Our Approach
The tech industry has created more wealth, more companies, and more jobs than ever before. At the same time, we saw that these opportunities weren’t reaching everyone, further deepening income inequality and increasing the economic divide. Now, AI is transforming the labor market and the world at large.
Over the past decade, Pursuit has pioneered a new model for economic opportunity. Today, we’re leading the way and preparing the workforce for an AI-first future.
Our goal is to create long-term, systemic change. Today’s workforce system is fragmented: recruiting, training, financing and hiring happen in separate places.
That’s why we’ve developed innovative solutions that connect those pieces into one pathway, from community development to AI-native training, job placement, and long-term career growth. Each program is valuable on its own, and together their impact compounds.
Our integrated model addresses structural challenges within workforce development and the labor market:
One of the most significant challenges for our community is a lack of awareness of the opportunities available and the lack of belief that such opportunities are possible for them.
We work with our trusted community partners to reach non-traditional populations, inform them of new career pathways, and begin to instill belief.
Low-income and non-traditional adults without college degrees face structural challenges preventing them from succeeding.
Pursuit invests in our Builders by providing them with a comprehensive range of services: AI and professional skills training, career support, mentorship, access to a network of companies and industry professionals, and a sourced job opportunity with our employment partners for Builders with exceptional performance.
Read more about Pursuit AI-Native Program.
Traditional training wasn’t built for an AI-first economy. The curriculum falls behind the tools, every trainee gets the same lesson, and the path to a good job is split across disconnected systems where trainees fall through the gaps.
Pursuit Platform is our in-house software for end-to-end Builder support, from the first info session through application and training to the first job. Builders get a personalized daily plan, an AI Coach for instant feedback, and adaptive coursework, while staff see the whole cohort in real time. Every assignment, assessment, and coaching session becomes data we pair with live employer demand to improve the curriculum weekly.
When Builders are ready to launch their careers, the Platform adds 1:1 career coaching, a personalized job search strategy, and access to apprenticeships, paid deployments, and open roles our team sources. We track outcomes for three years, so each cohort makes the next one stronger.
Employers are rebuilding around AI faster than they can hire, while cutting the entry-level roles that once built their pipelines.
Our employer partnerships close that gap. Employers shape our curriculum, sponsor Builder projects, and work with Builders through paid deployments and apprenticeships before hiring. When a team is ready to hire, we scope the role, match candidates, and coordinate interviews. There’s no placement fee.
Our work continues after Builders are placed. We support every hire for three years with on-the-job coaching and technical learning, so Builders keep growing and teams keep the talent they hired.
Read more about Hire AI Talent.
The impact
Life changing transformation: from $18K to $94K
Pursuit Builders more than five times their income at their first job on average, earning an estimated $2 million more over their lives. That transformation has a ripple effect. It builds financial security and intergenerational wealth for their families and communities.
$94K Average annual starting salary
$2M Estimated additional lifetime earnings
Equity compensation, benefits, and other significant advancements
Trusted by the Best
Over the past decade, more than 200 companies, from start-ups to Fortune 500 teams, have hired Pursuit talent.
Our Builders bring deep knowledge of the latest AI tools, real client experience, and the critical thinking and communication skills that make them active contributors on any team from day one.
We support every hire for three years: 92% are still employed three years later, and 97% of those eligible are promoted.
Rooted in Community
We partner with the community institutions that reach New York’s most underserved residents, including the New York City Housing Authority, the New York Public Library, and community-based organizations across the city. Through these partnerships, Pursuit meets talent where it is, opening doors for people who are too often left out of the AI economy and ensuring our pipeline reflects the communities we serve.
Bringing AI Capability Where It’s Needed Most
Small businesses and nonprofits keep New York running, but most can’t afford dedicated AI teams. Pursuit Builders close that gap, embedding inside these organizations as paid AI engineers to scope real challenges, build tools around how teams already work, and train staff to use them. With partners including Amazon, Google, Goldman Sachs, and Mizuho, we help these organizations adopt AI while Builders gain paid experience.
Shaping the System
We partner with government and public institutions to shape how New York prepares its workforce for AI. Pursuit established New York’s first Registered Apprenticeship in Software Engineering, helped the City design its apprenticeship strategy, and was selected by Governor Hochul to lead AI Prep for Jobs. Through these partnerships, our model reaches New Yorkers across the state, bringing AI training and impact beyond New York City.
Since its founding, Pursuit envisioned creating integrated programs that built upon each other to maximize impact. That's why we created a hybrid social enterprise with two related entities—a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a public benefit corporation (PBC)—which share the same mission but operate different activities suited for their structure. This allows us to create lasting economic impact by supporting both Builders and the companies that employ them, bolstering success for all.
We’re always
innovating.
