By Greg Bensinger
SAN FRANCISCO, July 28 (Reuters) - Andrew Ng, co-founder of online learning platform Coursera, on Tuesday announced a new artificial intelligence startup focused on teaching white-collar workers new skills to stay relevant as AI reshapes the world of professional work.
The startup, LearnVector, is backed by a $100 million investment from Coursera.
Ng said he founded LearnVector because he thinks the popular belief that artificial intelligence will replace workers is misguided and white-collar
workers simply need to learn new skills that keep them essential as AI automates more tasks.
Conventional wisdom holds "that AI will replace people, and I believe in the opposite," Ng said in an interview.
“AI will be the greatest force in accelerating human development if we do it right, and rather than ... creating a job apocalypse, I think AI will make people a lot more productive and create fresh demand for skills.”
Ng, a computer scientist, general partner at AI Fund and an Amazon.com director, is hiring engineers for his new company, he said. Coursera is the lead investor in LearnVector, and Ng declined to identify other possible investors or LearnVector's total funding needs.
He is expected to join Coursera’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday to discuss the funding. Coursera, which launched in 2012, offers classes and certificate programs created by universities and companies in topics like project management, cybersecurity and financial markets.
In the interview, Ng said LearnVector was still working out course offerings, pricing and user interface.
But the company, which is using AI foundation models from a variety of third parties, expects to offer its first courses early next year.
Coursera's investment gives it one-third of LearnVector, suggesting a value of about $300 million for the company. While that figure is relatively small compared with multi-billion-dollar Silicon Valley deals, Coursera is betting about 13% of its $790 million in cash available at the end of March.
LearnVector will use AI to develop individualized courses for white-collar workers that can track progress and become more advanced over time as pupils grow more proficient, said Ng. He expects to sell courses to corporations, governments and higher education.
Coursera, in a statement reviewed by Reuters, said it will partner with LearnVector to sell and develop their courses together.
Companies like Amazon, Meta and Block, known for its Square payment service, have attributed large recent job cuts in part to AI-driven efficiencies, though some studies have suggested other causes, such as a weakening economy.
“There will be a need for people to shift their skill mix as AI automates a subset of work, but still leaves plenty of work for people to do,” said Ng, who serves as CEO of the new company.
“I love learning. It's one of the most fun things I enjoy spending my time doing, and I want to bring that to everyone.”
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
