Snowflake Launches One Million Minds + One Platform Program, Investing $20 Million Toward AI Upskilling

Rhea-AI Summary

Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) has announced its One Million Minds + One Platform program, backed by a $20 million investment. The initiative aims to train and certify over 100,000 users on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud by 2027 and upskill one million people on data and AI by 2029, all at no cost to learners.

The program focuses on two main areas: Snowflake for Academia, providing students with free access to software and training materials, and Snowflake Training for High Growth and Emerging Markets, offering platform training across various regions including ASEAN, Canada, Germany, India, Korea, LATAM, and Saudi Arabia.

The initiative responds to workforce concerns, as a 2024 Gallup poll shows 22% of workers fear job obsolescence due to AI advancement, while 72% of Fortune 500 CHROs anticipate AI replacing some jobs within three years. The new SnowPro Platform Associate Certification will be available from February 2025.

Positive

• $20 million investment in AI education and workforce development
• Free training and certification program for 100,000 users by 2027
• Global expansion into high-growth markets
• Strategic positioning in AI/ML education sector

Negative

• None.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

This $20 million investment in AI upskilling represents a strategic move to address a critical market gap. With 22% of workers concerned about AI-driven job obsolescence and 72% of Fortune 500 CHROs anticipating AI-related job displacement, Snowflake is positioning itself as a key enabler in the AI transformation landscape.

The program's ambitious goal to train 1 million people by 2029 could significantly expand Snowflake's ecosystem and market penetration, particularly in high-growth markets. This initiative essentially creates a talent pipeline that could drive increased enterprise adoption of Snowflake's platform, as companies will have access to a larger pool of qualified professionals.

The timing aligns with escalating demand for AI and data skills, potentially strengthening Snowflake's competitive position against rivals like Amazon Redshift and Google BigQuery. The focus on emerging markets suggests a calculated move to capture market share in regions with high growth potential.

Education Technology Specialist

The comprehensive curriculum structure and certification pathway demonstrate a well-designed educational framework. The inclusion of both theoretical knowledge and hands-on platform experience through Snowflake Notebooks and practical data management tools addresses the full spectrum of learning needs.

The February 2025 launch of the SnowPro Platform Associate Certification creates a clear value proposition for participants. The program's no-cost model removes financial barriers to entry, while the partnership with academic institutions provides important institutional credibility and sustainable distribution channels.

The dual focus on academia and workforce development, coupled with region-specific training delivery, suggests a scalable and adaptable education model. This approach could create a sustainable talent ecosystem that benefits both Snowflake and the broader tech industry.

Global program aims to train and certify one million students and business professionals in high-growth and emerging markets by 2029 on Snowflake AI Data Cloud, arming them with the knowledge and resources to pursue and expand careers in the tech industry

No-Headquarters/BOZEMAN, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), the AI Data Cloud company, today announced the launch of its One Million Minds + One Platform program with the goal of training and certifying more than 100,000 users on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud by 2027 at no cost for learners, and upskilling one million people on data and AI by 2029. Fueled by Snowflake’s $20 million investment, the One Million Minds + One Platform program will provide Snowflake-delivered training and certification courses to students and workers in high growth and emerging markets around the world. By delivering curriculum resources for workers and educators, as well as credits to use the Snowflake platform, Snowflake is unlocking AI upskilling for the next generation of business and technology users, empowering them to expand their skill sets to gain a competitive edge.

Snowflake Launches One Million Minds + One Platform Program, Investing $20 Million Toward AI Upskilling (Graphic: Business Wire)

According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 22 percent of workers express concern that their jobs will become obsolete as a result of technology advancements like generative AI. The same study found that 72 percent of Fortune 500 CHROs foresee AI replacing some jobs within their organization in the next three years. In order to remain competitive in today’s rapidly evolving and highly competitive job market, workers must build and expand their skill set with the latest technologies to set themselves apart and deliver valuable expertise to the startups and enterprises of the future.

“To succeed in this digital age, every employee must be equipped with the skills that enable them to contribute in a data and AI-centric world,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Snowflake. “This requires that AI must not only be accessible for users at every skill level, but that users also have knowledge of how these applications work across the data lifecycle, as well as how to best engage with them. Through our investment, Snowflake is giving academic institutions and workers in regions around the world the tools and training to build successful careers as the technologists and founders of tomorrow.”

One Million Minds + One Platform seeks to address the needs of students and workers looking to both build, as well as expand their skill sets and become certified on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud platform. The program has two primary focuses:

Snowflake for Academia

To empower the next generation of AI, data, and application professionals, Snowflake is providing students with free access to Snowflake software, training materials, as well as industry leading data curriculum and training for educators. Today, the Snowflake for Academia program provides educators with enablement courses to get them certified on Snowflake and ready to teach in the classroom. Once certified, they receive teaching curriculum materials ranging from foundational courses to advanced self-paced tutorials, which include Academia Lab access for the entirety of the semester at no cost.

“The role of academia is to expose students to the various kinds of people, tools, and technologies they’ll encounter in the real world,” said Nate Crawford, Software Engineering & Data Science Faculty, University of St. Thomas. “Through the no-cost Snowflake for Academia program curriculum, as well as the free Snowflake credits, we’ve been able to deliver a robust course that provides essential skills to those soon to enter what is a rapidly changing work landscape. Exposure to these technologies at this stage plants the seed for future leaders and supports the development of the skillsets employers are looking for in candidates.”

Within the next year, Snowflake intends to more than double the total enrollment of educators and academic institutions around the world who teach, train, and ultimately certify students on the Snowflake platform.

Snowflake Training for High Growth and Emerging Markets

Snowflake will deliver new Snowflake Platform Trainings designed for individuals with limited experience using Snowflake and looking to accelerate their knowledge with the AI Data Cloud to workers and students across ASEAN, Canada, Germany, India, Korea, LATAM, Saudi Arabia, and more. Delivered by a Snowflake-certified instructor, the Snowflake Platform Training program is a step-by-step live and free introductory course to give users the hands-on experience and confidence to get started with their organization’s data transformation journey.

Snowflake-certified instructors will take program enlistees through the AI Data Cloud architecture, including data warehousing, data lakes, data engineering, AI/ML, data applications, and data sharing. Once completed, students can achieve certification by successfully completing the SnowPro Platform Associate Certification, available starting February 2025, to validate their newly acquired skills, including how to:

• Setup and navigate the Snowflake user interface and Snowflake Notebooks
• Create database, stages, and use compute resources
• Load and leverage structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data
• Understand Snowflake roles, and data access management
• Understand and manage the Snowflake Account structure
• Call the Snowflake Cortex LLM functions

The One Million Minds + One Platform program is only one part of Snowflake’s broader education and upskilling strategy. Snowflake University offers instructor-led, on-demand, self-directed courses that have helped hundreds of thousands of data professionals accelerate their data initiatives, whether they’re just getting started or driving advanced data projects.

Learn More:

• Academic institutions and educators interested in teaching Snowflake in their classrooms can request access to training here.
• Register for Snowflake University to get started on the learning journey here.
• Stay on top of the latest news and announcements from Snowflake on LinkedIn and Twitter / X.

About Snowflake

Snowflake makes enterprise AI easy, efficient and trusted. More than 10,000 companies around the globe, including hundreds of the world’s largest, use Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud to share data, build applications, and power their business with AI. The era of enterprise AI is here. Learn more at snowflake.com (NYSE: SNOW).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250113988461/en/

Media Contacts

Danica Stanczak

Global Corporate Communications, Snowflake

press@snowflake.com

Source: Snowflake Inc.

FAQ

What is Snowflake's $20 million One Million Minds program and when does it start?

Snowflake's One Million Minds program is a $20 million initiative launching in 2024 to train and certify 100,000 users by 2027 and upskill one million people in data and AI by 2029, offering free training and certification on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud.

When will SNOW's SnowPro Platform Associate Certification become available?

The SnowPro Platform Associate Certification will become available starting February 2025.

Which countries are included in Snowflake's (SNOW) training program?

Snowflake's training program will be available across ASEAN, Canada, Germany, India, Korea, LATAM, and Saudi Arabia.

What skills will students learn through Snowflake's (SNOW) training program?

Students will learn Snowflake user interface navigation, database creation, data loading, roles management, account structure, and how to use Snowflake Cortex LLM functions.

How many workers are concerned about AI replacing their jobs according to Snowflake's cited research?

According to the 2024 Gallup poll cited by Snowflake, 22% of workers express concern about their jobs becoming obsolete due to AI technology advancements.