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USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/13/26

Key Takeaways

  • USC launched a major new AI initiative supported by a $200 million donation from NVIDIA board member Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, one of the largest gifts in the university’s history.
  • The initiative will expand AI-driven education and research across fields including health sciences, business, security, the arts, neuroscience, and military training.
  • USC will rename its School of Advanced Computing to the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence to honor the donors and strengthen its role as a leading AI talent hub.

The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

The gift is one of the largest in university history and comes from NVIDIA board member and USC Trustee Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary. The university’s School of Advanced Computing will be renamed the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence in their honor.

"As AI becomes ever more powerful, it creates enormous opportunities to improve lives and solve some of our greatest challenges, if used the right way," said USC President Beong-Soo Kim. "Mark and Mary Stevens' generosity will allow USC to leverage our existing interdisciplinary strengths and capitalize on these new opportunities at a critical inflection point for our society. As a top destination for AI talent, USC can accelerate our mission of educating future leaders, addressing real-world problems and enhancing human values and agency."

The news release reports that the gift will help power education and research university-wide. It will scale up existing efforts such as in the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, which uses AI to analyze human brain scan and hunt for genetic patterns related to neurodegenerative diseases. It will also assist the USC Institute for Creative Technologies in using AI for military training applications.

"Mark and Mary have always understood the myriad opportunities that exist at the intersection of technology and domain expertise," said Yannis Yortsos, dean of USC Viterbi. "Their generosity at this pivotal time, when we enter the transformative Age of AI, will lead to breakthroughs, innovation and thought leadership here on the USC campus and around the world. We are grateful for their extraordinary gift."

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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