This fall, high school students in Plano will have the chance to step into the world of artificial intelligence at no cost. The Mark Cuban Foundation, teaming up with Perficient, is bringing its AI Bootcamp to the city on three consecutive Saturdays: Nov. 1, 8 and 15, 2025.
The program, open to grades 9–12, runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and removes common barriers by providing meals, transportation assistance and technology for participants. Students will gain hands-on experience with AI tools, including generative AI, while exploring applications in healthcare, the arts, business, computer science, sports science and beyond.
Building Skills And Confidence
Guided by mentors from the tech industry, participants will complete a capstone project designed to test creativity and problem-solving. Organizers stress that the program is less about creating future computer scientists and more about equipping students with the skills and confidence to navigate a rapidly changing digital world.
“AI is reshaping every industry, and we believe it’s essential to equip young minds with the tools to understand and shape that future,” said Bill Davis, Perficient senior vice president of partnerships and ecosystem. “These bootcamps are designed to build foundational skills and explore the possibilities of AI in a supportive, accessible environment. Whether participants pursue careers in technology or simply want to better understand the digital world around them, the program aims to inspire confidence and a lasting interest in innovation.”
For 2025, the bootcamp will also feature a new Teacher Fellow initiative, supporting local educators with a paid year-long fellowship designed to strengthen AI instruction in the classroom.
Expanding Access To AI Education
Since its launch in 2019, the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp has served thousands of students across the country, focusing on those who might not otherwise have access to advanced tech education. Cuban emphasized the mission clearly: “Our goal is to ensure that every interested student, regardless of background or resources, can explore AI and its limitless possibilities.”
Applications are especially encouraged from girls, students of color, first-generation college-goers and those from low-income households. The deadline to apply is Sept. 30, 2025. More information is available at markcubanai.org.
A Growing Hub For Tech And AI
The Plano bootcamp arrives at a time when North Texas is rapidly becoming a magnet for technology and AI investment. Sherman is gaining national attention with Apple partnerships that include GlobalWafers America for semiconductor wafers and Coherent for VCEL lasers used in Face ID. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments has committed $60 billion toward semiconductor expansion in Sherman and Richardson.
Plano itself is part of this wave. FiberLight, a fiber optic network provider, is relocating its corporate headquarters to the city. And nearby, Aligned Data Centers is constructing a $700 million, 425,000-square-foot data center for Lambda Inc., a cloud computing company backed by Nvidia.
Nvidia has also chosen North Texas as a key site for building U.S.-based AI supercomputers, part of a broader push to establish a domestic supply chain from chip fabrication to testing.
Why It Matters For Students
For local students, the AI Bootcamp isn’t just a weekend program — it’s a chance to connect with the momentum of reshaping their own backyard. With major tech investments transforming the region, the skills learned in Plano classrooms today could translate directly into opportunities in tomorrow’s North Texas job market.
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