OpenAI adds $5 million and up to $5 million in credits to Lenfest AI program

OpenAI is committing $5 million, up to $5 million in software credits, and engineering support to the next phase of the Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program, the company and the Lenfest Institute announced on September 28.

The package doubles OpenAI’s previous support for the program. Lenfest plans to invite a new cohort, broaden eligibility beyond its current participants, and continue placing full-time AI technologists inside news organizations. The partners did not disclose the cohort’s size, application schedule, or selection criteria. The expansion is separate from OpenAI’s AI program for independent Ukrainian newsrooms.

The program currently includes 11 news organizations. It places full-time, locally hired technologists alongside editorial, product, revenue, and executive teams to develop tools and policies for participating organizations. OpenAI and Lenfest said the pilot increased adoption and supported newsroom innovation and business sustainability. The reviewed evidence, however, contains no independent program-wide evaluation of those claims.

Lenfest said it will expand its technical capacity to turn selected fellowship projects into reusable tools, frameworks, plugins, and implementation guides, with the goal of helping hundreds of news organizations. It identified Dewey, an archive-search tool developed at The Philadelphia Inquirer, as one fellowship project.

Lenfest, OpenAI and Microsoft launched the program in October 2024. The first round named five metro news organizations, with three more planned for a second round. OpenAI’s earlier package consisted of $2.5 million in direct funding and $2.5 million in credits. The new announcement does not specify the funding schedule, eligible products or redemption terms for the credits, or the scope and duration of OpenAI’s engineering support.