Equinix has committed an additional USD $50 million to the Equinix Foundation, doubling the company's total funding for the foundation since its launch in 2022.
The new funding will expand programmes focused on digital connectivity, digital skills and workforce development, with an emphasis on underserved communities.
Equinix has also named Aslıhan Güreşcier President of the foundation. She will oversee its next phase as it expands efforts to improve internet access, skills training and pathways into technical employment, including data centre-related roles.
The foundation has provided grants to 100 nonprofit partners across 48 metropolitan areas worldwide. In 2025 alone, those partners helped connect more than 3.5 million people to the internet, reached more than 1.6 million people with digital literacy and skills training, and trained more than 900 people for digital infrastructure roles.
Adaire Fox-Martin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Equinix and a foundation board member, linked the latest commitment to the company's community agenda.
"For nearly 30 years, Equinix has grown by earning the trust of the communities where we operate. The Equinix Foundation is a powerful expression of our values in action, giving more people the skills and opportunities they need for the jobs of the future," Fox-Martin said.
"By doubling our investment in programs around the world, we aim to open doors for more people and ensure our communities benefit from the future we are helping to build."
Three priorities
The foundation is focusing on three areas: access to reliable internet services, digital literacy and skills training, and workforce readiness. The last includes creating technical career pathways for adults seeking greater economic opportunity in data centre-related fields.
That focus reflects broader hiring pressures in digital infrastructure, where operators and suppliers are trying to build a larger pool of trained workers. Equinix is pursuing a strategy to strengthen talent pipelines into an industry expanding faster than the supply of people prepared to fill available roles.
One part of that effort is Pathways to Tech, a programme designed to introduce students aged 14 to 18 to careers in data centre operations. The initiative uses school visits, facility tours and education days led by 120 certified employee volunteer ambassadors, and has reached more than 1,300 students across 24 locations since launch.
The foundation has also partnered with the International Youth Foundation to develop a model for expanding Pathways to Tech into additional markets. The youth employment organisation works in more than 100 countries and is expected to help Equinix create a structure that can be replicated across multiple locations.
"Every young person deserves the chance to see a future for themselves in the industries shaping our world, and data infrastructure is one of the fastest-growing out there," said Christina Sass, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Youth Foundation.
"Pathways to Tech is already opening that door for hundreds of students. We're excited to bring our experience in youth workforce development to help Equinix build a model that can open it for thousands more, in communities around the world."
Regional work
In Asia-Pacific, the foundation is backing projects in the Philippines, China and India. In the Philippines, Equinix is working with Kadakareer, a community-based platform that supports underserved students pursuing work in the digital economy through coaching, training and employment pathways.
The collaboration aims to give underprivileged young people, especially women and girls, mentorship and practical training for technology-related jobs. In China, the foundation supports Stepping Stones, a nonprofit focused on the education and welfare of underserved children.
In India, support has gone to Yuva Unstoppable, which works on digital access and school infrastructure. The grant supports a roadmap for installing and operationalising 21 to 30 Kyan-enabled digital smart classrooms in Mumbai and Chennai.
Elsewhere, the foundation's partners include Per Scholas in the United States, unconnected.org across 18 countries, UNICEF Digital Inclusion and its Giga initiative, and the Enterprise Development Centre at Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria. Equinix also works with customers and alliance partners, including Cisco and HPE, to co-fund some initiatives.
Güreşcier said her experience in digital infrastructure had shaped her view of the social value of broader access to technology.
"Throughout my career, I've seen the ways digital technology and infrastructure can lift up communities and improve people's lives," Güreşcier said.
"I'm honoured to lead the Equinix Foundation as we scale this vitally important work and help communities capitalise on the immense opportunities ahead."