The Trump administration is in the process of reshaping the “Peace Corps” and planning to dispatch thousands of technicians overseas to enhance the acceptance of American technology in developing countries. This initiative aims to reduce these countries’ reliance on competitive products from China and assist the United States in gaining an edge in the AI competition.
According to reports from Bloomberg on Friday, a US official stated that the planned new program is called the “Technology Prosperity Corps.” It is expected to dispatch up to 5,000 volunteer graduates and expert consultants in science and mathematics to partner countries of the former “Peace Corps” in the next five years.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is set to officially announce this program at the India AI Impact Summit on Friday. The official explained that the “Peace Corps,” established over 60 years ago, will be revitalized with a new sense of purpose to thrive in the technology-driven era.
The new program aims to steer developing countries towards American artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software, decrease dependency on products from China, a major competitor to Washington in the field of AI.
In a statement shared with the media, Kratsios mentioned, “To further promote the adoption of artificial intelligence in developing countries, the Trump administration will bring the historically significant ‘Peace Corps’ into the 21st century by initiating the ‘Tech Corps.'”
“This new initiative will deploy volunteer tech talents into partner ecosystems to provide ‘last-mile’ support for robust AI applications and expand the reach of public services.”
The “Peace Corps,” also known as the “Peace Corps Work Team,” is an independent agency of the US government established during the peak of the Cold War in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. It has served as a crucial tool for US goodwill diplomacy.
The primary goal of the organization is to train and deploy volunteers for international aid activities, providing well-trained personnel to countries and regions willing to receive assistance to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the recipient countries and the United States.
As per data released by the Peace Corps, in 2025, over 3,000 volunteers were providing services in more than 60 countries across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and environment. The new program will significantly expand the scope of its mission.
Before the Trump administration formally announces the program, details such as recipient countries and the impact on the existing operations of the “Peace Corps” remain scarce to the public.
The official mentioned that funding for the “Technology Prosperity Corps” will include donations from corporations and charitable organizations. For the 2026 fiscal year, the organization secured a $410 million appropriation from Congress under the spending bill signed by Trump earlier this month.
Recruitment and training of volunteer tech professionals under the new program are expected to commence this year, targeting an initial group of 500 professionals. The US Department of State, the US Commercial Service, the International Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the host countries will coordinate the deployment of volunteers to regions seeking to adopt AI.
Moreover, the US plans to engage senior experts in advisory roles to provide remote assistance, supervision, and guidance to on-site personnel.
Winning the global AI competition is a top priority for President Trump. He has been advocating for the export of American AI technologies and equipment, including advanced processors from companies like Nvidia.
The restructuring of the “Peace Corps” by Trump is a response to actively counter China’s expansion of influence globally and seize the initiative in the field of artificial intelligence. Beijing has long been involved in infrastructure development such as roads and power plants in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.
Empowering the “Peace Corps” to execute Trump’s tech agenda will intensify the competition between the US and China in influencing developing countries. Chinese tech companies are expanding their influence in high-tech areas with lower-cost products, including DeepSeek’s large AI language models.
Beijing’s promotion of artificial intelligence draws inspiration from its earlier “Digital Silk Road” initiative, where Chinese companies built telecommunication networks across multiple continents.
During Trump’s first term, Kratsios traveled the world persuading US allies to remove equipment from Huawei, a Chinese tech company.
Currently, the Trump administration is advancing the previously announced “American AI Exports Program,” offering bundled packages of chips, servers, AI models, cloud services, and networks to various countries. The program was established after Trump signed an executive order in July 2025.
Building upon this foundation, the “Technology Prosperity Corps” will provide volunteer support to countries lacking AI strategy or implementation capabilities.