Postdoc Bridge Program, and the Research Travel Grant Program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BlackAIR (Black in AI Research): Summer research program supporting Black women leading innovative AI projects, originally launched in partnership with Stanford University in 2021.
• ELAI (Emerging Leaders in AI) Grad Prep Program
• Postdoc Bridge Program

Products and services

• Emerging Leaders in AI (ELAI) Grad Prep Program Cohort-based graduate admissions preparation program with mentorship, application fee waivers, and structured support for prospective MS/PhD applicants in AI-related disciplines from underrepresented backgrounds; 800+ students supported, 700+ fee waivers secured, 75% of mentees accepted to more than one fully-funded graduate program.
• Black in AI Research (BlackAIR) Summer Research Program Summer research program supporting Black women leading innovative AI projects with research support, mentorship, and academic exposure; originally launched in partnership with Stanford University.
• Postdoc Bridge Program Career navigation program for underrepresented PhD students and postdocs providing mentorship, insider information on post-PhD career paths, and exposure to industry, postdoc, and startup options in AI.
• Research Travel Grant Program Travel grant program funding Black AI researchers to attend premier AI/ML conferences (NeurIPS, ICLR, CVPR, ICML, NAACL); 478 papers accepted, 519 grantees supported, $1M+ awarded.
• Annual Black in AI Workshop Flagship annual convening of Black in AI held alongside the NeurIPS conference featuring invited talks, oral and poster presentations, panels, receptions, and an annual dinner; free to accepted participants with travel grants available.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,500+ members across 119 countries
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• University of MichigancoreOthers · 7 May 2026Affiliation of new Board of Directors member Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Ph.D. (Professor of Robotics and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). Announced May 7, 2026.
• Institute for Advanced Study (Alondra Nelson affiliation)coreOthers · 26 June 2025Affiliation of new BAI Board of Directors member Alondra Nelson, Ph.D., Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and former Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Announced June 26, 2025.
• Mastercard (Rashida Richardson affiliation)coreOthers · 26 June 2025Affiliation of new BAI Advisory Board member Rashida Richardson, civil rights and AI policy expert serving as Senior Counsel for AI at Mastercard. Announced June 26, 2025.
• Stanford HAI (Human Centered AI Lab)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-authored policy brief 'Exploring the Impact of AI on Black Americans' addressed to the Congressional Black Caucus, providing guidance on policy considerations for generative AI. Members of BAI also presented and sat on a panel with CBC members (February 2024).
• Congressional Black CaucuscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Recipient of BAI's Stanford HAI co-authored policy brief on generative AI; convened the AI Roundtable Series (February 2024) at which BAI presented and sat on a panel.
• White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (NAIAC)coreOthers · 1 January 2023Black in AI participated in the White House Office of Technology NAIAC AI Round Table and in panel discussions with policy stakeholders including the SICSS Frontiers of AI panel (July 2023) and the Congressional Black Caucus AI Roundtable Series (February 2024).
• Stanford University (BlackAIR Summer Research Program)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In summer 2021 Black in AI partnered with Stanford University to provide research support, mentorship, and exposure to an initial cohort of Black women in AI under the BlackAIR program. The 2021 edition was remote; program details are hosted at blackairgrant.stanford.edu.
• Cornell UniversityminorOthers · 1 January 2017University partner that sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop; BAI's co-founder Rediet Abebe is affiliated with Cornell. Listed as one of the top-tier graduate destinations for ELAI mentees.
• Stanford UniversitycoreOthers · 1 January 2017Stanford sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop and is one of the universities that provided application fee waivers to BAI members applying to graduate CS programs. Co-host of the BlackAIR Summer Research Program.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)minorOthers · 1 January 2017MIT sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop and is among the universities that provided application fee waivers to BAI members.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversityminorOthers · 1 January 2017University partner that sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop and is among the universities that provided application fee waivers to BAI members.
• University of California, BerkeleyminorOthers · 1 January 2017UC Berkeley sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop; Gold sponsor of the 2020 Black in AI Workshop; university partner providing application fee waivers.
• Duke UniversityminorOthers · 1 January 2017Duke sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop.
• Harvard UniversityminorOthers · 1 January 2017Harvard sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop.
• University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignminorOthers · 1 January 2017UIUC sponsored its students to attend the 2017 Black in AI Workshop; BAI's co-founder Sanmi Koyejo was at UIUC.
• TeachAIflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeachAI is a collaborative of education leaders and technology experts. Black in AI partners with TeachAI to guide the safe, effective, and responsible use of AI in schools. The partnership connects teaching with AI to teaching about AI, prioritizing equitable access for Black students and all students. Listed on the Support Our Mission page as a 'Notable Partner.'
• Computing Research Association (CRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on graduate enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for underrepresented communities in computing. Part of BAI's ongoing 'Equity in Graduate Program Application' research.
• NIST AI Safety Advisory CommitteecoreOthersBlack in AI has been invited to sit on the NIST AI Safety advisory committee, contributing organizational perspective on AI's impact on marginalized communities.
• LatinX in AIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeer affinity group; co-developed the Community Pulse Survey with BAI, WiML, Queer in AI, and {Dis}Ability in AI in 2023. Listed on Ecosystem Support page as active collaborator.
• Queer in AIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeer affinity group; co-developed the Community Pulse Survey with BAI, WiML, LatinX in AI, and {Dis}Ability in AI in 2023.
• Women in Machine Learning (WiML)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeer affinity group; co-developed the Community Pulse Survey with BAI, Queer in AI, LatinX in AI, and {Dis}Ability in AI in 2023.
• Indigenous in AIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeer affinity group; BAI provides support in the form of brand building, financial assistance, and resources to Indigenous in AI and similar mission-aligned organizations.
• Deep Learning IndabacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission-aligned organization; BAI shares resources and supports Deep Learning Indaba to advance a more equitable AI ecosystem.
• Data Science AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission-aligned organization; BAI supports Data Science Africa with brand building, financial assistance, and resource sharing to advance the shared mission.
• ZindiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission-aligned organization; BAI supports Zindi within the ecosystem of African AI organizations.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Women in Machine Learning (WiML): Long-running AI affinity organization co-developing the Community Pulse Survey with BAI. Runs co-located workshops at NeurIPS and similar career programs, with overlapping sponsor and academic partner base.
• Zindi: African AI talent platform and competition community that BAI supports as part of its African AI ecosystem. Overlaps BAI in mission to broaden African participation in AI through competitions, community, and skills development.
• Deep Learning Indaba: Pan-African AI community organization that BAI explicitly supports. Hosts the Indaba conference and similar community-building, grants, and education programs targeting African AI practitioners — directly overlapping BAI's mission and ecosystem.
• Indigenous in AI: AI affinity organization that BAI actively supports via brand building, financial assistance, and resources. Operates community and conference programming for Indigenous AI practitioners — directly comparable model and ecosystem.
• Data Science Africa: Mission-aligned African AI/data science organization that BAI supports with brand, financial, and resource sharing. Runs workshops, training, and community convenings in the African AI ecosystem, overlapping BAI's community and education programs.
• LatinX in AI: Identity-based AI affinity organization that co-developed the Community Pulse Survey with BAI. Operates a similar model of co-located workshops at NeurIPS/ICML/CVPR, mentorship, and academic pipeline support for Latinx AI researchers.
• Queer in AI: AI affinity group co-developing the Community Pulse Survey with BAI. Operates co-located workshops at NeurIPS and shares the model of free community membership, research grants, and policy advocacy for an underrepresented identity group in AI.

Broad incumbents

• Black Girls Code: Nonprofit broadening representation of Black girls in technology, including AI-adjacent skills. Operates a much larger network of chapters, summer camps, and after-school programs — overlapping BAI's downstream pipeline of Black AI talent, with broader STEM focus.

Emerging players

• AI4ALL: US-based nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in AI through education programs for underrepresented students. Operates an AI education pipeline (summer programs, university partnerships) overlapping BAI's ELAI and BlackAIR, but with a broader demographic scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/black_in_ai
• Facebookfacebook.com/blackinai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackinai
• Instagraminstagram.com/blackinai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Black in AI