A historic $200-million USC gift from Nvidia board member aims to transform AI education
Key takeaways
- It is also a major, early win for USC President Beong-Soo Kim, who was appointed in February.
- The Stevens gift is the latest in a surge of nine-figure AI-related donations to major universities.
- In an interview, Kim said the donation comes during “an incredibly significant period of time” because AI is moving quickly from technical labs into “nearly every corner” of society.
The gift will rename USC’s School of Advanced Computing as the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times) By Jaweed Kaleem Staff Writer Follow May 5, 2026 3:33 PM PT 8 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
USC has received a $200-million gift from a major Silicon Valley venture capitalist and university trustee to expand artificial intelligence across campus through faculty recruitment, marking one of the largest donations in the university’s history, officials announced Tuesday.
The gift — from Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary — will rename USC’s School of Advanced Computing as the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence and fund a campuswide effort to make USC a national center of AI scholarship, including in film and the arts. It is also a major, early win for USC President Beong-Soo Kim, who was appointed in February.